Chapter 23: The Sampo

No. She couldn't be dead. He wouldn't let her be dead. His mind searched for some answer as he gathered up her frail body to himself. It was still warm, her feet still wet from the dew. There was a pain in his side. He wasn't sure why. Was this what it felt like to watch someone you cared for die?

"How is she?" Bridget asked. His mind whirred, clicking to the answer. The selkie girl. She could bring the Dark Lord back, Crouch had said. She could bring her back. He just needed to tell Ceelee. But no, she was still unconscious.

"She's... she's unconscious."He lied, his mind whirring fast. He needed a Slytherin. And the disc. Tip was here, so that was Hufflepuff. Bridget was Ravenclaw. There was any number of Gryffindors to choose from, though for once he wished his sister had tagged along - the fewer people who knew, the better. Maybe he could find Andy. But it was late. Andy would already be in the dungeons. He wouldn't be able to contact him. Did anyone here even know a Slytherin who could help them?

"We should get her to Madam Pomfrey," Prof. Jones said, tying off her bandage with her teeth. "I can take her."

"No!" he turned her away. "I'll do it. You need to help the others. Bridget, could you come with me?" She nodded. "Thanks." He picked up Holly, her head lolled back, long braids swaying down. One had become untied and was fraying into crimped lock of straw blond hair. He looked up at all the others, injured, cursed - all people he knew, not like the battle of Hogwarts where they had been largely strangers - Wycliffe seemed to be missing the bones in his right leg, Phichit was nursing a nasty burn. Phichit. Phichit was dating a Slytherin. "Phichit, Tip, you too." The nodded and followed him down the stairs and out into the corridor.

He turned on them at once, "Phichit, can you contact Flint?"

"Flint? Darius Flint?" Tip asked. "Why would he be able to contact Darius Flint?"

"It's not important why. Can you?"

Phichit nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"I need you to tell him to meet us in the empty room where we waited to be sorted."

"What?"

"Just tell him it's important. And I need you there too. Tell him to meet you there in ten minutes."

"Okay." He hurried off.

"Tip, I need you to get Shoshanna. Tell her we need the disc. She'll understand."

"Well I hope she does cause I sure don't."

"Tell her the same thing, to meet us in ten minutes."

"What about me? I don't want to miss out on an adventure."

"This isn't an adventure. Now hurry."

"Fine. But I'm coming too."

"Whatever, as long as you don't tell anybody."

A hand flew to Bridget's mouth. "Oh no," she breathed. She looked at Holly's pale form and lay a hand on her forehead. "Oh no, Matt. We can't."

"Why not?"

"You know the story of the second brother."

"It's only been a few minutes. And it'll be complete."

"Matt, they sealed it for a reason. It's dangerous."

"Do you really want to let her... When you could save her?"

Bridget stroked Holly's blond hair. Tears flowed from her eyes splashing onto the milky white pate of her brow. "Okay. But only this once."

"What's going on?" Tip asked.

"Get Shoshanna!" Matt ordered.

"Fine, fine." He jogged off toward the kitchens.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Flint asked as he entered the room to find the others already gathered. He stared accusingly at Phichit.

"I'm sorry, we needed a Slytherin," Matt said.

"Now will you tell us what we're doing here? And why is Holly still with you? Weren't you taking her to Madam Pomfrey?" Phichit demanded.

"Alright, but you all have to promise you won't tell anyone what you're about to see."

"Fine. Now tell us already," Phitchit said.

"Flint, do you swear?" Matt was not going to let even one possibly tell the secret.

"Yeah," Flint looked irritated, but seemed to brighten when Phichit link his fingers with his at that word.

"Under penalty of an unremovable curse?"

"Yeah, sure." He tightened his grip on Phichit's hand and they smiled at each other. "You're keeping our secret, right?"

Matt nodded. His side burned more than ever as he took a deep breath. "Alright. Holly's here because... because... because she's not hurt. He killed her. Lestrange or Crouch or whoever you want to say... he killed her. She's dead. And we're going to bring her back."

"But how is that even possible?" Phichit said.

Bridget swallowed hard. "There's a way. Follow us."

"What is this place?" Flint said as he stepped out onto the floor of the Regent's Ballroom.

