Nope I don't own Harry Potter, just the story and charactors that you don't recognize.

Chapter Fifty-eight

Vulnerable

"Dear Merlin! What's happened?"

Taylor could hear feet rushing toward them and she pushed up on her elbows to look around. Blurry figures were approaching and then her eyes fell on her brother lying on the floor beside her.

"Harry!" Taylor gasped, even as blurry as her vision was, she could see the blood on his face and the blood that was soaking his shirt that was sliced to ribbons.

The voices above her, one she vaguely recognized, started rattling off orders. Her trembling arms gave out and she was lying on her stomach unable to see what was happening above her. Looking at her brother she could see a wand pointing at him and a voice muttering reviving charms. The reviving charms were being repeated by at least one other voice.

"Taylor!"

That deep voice she recognized, as the sound of running feet pounded towards her and then skidded to a stop, the Head Boy's voice asked what had happened.

"I don't know Mr. Hunter. Sir Nicholas I need you to go tell Madame Pomfrey that we are bringing her five injured students, two critically! Auror Tonks you take Mr. Weasley and Granger. I'll take the other two. Hunter you can bring Porter!" The voice was brisk and professional.

Taylor felt gentle hands on her turning her over. She heard a soft gasp as the Head Boy's face, slightly blurry, was looking down at her. Then his arms scooped her up and held her securely against his chest.

Taylor wasn't sure what it was, the knowledge that they were getting the help they needed or whether it was just the adrenaline wearing off, but her hands started to hurt as her body started to shake uncontrollably.

"Hey are you okay?" Greg's deep voice asked concerned, as he peered down at her anxiously.

"She's going into shock. She'll be okay once we get her to the nurse." The brisk professional voice answered.

Greg looked at the witch in his arms closely as he walked beside the four floating stretchers carrying the four other Gryffindors, all cut and bleeding. He could see that her hazel eyes, normally seen from behind a pair of glasses, were wide and the pupils large. Her face was covered in varying sizes of cuts and gashes, one particularly nasty one by her temple, all were bleeding. It was her hands though that had him most worried. The blood dripping from them had already soaked the front of his shirt. The powerful smell of acidic smoke seemed to roll off her shaking body.

"At least I-I wasn't in t-th-the sn-snow" The witch whispered in a shaking voice.

Greg shook his head as he looked down at her pale face. Again, questions he wanted to ask on the tip of his tongue, but instead he whispered, "That's true. You're going to be all right. We'll be at the hospital in a few minutes."

He had gone looking for Taylor that morning, though he had been later than he planned getting to the Great Hall for breakfast, owing to the fact that he had finally caught up with Derek alone in the boy's lavatory and told him to keep his mouth shut about his witch. He'd had no doubt it was Derek that Potter had heard running off at the mouth the previous weekend. Though with detentions all week, he hadn't had the opportunity to speak with his fellow Hufflepuff until this morning.

When, after he had eaten his breakfast and none of the five Gryffindors had shown up, he'd gone looking for them, checking all their usual haunts but he hadn't found them. Nor when he checked at Gryffindor Tower did anyone know where they were. He was just heading back down through the castle when Sally-Anne had rushed up to him saying that Potter and the others were hurt and where.

A few minutes later the Hufflepuff followed the four stretchers into the Hospital Wing, carrying his shaking witch in his arms. Madame Pomfrey quickly pointed to a bed as she hurried around asking the auror Tonks to get this or that from her office.

Greg sat down on a bed, still holding the shaking witch. He could tell by the way the nurse rushed around, that it was Potter and the Weasley witch who were the most seriously hurt.

The nurse finally sighed, "Potter and Miss Weasley are finally stable. Tonks, I'm going to need more Blood Replenishing potion from my office." The nurse ordered briskly as she started to run her wand over Granger and the Weasley wizard before coming over to check Taylor.

"Hunter, lay her on the bed so I can check her over."

Greg did as he was asked and watched closely as the healer gently levitated one of his witch's badly cut hands and inspected it before bandages flew from her wand and bandaged both hands heavily.

"Poppy! What has happened?" Professor McGonagall asked worriedly as she hurried into the Hospital Wing.

Madame Pomfrey finished with Taylor before speaking. "I can't say for sure Head Mistress, but Potter and Miss Weasley are in critical but stable condition. They both suffer from multiple broken bones and extensive blood loss. Granger, Porter and Mr. Weasley have also suffered from numerous lacerations and blood loss. If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say they were in some sort of explosion, plus all five have damage to their lungs consistent with heavy smoke inhalation."

