Thank you for your kind reviews. I'm not going to waste my time (and yours) with a long author's note. I just wanted to say that the story is nearing the end. There's only going to be a few more chapters. I have another story pretty much ready in my head, and the second this one is finished; I'll type that one up. Please give my next story a try; I'd appreciate it greatly.
Chapter Eighteen
Curses flew everywhere and people ran. The castle grounds were lit up from fires and curses, illuminating everything until it looked almost like daylight. People were screaming, crying, cursing, and calling out for help. It was total chaos, and yet I felt a deep sense of calm inside, completely unruffled by anything going on around me. Even the morbid sight and smell of burnt bodies, of blood and guts, and other nasty sights couldn't displace the calm I felt. I was pleased Hermione had decided to go up to the castle, and in response, I had been keeping a close eye on her friends. I made sure to keep them in my line of vision at all times, watching their backs like a hawk.
I dodged a hex and threw a curse at a passing death eater. Thankfully, my hood stayed in place, not revealing my identity. I leaned up against the tree; careful to make sure my back was covered. I scanned the grounds, noting the cluster of death eaters at strategic places. I quickly moved to join Potter, Weasley, most of the inner circle of the Order, and Hermione's friends. They were heading towards a small patch of woods, cursing and dodging curses as they went. People ran across their paths; people ran into them. Death Eaters attempted to take out several members, but the friends banned together to hex the said death eaters effectively taking them out. I forged my way across the battlefield to reach their position, taking out a Death Eater who was about to attack from behind. Potter blinked at me in gratitude, before moving up beside Albus.
Hermione's friends joined my side, odd as it was. I expected to be left to walk by myself; not having people watch my back as they were doing. Their faces were drawn in concentration. One of the boys, Mike I believe, glanced my way.
"Is Hermione alright? I haven't seen her at all." The others glanced my way as well, all anxious to know the answer. I nodded, but voiced my answer for those who were not looking.
"She's fine. I asked her to go up to the hospital wing. I thought they'd be needing help, and I was right." Everyone shot me a knowing look as if they knew that wasn't the only reason I had sent her up to the castle. Rightfully, they didn't voice their thoughts. They nodded, seeming to be relieved at this piece of news.
"Ron!" Potter called out to his friend's retreating back. "Where are you going?"
"I'll be right back." And Weasley disappeared in the crowd.
"That's one less person we have to be concerned about." One of the girls, Tabitha or something to that effect, commented. The others nodded in agreement. A stray hex flew past Sabetha's head, and the boy at her side (Zachary?) quickly disposed of the offender. She sent a grateful look his way. There are obviously some feelings there. I sincerely hope they live to work through it. The fighting seemed to worsen. The screaming and cursing grew louder, as did the calls of the wounded. Partially wounded students and adults alike moved the extremely wounded towards the castle. Those that weren't seriously injured were coming back out, creating a long stream of people coming and people going in.
I threw a hex at a passing Death Eater as we reached the clearing inside the trees. A shape was materializing in front of us. It was hard to make out who it was. Everybody's wand was drawn, and half the group was facing the stranger, while the others were facing the opposite way. I faced the stranger, with two of Hermione's friends facing my back. The rain started to drizzle, and everybody's hoods came up. I thought I heard a branch snap to my left, but it was hard to be sure over the noise of the rain hitting the trees and the noise coming from the battlefield. I felt something slam into me, and seconds later, I felt pain slice through my body. My lungs tightened, and air seemed scarce. I fell to the ground, releasing a harsh gasp. I heard shouting above me, and saw a flash of light. I looked over to the small band of friends hovering over the death eater that attacked me. The mysterious figure stood still some feet away watching silently as they dispatched his companion. The pain from the curse didn't dissipate, however, for another few seconds. I lay gasping on the ground like a fish out of water, like an idiot, I was sure. I lay there; breathing in handfuls of air, grateful it was easy to breathe once again.