"When did you have the time to find this place?" Phichit asked.

"When Flint beat the tar out of you," Shoshanna said.

"Oh... yeah."

"Seems things have improved since then."

"Yeah..." Phichit's cheeks reddened.

"Wooooo!" Tip slid across the floor. "This place is awesome! What's behind those doors?" He ran up to them and started opening each. "Aces!" There's a dueling room!"

"Come on, Tip. Don't forget why we're here," Matt said.

Tip ran up to him grinning like a child at an amusement park. "We have to bring Cass next time, and Donnie, and McLaggen, and... and..."

"This isn't a game! Holly's dead." Matt almost shouted.

"Yeah, but we're going to bring her back to life."

"We don't even know yet if we can."

"Of course we can. You said we can. So she'll be fine." The simple trust Tip Walker could have. The well of unbridled optimism that never ran dry. It would have been obnoxious if it weren't so contagious. Maybe it would be fine. Of course it would. How could it not be if Tip was running around like a four year old hopped up on two sticks of cotton candy dipped in espresso?

They came to the final door. Shoshanna put her wand in the hole by the badger, Bridget in the hole by the Eagle. "Phichit, put your wand in the hole by the Lion," Matt said. "Here, Tip, hold Holly." Holly was almost three inches taller than Tip and he had to embrace her to hold her up. Flint didn't need direction, he placed his wand in the hole by the snake and the green light joined the rest. Now it was Matt's turn. He placed his hand onto the handprint and the door opened. He took Holly back and walked straight to the sampo.

Bridget placed her hand on the sampo and the lid removed itself, floating to the ground. Matt lay Holly on top of the silvery liquid. She sunk in as the liquid turned blue.

"Now what do we do?" Bridget asked.

"It says you have to recite this incantation."

Bridget placed her hands over the bluish glow and recited the strange words as Holly disappeared into the liquid. Suddenly golden light burst forth from the stone basin and Holly's body seemed to rise up into the air. She floated before them as beams of light flew around her. A light, like a shooting star, entered her mouth and her chest rose and fell. She was breathing! She floated back down to the sampo where she floated on the silvery liquid. Her eyelids fluttered open. Her pale blue eyes found their target. "Matty?" she said with a slight snaggletoothed smile.

"Hey, Holly. It's good to see you." And with that, Matt collapsed.

Matt's head felt heavy. He was awake, he knew that much, but he couldn't will himself to open his eyes. What a nightmare. His side still burned for some reason, though he wasn't sure why. He heard voices from nearby.

"Is he awake yet?" It sounded like Liam. What was Liam doing in the Hufflepuff dormatory?

"No." That was Ceelee. Liam was talking to Ceelee of his own volition?

"How are you doing?"

"Madam Pomfrey says it'll be a few days until the burns heal."

Madam Pomfrey? He opened his eyes just enough to see through the lashes. He was in the hospital wing! So it hadn't been a nightmare. Ceelee was in the bed diagonal to his. She was holding up her hands which were covered in bandages to the elbows.

"Did she say what happened?"

"Prof. Jones, thinks the stone reacted to my blood. She wanted to know if I was related to the Flamels. I said I didn't know. But then, they've been around so long anything's possible. Thanks for what you did back there. How are your burns?"

"Good as new. Hey, nothing to thank me for. No one gets to curse you, except for me. You're mine, Carrow."

"Sod off, McLaggen," Ceelee said with the warmest smile he'd ever seen on her face.

And then the most shocking thing he'd ever seen occurred, more shocking even then Barty Crouch coming back to life. Liam McLaggen leaned over and kissed Ceelee Carrow.

"Merlin's beard! You're dating!" Matt cried.

"When did you wake up!" Liam said in shock.

"I say we obliviate him," Ceelee suggested.

"Agreed."

"Hey hey hey! I mean I umm think it's great you've settled your differences." Matt said.

Liam walked over to him and sat on the corner of his bed. "Yeah, but we're not exactly out about it yet, so you know, don't tell anyone."

"Or I'll hex your mouth right off your face," Ceelee added.

"Can she do that?" Matt asked.