McGonagall looked over at him but Greg shook his head. "I don't know what happened, Professor. I wasn't with them when it happened." The Head Mistress nodded before she turned back to the nurse.

"I will keep them heavily sedated for a while to allow their wounds to heal. Whatever caused their extensive cuts is interfering with the healing potion. I'll need to keep a close eye on them." Pomfrey said as she administered potion to the other four Gryffindors before turning back to Taylor once again. "However I don't dare give the sedative to Miss Porter, as you well know Head Mistress."

Greg looked down at his witch as she lay there, eyes wide, listening. She had stopped shaking he noticed and the smaller cuts on her face had stopped bleeding, though the blood was still oozing out of the larger ones. The healing potion the nurse had given her was trying to work at least.

"Miss Porter, can you tell me what happened?" McGonagall asked as she gazed down at the underage Gryffindor witch.

"I'm not exactly sure Professor." Taylor's voice wavered slightly.

"Was there an explosion? Where did the smoke come from?"

Taylor's eyes started to roll back in her head and then she went limp.

"Taylor?" Greg cried startled, as the nurse passed her wand over the witch.

"She's just passed out." The nurse said in a relieved voice. "I believe another side effect of whatever is keeping the wounds from healing is a great deal of pain. I'm afraid Porter is in for a rough go of it."

Greg sat beside his witch for the rest of the afternoon. The nurse came to check on the five Gryffindors often, changing their blood soaked bandages and administering more Blood Replenishing potion each time. He noticed that his witch kept her hands curled in next to her body even when she slept fitfully, seldom lying still for very long and moaning softly.

In the early evening he saw the Head Mistress come back escorting Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. They all stopped and spoke to Madame Pomfrey before continuing on to the five Gryffindors lying in the hospital beds.

"Ah Greg Hunter isn't it? Your father is Daniel Hunter?" Greg nodded. "I know your dad from the Ministry." Mr. Weasley said as he nodded at the Hufflepuff.

"Sir," Greg said as he nodded again. He could see the elder Weasley wizard looking at him intently. "I'm Taylor's boyfriend."

"Of course you are." Mr. Weasley said with a smile. Though Greg could see the caution mixed with worry in the older wizard's eyes.

Mrs. Weasley was fighting the fear that had gripped her ever since she'd received word that Ron, Ginny, Harry and Hermione had been hurt. She glanced over at Taylor too, before looking back at her son and daughter lying in the hospital beds. Minerva hadn't been able to tell her more than that all five had been hurt at the same time.

"Mrs. Weasley?"

Turning Mrs. Weasley looked over at Taylor again to see the young witch looking at her. "Taylor dear! Are you all right?" she asked as she went to sit next to the teenaged witch.

Taylor nodded a little. Everything was still blurry without her glasses but she'd recognized her friends' mother easily enough.

"What happened?" Mrs. Weasley asked anxiously.

Taylor took a deep breath and coughed. Her throat and lungs still felt a little raw. "We were trying to do something… I don't know really what happened. There was an explosion and smoke. Ron and I, we tried to use our magic but… We crawled out. We found Ginny and Hermione on the way out and brought them with us. But Harry…" Taylor felt her eyes start to water again and blinked rapidly. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she continued. "Harry was still inside so we crawled back in after him," Taylor held up her heavily bandaged hands to look at them for a second before she continued again. "…it felt like forever before we finally found him and pulled him out."

"You did a good job dear." Mrs. Weasley said with a wavering smile, as she patted Taylor's shoulder.

Taylor didn't feel like she had done a good job. Her brother was critically injured, as well as one of her best friends. Her other two friends were seriously hurt also, plus her hands hurt terribly and were so heavily bandaged that she doubted she could even hold her wand… "My wand! Greg did you see my wand?" Taylor cried as she sat up in her bed looking over at the Head Boy desperately, as panic filled her.

"No, I didn't. I didn't see it in the hallway either." Greg said shaking his head he could see the panic on the witches face.

"We'll get someone to go search for it right now." Mr. Weasley's voice was calm. The slight inflection on the word 'someone' meant someone from the Order.

"Miss Porter, please try to relax. I'm sure we will be able to find your wand, but you need to stay calm or you'll end up opening up your cuts again. You've lost a lot of blood already." Madame Pomfrey's voice was soothing but firm.

Taylor closed her eyes to try to get control of her pounding heart. Without her wand she was a sitting duck, without her wand she was defenseless. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked over at the Hufflepuff.

"It's going to be all right. We'll find it." he said gently.

