A/N: Written for the Star Challenge: Alpha Centauri and the 335 Pairing Bonanza (Lavender Brown/Ernie MacMillan)
Disclaimer: I still don't own Harry Potter.
He finds her in the Great Hall, or what's left of it, anyways, and she is gray and pale and it scares him. His hands are trembling and he feels his heart swoop down to his stomach.
Her face is smeared with blood and he thinks he might be sick. This was Lavender; what wrong had she ever done? Quiet murmurs of victory pass between the living, tired and shaken and skin stained with dirt, but the dead make no noise. But Lavender is so very alive, and Ernie thanks Merlin for the small blessing of her shallow breaths, coming in short, shuddering gasps, the single sign of life bringing him to his knees. Professor McGonagall is kneeling over her, muttering counter-spells and whispering words of encouragement to the young woman who lies so very still on the stone floor.
Ernie reaches for her and her fingers are limp and cold between the warmth of his, and he prays to whoever is listening that she will just wake up. Because when she opens her eyes, everything will be okay, right?
But when he opens his eyes to look at her, her eyes are still closed. And so he waits, her hand firmly held in his.
A/N: Reviews are food for the author's soul, yes?