"Probably. I know she has a charm that turns your lips into a zipper. Not a fun day." He shot Ceelee a cross glare.

She grinned. "Not for you. I recall it being quite fun."

"How's Holly?"

"She's fine. Better than fine. You'd never believe she was the same person."

"I'm not sure she is, now that Barty Crouch is out of her mind. And why am I here?"

"Ah, check your left side, mate." Matt looked to see a large bandage covering his left side. "Rossier hit you with that sectum sempura curse. You were pretty lucky it only grazed you, I mean, you'll have to buy a new cloak and it's an ugly scar but you'll live. I guess you were so caught up you didn't even realize you'd been hit. You fainted from the loss of blood. Gave everyone quite a scare."

They heard voices from door. It sounded like a number of people. "Is Celestina Carrow able to take visitors?" a female voice he didn't recognize asked.

"Yes, she's with a friend right now. You're welcome to go down. Just be quiet, Mr. Boot is not yet awake."

A group of three people with bright red hair came through the door. Matt recognized Cass Weasley and Charlie Weasley, but the third, a beautiful, athletic young woman with a glint of challenge in her eye and Holyhead Harpies robes he knew only from her trading card.

"Ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh! It's Ginny Weasley!" Matt had never seen Ceelee so beside herself.

"You're Celestina Carrow?" Ginny asked. Ceelee nodded her head. "My brother tells me you're a big fan. So I brought you something." She pulled out a large poster of herself flying. "Oh wait, just a moment." She took out a quill and signed the bottom, then handed it over to Ceelee. "There you go. I'm proud to have fans like you. Keep fighting. Remember, it doesn't matter where you come from, it matters what you do." Charlie nodded in agreement.

"How... How did you know I was here?"

"Cass told me," Charlie said.

"And Charlie told me everything."

"Everything?" Ceelee's face turned bright red. She tried to hide it in her hands.

"Well, except for the parts Harry told me. He's so hot headed some times." She rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, I made him come around before I left."

"Really?"

"No, but I threatened him with a bat bogey hex if he didn't stop being such a git about it." They all laughed. "anyway, Charlie tells me you've got a heckuva Dragon Dive. I'd like to see it sometime"

"Sure!" She turned to Charlie, "Wait, you saw that?"

"Wouldn't've missed it for the world."

Ginny cleared her throat. "Anyway, we've had a talk with our family- "

"Well, really it was George's idea more than ours-"

"And Ron hated it-"

"But, if you ever need a place to stay, there's plenty of rooms in The Burrow."

"Really?" Ceelee was almost beside herself.

"Well, it's not going to get any safer for you," Charlie said. "I'd take you myself, but the nesting period is going to require a lot of my time."

"And we can't have Crouch or Lestrange getting their hands on you. Or your uncle," Ginny added.

"Of course!"

"Then we'll send mum an owl to tell her to pick you up at King's Cross," Charlie said.

"But what about my mum and sister? They'll be expecting me."

"So will Crouch. You know too much, they won't let you go without a fight. We'll alert the ministry there might be trouble. With any luck, the presence of a few Aurors should scare them away. But we'll be there too."

"And I'll be there to check on you. We can play a few matches," Ginny said. "You can show me what you've got. But keep in mind, I won't go easy on you."

"Good," Ceelee said.

They talked for some time, though Matt caught very little of it as exhaustion took him and he fell asleep to the lull of voices.

It was finally the evening of the End of Term banquet. All the students were discussing their upcoming plans for the summer. Tip was regaling everyone with his plans to join his mother on the set of some mob movie. He was demonstrating how she would crash a getaway car, showing the fake car rolling over and over before careening off the table. Matt sat with Donnie and Shoshanna talking about how they intended to visit each other over the break. He had heard Holly would be staying with Bridget with her adoptive family in Hogsmeade. He had sent Tycho, his owl, with a letter suggesting to his parents that perhaps they might take a highland vacation this summer. The MacMillains had invited them all to their annual family games which promised to be a massive affair of freckles and blond hair and black and gold. It would be a good excuse to stop by Hogsmeade and see the girls.