I shakily stood on my feet. The figure started to advance then stopped. All was silent. Neither the figure nor any of the Order members made any move to shoot off a hex or two. A pale hand reached up and brushed back the hood leaving the mask still covering their face. The Death Eater's mask glowed eerily in the sparse moonlight. As the rain hit the mask, it made little noises, the sort you hear when rain drips on plastic. Still nobody moved. The Death Eater that had cursed me lay crumpled on the ground. Finally, Dumbledore had enough, and stepped forward.
"Hand over your wand and come quietly, and no harm shall come to you." Just like Dumbledore, trying to be peaceful. The figure slowly shook its head. It took two steps forward, and everybody tensed. Where there's one Death Eater, there could be more hanging in the air, the words unspoken but thought.
"Not until you listen to what I have to say." The muffled voice was unrecognizable behind the mask. The words were calm, but there was an underlying nervous tone. The voice seemed almost...frightened. As well, he should, having been confronted by numerous members of the Order.
"Fine. Speak now." Power emanated from Dumbledore's command. The person nodded. He took a deep breath, and let it out slowly.
"First, I must say that the Dark Lord is over there." He gestured with his head back the way we came. "Second, I ask to speak before you see my face, for once you do, there can be no doubt you will not listen to what I have to say." The figure straightened and threw his shoulders back, spreading his legs in a defense stance. "My entire life, I've never been anything special. I was just another person, part of a family. Everybody else I knew had some special quality, something that set him or her apart from others. My entire life, I've craved recognition for something that nobody else has. For being special."
Dumbledore nodded patiently. "That's all good and well. But at some point, I'm sure everybody present would love to know your identity." The figure hesitated. Dumbledore pressed on. "We all promise to hear you out before making any rash decisions."
"You'd better keep you wands ready then. I suspect more than a few of you will be a tad bit upset." Dumbledore nodded his assent. The figure hesitated once more, before moving his hand upward to remove the mask. If fell to the wet and muddy ground with a soft plop.
Nobody moved. Nobody spoke. People stopped breathing. I myself couldn't believe what I was seeing. Ronald Weasley stood before us in his Death Eater robes, red hair plastered to his head. Water dripped off his rather pointed nose. Molly Weasley fainted dead away, and nobody moved to catch her as she hit the ground with a thump. Arthur stood with his mouth hanging open, as did the rest of the Weasley brothers.
Slightly more nervous than before, he still stood his ground. "Let me explain before you condemn me. As I said before, I wanted to be special. I mentioned that fact to Percy, who recommended a man he worked with. I didn't know it then, but Percy and his co-worker had joined the Dark Lord a year before. Percy knew that the Dark Lord could make me feel special and needed in a way none of you ever could. He took me under his wing, and only Percy, Pettigrew, Percy's co-worker, and the Dark Lord himself knew about me." Dumbledore blinked his blue eyes at him, his arm still hanging at his side. Surprisingly, it was Potter who had his wand pointed as his best friend's throat at this point, as well as Neville Longbottom.
"To make sure I was safe, I had to force others to believe that some of the information leaking out was coming from someone else. If someone was blamed, everyone's concentration would be on that one person and no one would think to look for someone else. I gave Hermione the Imperium potion, made by the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord mentioned the person who created the potion would have a hold over the one who drank it or something like that. I wasn't exactly concentrating at that point. Anyway, through the connection the potion brought, the Dark Lord was able to protect Hermione from Legilimency, thus creating more suspicion." He seemed pleased he was able to use fancy words like thus and concentrating. Arrogant dunderhead. He's just thrown his life away.
"I wasn't forced to take the Dark Mark, because everybody would've seen it and everything would've been ruined. I took it anyway. I wanted proof that I was accepted. I only leaked small bits, nothing huge. Even if I did work partly for the Dark Lord, I wanted the light to win. I figured I'd become powerful through the Dark Lord's teachings, and be famous for helping bring about the Dark Lord's downfall. All night I've been throwing hexes at Death Eaters when their backs were turned.