Taylor nodded as she lay back down, only slightly reassured by his words. The Hufflepuff seemed to sense this and put his hand on her shoulder, again rubbing it reassuringly. Taylor waited anxiously as McGonagall left the hospital wing for a few minutes before returning.

"I've asked Mr. Lupin to go have a look for your wand, Miss Porter," the Head Mistress said before she turned to Mr. Weasley and the two of them walked over to the end bed where Ron was lying.

As Taylor waited she tried to remember where she had last had her wand, and with a growing sense of dread she thought she knew. It was in the Room of Requirement. Sealed there until they went back to get it and the Horcruxes. Of course there was another option, that someone had found it and taken it… that would be worse. Probably fatally so!

In the meantime, Madame Pomfrey brought a bowl of soup over and set it down on a table she conjured for that purpose.

Mrs. Weasley got up from where she had gone to sit between Ginny and Hermione and came over to Taylor's bed. "Here dear I'll get that for you." She said as she helped Taylor to sit up some, fluffing the pillows for the young witch to lean against, before spoon-feeding the soup to her.

Taylor could feel her face turning red as she opened her mouth for another spoonful of soup from her best friend's mother. It wasn't so much what Mrs. Weasley was doing, as it was the fact that Taylor couldn't do it herself. Looking at her bandaged hands, she could see that they were starting to soak through with blood once again and with each beat of her heart both hands throbbed painfully. Gritting her teeth against the pain and humiliation she ate all the soup and then drank the pumpkin juice that Mrs. Weasley held up for her.

"Here dear, maybe you should lie back down again," Mrs. Weasley said gently with a strained smile. Even without her glasses Taylor could see the worry clearly written on the mother's face.

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley." Taylor whispered, trying to tell her with just those few words how much she did appreciate the kindly given help. Taylor had never had anyone to dote on her. Not in a motherly way at least and she knew the matronly witch was the closest thing to a mother that her brother had. Mrs. Weasley had a way of being motherly to all those around her. Hadn't Hermione and she been the recipients of such kindly acts again and again?

Taylor had just settled back on the bed when she saw a blurred figure walk into the Hospital Wing and head straight for the Head Mistress who was still standing by the far bed with Mr. Weasley. The figure was nearly there when she recognized Lupin.

She felt a hand on her shoulder once more, looked over at the Head Boy and he gave her shoulder a squeeze. Looking back towards the Head Mistress, she waited for the verdict on her wand.

Even though Lupin spoke low, his voice seemed to carry in the silent hospital. "I'm sorry Head Mistress, I searched the entire corridor thoroughly three times but I couldn't find Miss Porter's wand anywhere."

Taylor got his meaning immediately. He hadn't been able to get it from the Room of Requirements. It was most likely as she had first feared, it was sealed in the room until all five of them could go back to get it. She could have kicked herself. She had been so scared of someone finding the Horcruxes that she had been quite specific in her wording. Now she was going to have to wait to get her wand as well.

Greg watched the witch lying on the bed, as the color drained from her face. Though she didn't say a thing, he could tell that the news about her wand scared her. He couldn't blame her, as he tried to put himself in her shoes and to suddenly find yourself wandless… He was scared for her himself.

Taylor was released from the hospital Monday morning into the care of the waiting Head Boy.

Her hands were still heavily bandaged, but they had finally stopped bleeding. Though they remained nearly as painful, Taylor had begged the nurse to let her out.

Sunday had been pure hell for Taylor. Her hands hurting terribly, she had sat and watched her brother and friends lying in their beds heavily sedated. Their wounds were starting to clot, so they weren't bleeding as badly. Though she didn't say anything, Taylor was sure Pomfrey knew her hands were hurting so she kept the other Gryffindors out, because many of their wounds were worse then Taylor's and no pain potion seemed to help with the pain.

Taylor would have stayed in the hospital if she thought she was of any help there whatsoever but she knew she wasn't. She couldn't even hold her brother's or one of her friend's hands. So sitting there all day, even with the Hufflepuff staying with her, had been agonizing with nothing to take her mind off the pain.

She had made her pitch to the nurse last night. She'd talked it over with the Hufflepuff before hand and at first he hadn't agreed but finally he had relented. She told the nurse that she thought going back to classes the next day would help take her mind off her hands and to her surprise Pomfrey had agreed with a few provisions in place.

So with a final glance at her brother and friends, she set off through the castle with the Head Boy heading for class, well his classes actually. McGonagall had given her okay just a few minutes ago, that Taylor could go not to her classes alone but she could accompany the Head Boy to all his, until such time as she had the use of her hands again.