Prof. McGonagal stood and cleared her throat. "Good evening students. I know you are no doubt anxious for the summer break to begin. I would recommend you enjoy it to its fullest, but do be careful. We all hope for the quick capture of Bartemius Crouch jr., but do not act with such regard as though he and his followers have already been captured." Followers. Matt noticed the use of the word. The idea that he was to be the next You Know Who was whispered throughout the rooms and corridors of Hogwarts. "I regret to announce that Prof. Jones will not be returning next year." Groans of protest met this announcement.

Prof. Jones stood. "Thank you. It has been quite the experience teaching you. I wish I could stay. But with Barty Crouch back, my place is with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Don't forget: Constant vigilance! And don't be afraid to write if you see anything strange." She wrote the address of the department in the air in glowing letters. Matt watched as a number of students, including Deb and Shoshanna copied it down. "Remember: It is better to look into something and find it is nothing, than to dismiss it as a waste of time and to find lives might have been saved had you merely said something."

McGonagal retook the podium. "Now then, let us get down to business. The points have been tallied and this year the House Cup goes to Ravenclaw." A great cheer rose from the Ravenclaw table. Matt had to admit he was disappointed. But then, were only Tip's misdeeds tallied alone they would probably be well into the negatives. "

"I tried so hard to keep him out of trouble," Donnie muttered, his head in his hands, clearly thinking the same thing as Matt. "So hard."

Matt lay a hand on his best mate's shoulder. "Short of tying him up for the entire year there was nothing you could have done."

Donnie's head rose with a hopeful expression. "Now there's an idea."

"I don't think Cass would be ok with that," Shoshanna said.

Donnie glanced over at Cass who was showing off her biceps for the first year girls. "No. Probably not."

As a final matter, it has come to my attention that two of our students were not sorted at the beginning of the year as they ought to have been. It is my intention to rectify that oversight now." She produced the Sorting Hat from behind the podium. There was a general titter of excitement. "Mr. Matthew Boot and Miss Holly Mills, would you please come forward." The hall exploded with cheers, the din rang in Matt's ears, he couldn't register his name had been called.

"Go on, Matt. Get up," Donnie said, pushing his friend.

"What?"

"She said your name. Go up there."

He got up and tentatively walked forward joined at the front by Holly. She looked as nervous as he was. He had not had a chance to actually see her since they had brought her back. Liam was right, she was almost unrecognizable from the Holly he had come to know. Her eyes no longer held that hollow look, and she no longer seemed to shrink as she walked. Her straw colored hair, which had almost always been worn in twin plaits, hung lose in crimping waves. She glanced at him and he could not believe how bright and alive her blue eyes were. There was a strength behind them he had never before seen. She was no longer haunted by the ghost that lived inside her brain. She wasn't the same girl he had known. Then she smiled - that same snaggletoothed smile that had greeted him on the riverbank. He smiled back. "It's good to see you, Holly," he said.

"Mr. Boot, I believe you should go first," McGonagal said.

Matt approached the stool, as he sat he turned and looked out at the four houses. Liam shoved Wycliffe over to make room beside himself. Taro was nodding in approval, patting an empty space between he and Bridget. Ceelee allowed a half smile as the other Slytherins applauded with the rest. And then he looked over to Hufflepuff, where Donnie and Shoshanna sat next to his vacated place on the bench. Beside them Deb and Midge and Tip and all of his friends, all waiting with baited breath. His space. He stood up before the Sorting Hat could be placed on his head. "You know what? Thanks. But I'm already where I belong."

The Hufflepuff table exploded in cheers. Tip leapt on him, followed closely by a tearful Donnie and the entire quidditch team, leaving him squashed on the floor beneath them.

"Alright, that's enough. Back to your seats then," McGonagal said. "We still have one more student to sort. Miss Mills."

Holly gulped and took a seat on the stool, crossing her ankles. Prof. McGonagal lowered the hat onto her head. "Gryffindor!" the hat announced. The Gryffindor table cheered as Holly took her place among her true house.

The year had come to an end and Matt was looking forward to seeing his parents again. It was just as he was thinking this that he was drenched by a full glass of pumpkin juice. He turned to see Izzy and Hector laughing their heads off. Now he really couldn't wait to get home, where Izzy wouldn't be allowed to use magic at all and he could finally even the odds.

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