"Anyway, everything worked out great. Hermione was blamed for everything, and she was forced to leave. She was the only one intelligent enough to figure everything out. Dumbledore and Snape, "Here he nodded in acknowledgment, "Were too busy to figure anything out. No matter what Hermione said, nobody would believe her."
"So you figured you'd become powerful, and then turn on the Dark Lord and become a hero?" I snorted in disbelief. I knew he was stupid, but I had no idea he was this stupid. "Nobody turns their backs on the Dark Lord and lives. I'm powerful enough to prevent attacks from free Death Eaters, but you boy...You'll be dead meat." He had paled a bit. He obviously hadn't thought through his simple scheme very far. The Dark Lord was probably aware of his plan, since the boy had no Occlumency training of which I was aware. Therefore, once he completed whatever task the Dark Lord wanted him for, he'd just kill him and forget about him.
Ron swallowed hard, his Adams apple bobbing. His freckles stood out against his pale face. "I figured I'd tell you after the battle. I knew by then you'd probably know, and I'd have to explain. If you didn't know, well eventually I'd have to explain." He glanced down at his arm, where no doubt the dark mark was. "It's not like you could cover this up all day every day, but I managed."
"So you thought you'd blame Hermione and be free to do what you will?" Cold fury fused my voice. How dare the little fucker! "You don't care that you hurt her chances of advancing in the wizarding world. The entire wizarding world thinks there's something wrong with her because bloody Potter and Saint Weasley didn't want to be friends with her!" Dumbledore set a hand on my shaking shoulder. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The shaking from the curse I had been hit with had lessened to a degree, but it was still obviously there. Albus stepped closer to the idiot Weasley, who stood defiantly before Albus.
"Ronald, while what you have done is despicable and inexcusable, I do not feel that you should be sent to Azkaban for it. You thought you were doing something helpful. We will discuss this afterwards. But for right now, we need to concentrate on winning this war, and defeating Tom for good." Albus stared into the dunderhead's eyes for several seconds. The boy stared unblinkingly back. Finally, Albus nodded, and turned his back on Weasley. I glowered at him, and he managed to hold my gaze before dropping them to the ground.
"Ronald is sincere in his wish for the light to succeed. He will aid us in this. Come, we must find Tom." Albus headed back the way we came. I turned to follow when Potter cleared his throat. He was carefully avoiding looking at the idiot, instead concentrating on Albus' back. Albus turned, surprised that his favorite pupil wasn't following.
"Er...Professor. We can't just leave Mrs. Weasley here." Potter pointed to the prone body of Mrs. Weasley. In the excitement, everybody had forgotten her. Albus looked confused, surprised, and then amused. His eyes momentarily regained that damn twinkle.
"Of course not, how silly of me to forget. Forgive me; my memory isn't what it once was." I snorted. If he has a faulty memory, then I'm handsome. The others had laughed, or at least tried to contain their laughs. Even Potter looked amused briefly, before sobering up. As much as I hate the arrogant shit, he has been through quite a bit in his lifetime. I couldn't help but feel horrified. Ugh, I'm feeling sympathy for Potter. I really do have to stop listening to Minerva and Albus.
A brief spell later, Mrs. Weasley was up and babbling nonsense, all the while stoutly refusing to as much as glance in her youngest son's direction. Weasley was walking with his back straight, head held up proudly. Even Potter, foolishly loyal as he was, was refusing to speak or glance at the young Weasley. Though he tried to hide it, I could tell it bothered him. The few that did look at him looked at him with horror, disgust, and disappointment. Dumbledore strode next to him, following the unknown spy to wherever it was the Dark Lord was currently fighting. He looked composed and unnaturally calm. Exhaustion had made the fighting less intense by now. People were now walking quickly rather than running, and hexes weren't being shouted as much or as quickly. People everywhere were streaked with dirt. Those who had been healed by the mediwitches inside the castle were the ones that were mostly fighting. Everyone else was lying around, wounded but too tired to get up and be healed. Dumbledore moved past these bodies without so much as an encouraging glance. He was focused on some place ahead of us.