Taylor had to admit, even though it was a little scary to walk around the castle without a wand, it was also a little exciting. She'd get to go to classes she'd never been to before and some she had dropped after fifth year. She was to go back to the Hospital Wing at lunch and before supper, but at least she was up and moving again.

"So Porter! You are coming to class with us yeah?" Justin Finch-Fletchly asked as he and two other seventh year Hufflepuffs joined the Head Boy and Gryffindor witch.

"Yup for the next couple of days I'm an honorary member of the Head Boy club!" Taylor said with a grin.

"What happened to you and the others anyway?" A seventh year Hufflepuff asked.

"I already warned you Connor." Hunter said softly but the warning was clear in his voice.

If Taylor's hands hadn't hurt so much to touch anything she'd have laid her hand on the Head Boy's arm. As it was, she bumped him with her hip as she replied. "Connor is it? Well Connor you see when you mix equal parts of dragon manure, Pepsi and engine oil you get… diddly squat."

The muggle-borns in the group snorted in laughter as Greg grinned down at his witch. The ensuing conversation about what that meant lasted until they got to Ancient Runes, a class Taylor had never taken but wished she had. She sat quietly beside the Head Boy as the professor talked about the intricacies between several different symbols. Taylor found it fascinating even if she didn't understand a lot of it.

At the end of class, as they were heading for their next class, one she knew very well, Greg leaned down close to her. "So what did you think of that? It must have been quite boring."

Taylor shook her head and she started to ask some of the questions she had about what she had learned. When the two of them walked into Professor Slughorn's class for potions the Head Boy was quite surprised with how much the witch beside him had understood for never taking Ancient Runes before.

"Ahh Miss Porter! The Head Mistress sent word you would be joining this class. You may help Mr. Hunter and Miss Perks. Seeing as how you can't brew anything yourself, maybe you can keep them from melting their cauldron yet again." Slughorn said with his usual condescending tone.

It was all Taylor could do not to laugh, though she couldn't quite keep her lips from twitching into a grin.

"The last cauldron was very old and had weakened over time!" Sally Ann grumbled as she looked away from the professor.

"Yes, well maybe we should check this one over very carefully to make sure it is in proper working order before we start," Taylor said in a forced straight voice and she might have been okay if she hadn't have looked at the incredulous expression on the Head Boy's face. Turning her laugh into a cough she earned a scowl from Slughorn.

The rest of the class progressed rather well. Taylor made suggestions, quite a few actually, but the end result was a very acceptable finished potion that earned all three full marks.

When the bell rang for lunch, Taylor waited by the table as the other two cleaned up. She hated feeling so useless but to touch anything with her hands was just too painful. Though she had done what she set out to do, being distracted from the pain in her hands.

"So you are really good in potions. I never knew that." Greg said with a grin as they walked out of the classroom. "I've never gotten full marks on a potion before."

"Yeah well I have my moments." Taylor said a little embarrassed.

They talked on the way to the Hospital Wing. Harry and the others were still unconscious and after Pomfrey checked Taylor's bandages they left to go to the Great Hall for lunch. The Hufflepuff had already come up with an idea so she could eat without being spoon-fed. He levitated the food to her mouth and she just ate it out of mid air.

When they reached the Entrance Hall, Taylor's steps faltered. Until now she hadn't come across any Slytherins nor been anywhere where there were all that many people to stare at her, but now she had to walk into the Great Hall where everyone could see her. She'd be wandless, and with her hands bandaged, an easy target for now or later.

"Hey, it's going to be alright. I'm right here and I won't let anything happen," the Hufflepuff whispered in her ear as he leaned down. "You've sat at my table before. We'll sit with Sally-Anne and Hannah." Greg's blue eyes searched hers as he wrapped his arm around her and held her gently against his side.

Taking a deep breath Taylor nodded. The Head Boy didn't take his hand away as he started to walk, if anything he held her more tightly against his side, his large frame making her look small, but also partially hiding her from many of the curious eyes.

Lunch really wasn't as bad as Taylor had first thought. After the first few awkward moments the other Hufflepuffs seemed to lose interest and go back to their own conversations. Just the few sitting right by the Gryffindor really noticed that the food she was eating was levitated. Taylor even found that Sally-Anne was going out of her way to make her feel more at ease, telling jokes and laughing easily.

That afternoon the Head Boy had Defense Against the Dark Arts and Herbology.