We finally reached our destination. I nearly bumped into Lupin, who stood in front of me. I peered over the top of his head, and was shocked to find Max Handerson and Blaise Zambini, proudly standing next to the Dark, er, Voldemort. It's just a ridiculous name. The rain had plastered their hair to their heads, and they looked like proud, drowned peacocks. Voldemort, of course, had no hair, and his red eyes glowed eerily in the moonlight. I couldn't help but shiver. I blocked my mind from outside penetration just in time. Voldemort met my eyes, and I could feel him trying to force his way in. He then turned to look directly at Weasley, who stood his ground. Voldemort stared at him briefly before pointedly turning away, insinuating he wasn't important enough for notice.
"Ssso, we finally meet the traitorsss." He cocked his head to the side, making him seem oddly less snake-like. He smiled. It wasn't a pleasant smile. "I sssee you have met my mosst loyal followersss. They have helped me immensssely. I could not have done all this without their help." He swept his arm out motioning to the chaos that was the Aries school grounds. In the background, the fighting continued. The rain continued to pour down, and occasionally lightening flashed. Voldemort's eyes again met my own, but this time there was no pressure, as if someone was pressing on my brain. His eyes flicked to Lucius, then down to Draco. Draco stiffened imperceptibly, but Voldemort noticed. He smirked.
"I will make sssure you life ends very ssslowly. You will feel every bit of pain I can ensssure. Then I ssshall leave you to die together." I stepped forward, to the front of the group. Lucius and his son followed, and surprisingly, so did Hermione's friends. They surrounded me in a semi-circle.
"I declare my allegiance to Albus Dumbledore, Leader of the Order of Phoenix, Headmaster of Hogwarts, and Leader of the side of Light." The two Malfoys repeated the saying, saying it calmly, without squirming or blinking. Voldemort inclined his head in acknowledgement.
"Ssso it beginsss. Prepare yoursselvess for defeat." He drew his wand and bowed at his waist. Dumbledore did the same, and in the next instant curses flew everywhere. People fell as they were hit, and some fell simply because they tripped over the people wounded or dying. I went left, while the Malfoys went right. I blocked a slicing hex aimed at Harry Potter, who was much to busy to even thank me. Not that he would, anyway. Ducking, I narrowly missed getting set on fire. With a flick of my wand, my hair was tied back, with some of my hair immediately falling out of the band.
"Avada Kedavra!" I hissed at a passing Death Eater, who was transfiguring rocks and sticks into silver astonishingly fast and shooting them at Lupin. He shot me a grateful look before darting off to save Weasley. My reflexes once again saved another flick of my wand, and Potter. This time he managed to shoot me a surprised, yet grateful look my way before continuing his battle. Potter made his way to Voldemort. With Albus and Potter both shooting hexes off, Voldemort had his hands full. Malfoy Sr. protected Potter, while Malfoy jr. protected Albus. They're doing a fair job. They blocked serious and complex dark spells several times, some of which if they had hit their target, Potter and Albus would not have been standing.
The other members of the Order were facing off with the Death Eaters, each one choosing one person to focus on. It wasn't long until Francis Parkinson, along with his daughter Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle, both seniors and their sons, were unmasked. Surprisingly, Millicent Bulstrode wasn't included in that group. With a sneer, they made a vague comment about 'taking care of her.' If she has denied Voldemort, than I sincerely hope she's all right. I cast aside my worry for one of my Slytherins, instead using my waning strength to concentrate on the group of unmasked Death Eaters. A few were still fighting, but it appeared that the Light was going to win. Voldemort's reflexes were slowing, but so was Albus's and Potter's. Fire hexes gone astray caught various bushes and trees on fire. The small corner was suddenly lit up.
Finally, someone, no doubt one of those foolish Gryffindors, cast a hex that passed close enough to Voldemort to distract him briefly. Potter cast a difficult restraining spell, one that was more advanced than I thought he could handle. Voldemort obviously underestimated him as well. He stood tall and proud, silently watching and keeping his composure. Potter never took his eye off Voldemort, but Albus turned his back on him. Voldemort's eyes burned even deeper red, and a low growl escaped the crazed man. Idiots. You should kill him now. He could have something up his sleeve! However, Potter would never listen to what I had to say unless Albus backed me up, and no doubt, Albus thought he was defeated.
Albus surveyed the group, finally settling on Handerson. I always thought there was something wrong that that boy. One of those annoying voices that had mostly disappeared spoke up, dispensing its unwanted and unneeded statements. Or was the bad feeling just the fact that you were jealous? You really have no idea how far his and Hermione's relationship advanced. He could have been her lover...and she might have liked him better than you. He is younger; of course...I disposed of that thought, however. Hermione seemed to enjoy me. I couldn't help but smirk. And with age comes experience.
"Mr. Handerson. I never expected to see you here." Handerson smirked; proud he tricked the Great Albus Dumbledore. He met Albus' eyes without fear. I couldn't prevent my lips from curling in disgust.
"I'm sure you didn't. I'm sure you weren't aware of a great deal of things concerning myself." His soft voice was somehow well heard. People were muttering about arrogance, and I could see the Gryffindors bristling. I forced myself not to roll my eyes. Albus calmly regarded the boy. He nodded. He turned towards Zambini, who was sneering at him.
"Mr. Zambini. I have always had rather high hopes for you. You were intelligent, and you were never very close to Draco. But alas, perhaps if you had been, you wouldn't be standing there." Zambini raised his chin in proud defiance. Arrogant, the lot of them.
"I've enjoyed every second I've had under my lord's tutelage. The things he knows...it's amazing." He grinned, his white teeth flashing in the light. "I really enjoyed the part where you inflict pain on others. It's a very...powerful thing. I'd have to say my favorite victim would have to be Granger. The way she looked, lying in a heap at the bottom of the stairs I pushed her down. All bloody and whimpering, like a sissy. She isn't worthy to be an equivalent of Slytherin. She's weak. But oh, how good it was to see her brought down to the level where she should be. On the floor, at my feet." I was seeing red. I wanted nothing more than to wrap my hands around his scrawny throat and choke the life out of him. I wanted to skin him alive, and then pour salt into his wounds; I wanted to hear him scream. I wanted to hear him beg for mercy. I moved to take a step forward when restraining hands fell on my shoulders. I pulled helplessly against them. I turned to hex whoever was holding me back to find Hermione's friends and the Malfoys staring at me silently. Don't do it. It's not worth it. He will pay.
"Friend, a life in Azkaban is much worse than a slow painful death. In Azkaban, he will suffer for years. Let the Aurors take him." I relented in the face of logic. I wanted him to suffer. I clenched my fists at my sides. I met his eyes and forced my way into his brain before he could block me. I showed him the images of what I wanted to do to him, and I was pleased to see him pale and swallow hard. He glanced at Albus again and seemed to decide he'd rather face him. He turned away. I couldn't help but smirk.
"Severus, watch out!" The scream caught me off guard, and before I could move, I was hit with a curse and flung back. I landed on my back, my breath whooshing out of me. Pain filled my every pour, and I would gladly have suffered through thousands of bouts of Cruciatus than feel whatever that was again. I crumpled to the ground, breath coming out in wheezes. It hurt to move, to breathe, to even think. Everything hurt, as if something was trying to tear me apart, bit by bit. I lay on the ground, wheezing heavily, willing the pain to fade. I moved my eyes to look at who hit me, and found Messers. At some point in time while I was under the curse, Hermione's friends managed to restrain Handarson and Zambini. They were now lying on their stomachs, arms covering their heads. Hermione's friends were kicking them. I blinked, the only thing I could do, and even that caused pain unlike anything I ever felt before. Just blinking sent waves of pain through my body. I was shaking and I knew it, hating myself for showing weakness, but unable to do anything else.
Albus' worried face filled my vision, as did the worried faces of some of the others. Lupin and several others were holding Hermione's friends back, who were still trying to get at the two boys lying on the ground. They finally stopped struggling as Lupin threatened to put a full body bind on them. They drifted this way, still casting hateful glances at the boys.
"Severus, can you hear me? Do you know who I am?" I nodded, but couldn't help thinking, as the kids of this generation are so fond of saying, duh. I'm in pain, not crazy. Moving my head hurt, and I winced. I'll be feeling this for a while.
"Are you in pain?" I nodded. He turned to the others.
"We need to get him to the hospital. Be careful when you move him, we don't want to cause more pain for him." Hermione's friends offered to take me, for which I was thankful. If they were Hermione's friends, they could be discreet. Albus stood staring at Voldemort, indecision written upon his face.
"We need to...get rid of him. If we let him live, there's a chance he'll escape and gather followers again. Harry, if you would please assist me." Potter nodded; his face pale. He moved to stand next to Albus, starkly showing the differences between the two. One was old, the other young, one tall, and the other medium height. It was never more obvious that Potter was practically a child. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. I opened my eyes quickly, not willing to miss Voldemort's ultimate demise. His red eyes shone brightly. Potter and Albus raised their wands. Albus's wand was steady, but Potter's was shaking the tiniest bit. When the time came, however, he spoke the two words that would change the fate of the Wizarding World.
"Avada Kedavra." Two flashes of green light met at the same place on Voldemort's body, where his heart should be. Voldemort threw his head back at the same moment they hit and shouted something to the night sky. A black light started to shine in the center of his chest, growing bigger and bigger. The ground shook, and people stumbled around and some fell to the ground. The light grew until it covered Voldemort completely. I heard a scream, and looked slowly and carefully around to find the source of the noise. Nobody was screaming, although they looked as though they wanted to, but nothing was issuing from their gaping mouths. That horrible noise is coming from that black light. It was the size of two men now. It wasn't growing larger now, but spreading out. I couldn't see beyond the black light. Finally, the scream stopped, replaced by a large ripping noise. The light quickly spread out, heading towards everybody standing around.
The last thing I saw was people being thrown off their feet, followed by the black light. Then the light covered me, and all I saw was the dark.
A groan alerted me that I wasn't quite dead yet. I opened my eyes slowly. People were staggering to their feet, and others didn't get to their feet at all. Molly Weasley had gathered one of her children's bodies in her arms, sobbing into their hair and rocking back and forth. The Weasleys were all gathered around, faces drawn. I didn't see Albus. I managed a groan to alert the people I wasn't dead. Lupin hurried over, the side of his face covered in blood.
"Severus, hold on. We're going to get you up to the hospital soon. We just have some things to...take care of." He glanced over his shoulder at the group of people gathered around the Weasleys. Arthur Weasley was kneeling next to his wife, holding another one of his children's bodies. I felt a brief pang of remorse for the Weasleys. They were always good to me. They don't deserve what happened to them. I turned my head so I stared up at the night sky. A blasted stick is poking into my back. They had better move me soon, or someone shall pay! I moved to sit up, but the pain forced me to lie back down. Or not pay. At least, not right now.
The pain suddenly worsened, and I knew if I didn't get treatment now, it'd be too late.
"Lupin, I need to go. I need to go right now." I whispered. Lupin came over and picked me up as though I were nothing. His arm was under my knees, his other around my back. I feel like I'm in a trashy romance novel. I glared at Lupin as if it were his fault, thought that seemed to amuse him instead.
"Don't worry Severus; I have no romantic interest in you. Even if I did, I'd have to fight Hermione, and she looks feisty. I'd hate to go head to head against her. So you're safe from me." I growled, making him laugh. He carried me easily across the grounds and up several flights of stairs until we reached the doors that opened into the hospital. He stepped into find the assistant Nurses and Madam Polinski sitting tiredly in a chair next to the fire. They stood up when the doors banged open. The assistants giggled, seeing me in Lupin's arms. Madam Polinski simply pointed to an empty bed. Lupin gently set me down and moved back. I glanced over to find Septimus staring at me, his dark eyes exactly like mine.
"When did you wake up?" I managed to whisper.
"When I heard Hermione screaming." I sat up, my concern blocking the pain.
"What happened? Is she alright?" Madam Polinski put her hand on my chest and pushed me back down. I grunted as I hit the bed, the pain rapidly coming back. I watched Madam Polinski move around, getting things ready. She left, muttering about pain and potions. I turned to Septimus, raising an inquiring eyebrow.
"She was screaming about helping Severus and then passed out. She's fine now." He stared silently at me. Here it comes. "Why did she call you Severus?" I looked away, staring out the windows and onto the ground. People were milling about, setting the dead bodies in a row. The people only hurt were being taken up to the castle slowly. Others were putting out the fires caused by stray spells. I sighed.
"We became close after you were...indisposed." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Septimus nod.
"You're the type she'd like. Did you treat her right?" My lips twitched. I'm talking civilly to my cousin. Funny how life turns out at times.
"She never complained to me or her friends, as far as I'm aware." Septimus nodded again and settled back against his pillows.
"Hermione's at the back of the room, resting. We haven't had time to wake her up yet." I nodded, wishing I could see her, wishing I could fall asleep with her in my arms. An unfamiliar ache, one that had nothing to do with the curse I had been hit with, grew in my chest. I sighed again, closing my eyes and relaxing as much as I was able. It's over. I'm free.
"She's missed you. Her and her friends would spend hours here, talking to you, pleading with you to wake up." I heard Septimus bed creak as he shifted. He said nothing. Madam Polinski pushed aside the curtain she'd drawn to hide me from view. She moved to the side of my bed. Minerva and Lupin entered, giving greetings to Septimus and inquiring about his health.
"Professor Snape, I don't know what curse you were hit with, but the damage its done...if we do not stop the curse soon, the damage will be irreparable. I have no guarantees it'll fix you, but it's the best shot we have." She forced a potion into my shaking hand, which I considered for a second before drinking. It's horrible taste caused me to grimace, but I refused to gag. I settled back against my pillows. Soon the potion took away my pain, and I felt my body relax completely.
"Thank you, Madam Polinski." She nodded and handed me another vial.
"This potion is to make you sleep until you're completely healed. I'll have to heal damaged muscles and nerves, and it'll be excruciatingly painful. This will make you sleep right through it, and you should wake as soon as you're healed." I reluctantly took it, not wanting to sleep for that long. I need to know the outcome of the war. Who lives, who has died...Madam Polinski looked sternly at me over her glasses, which reminded me of Minerva when she was displeased by something. I sighed and gulped down the equally vile drink. Polinski took the glass from me and set the bottle on the desk next to my bed. She moved quietly away and drew the curtains closed.
My eyes started to drift close. A muffling charm on the curtains kept the voices on the other side hushed. The soft whispering and the light the fire cast on my curtains lulled me into a deep sleep.
I hope Hermione's all right.
This is the hardest chapter I've ever had to write. I keep feeling like I could've done better, and I have this feeing I've forgotten things. Please review! We're very close to the end of the story now. Sorry it took so long to get out, but my beta didn't answer my e-mails, so I had no one to correct it until just now. Oh, and congrats to those that guessed it was Ron. I almost gave it away, but I thought it'd be a little trickier if I added that it could be female.
Big thanks to Awnya Inahartbeat for beta-ing.