Defense was actually quite entertaining, as Professor Shacklebolt had her helping with corrections when the class broke into pairs to practice different jinxes. She found that many of the Hufflepuffs had terrible aim and more then once Shacklebolt, who was keeping a close eye on the unarmed witch, sent a shield her way. Still though she was able to help quite a few and by the end she was pleased with the progress of a few of them. The Head Boy was one and Sally-Anne was another.

"Wow, Taylor you must be really good at Defense! I can't believe how much you helped me just in that short time! I mean Shacklebolt is good, way better then most of our other DADA teachers we've had, but still I like the way you explained it." Sally-Anne gushed as they walked down the corridor.

Taylor was just about to reply when a cold voice behind them called out.

"Wow Porter! I bet you aren't quite so hot with that wand of yours right now are you?" the voice belonged to Parkinson.

Greg wheeled and stepped in front of his witch as he drew his wand. "I suggest you keep walking and keep quiet Parkinson or I'll see to it you are in detention for a month!"

"I'd have thought that you would have gotten your fill of the likes of her by now Hunter!" Another Slytherin girl called as they walked past.

"Why don't you crawl back in the hole you came from!" Sally-Anne shot back. She had stopped too and turned to help the Head Boy if there was trouble.

The Slytherins gave a couple more parting shots, hinting at more sinister things to come.

When they were gone, Greg turned around to see the anger on the Gryffindor's face and hear her grinding her teeth as she glared past him to where the Slytherins had disappeared.

"Hey don't let them get to you okay? Come on Gryffindor, we have to get to Herbology," Greg's voice was light as he bumped her side with his hip and put his arm around her shoulders.

Taylor was seething and worried. Did the fact that she no longer had her wand get out somehow? Or was the crack about her lack of wand usage merely a jab at the fact that she couldn't use her hands? Either way she was going to have to think of a way to defend herself if need be. It wasn't that she didn't trust the Head Boy, she did, but as she had just seen in the DADA classroom he wasn't the best. That was something she vowed to fix.

The grounds were still frozen and slick with ice from the recent sleet storm that had passed earlier that day. With Greg holding her arm she made it safely to the greenhouses, where she found the Hufflepuff was every bit as good as she was at Herbology.

As a group Sally-Anne, Hannah, Justin, Ernie, and Connor started up across the grounds with Taylor and the Head Boy. They were talking about the different properties of the plants they had seen in class. Taylor was listening to the easy bantering in the group and was reminded sorely of her friends lying in the hospital.

She wasn't paying as much attention to where she was walking as she should, when suddenly her foot slipped on the slippery ground, without thinking she put her hands out to stop herself. Pain, white hot, exploded in her hands and she cried out pulling her hands against her body as she came to rest on her knees with her forehead on the ground.

"Taylor!" Several voices called but it was the Head Boy who dropped to the ground next to the witch.

He could see her cradling her hands as she breathed heavily. "Oh God, Taylor, I'm sorry. Are you all right?" He could have kicked himself for not making sure his witch didn't slip.

"Just… give me… a second…" Taylor ground out through clenched teeth as she fought the pain, as well as the black dots that were swimming around in her vision. In a few minutes the pain began to recede to the regular throb.

"Here, let me carry you the rest of the way so you don't fall again," The Head Boy offered, concerned.

Gritting her teeth to keep back the cutting reply that came to her, she pushed up off the ground awkwardly, accepting Greg's helping hand out of need. "No. I'll be fine." She said through gritted teeth.

Savagely she wiped the wetness off her face with her forearm before setting off towards the school. The other Hufflepuffs were quiet as she passed them, but she was trying too hard to get a grip on her temper and keep her mouth shut that she couldn't worry about them at the moment. She could hear the Head Boy right behind her but she didn't slow down until she reached the main doors. They were closed. Stopping she waited for him to open them for her.

The Head Boy barely had the door opened before Taylor pushed through and raced across the Entrance Hall. Running up the stairs as fast as she could, she ran down the second floor corridor to the girl's lavatory. She could hear the Head Boy hurrying after her. He even called for her to stop once but she didn't.

Turning her body she slammed into the washroom door with her shoulder, causing it to smash into the wall and toppling a first year onto the floor. Taylor mumbled her apologies as she waited to make sure the girl was all right, before heading deeper into the lavatory. Breathing hard Taylor stared at her reflection in the mirror. The glasses Madame Pomfrey had found for her surrounded her over bright eyes. Wheeling Taylor kicked the wastepaper basket. Anger, fear, pain and frustration warred in her as she noticed her robes were soaked from where she had fallen. Hauling her foot back she kicked the wastepaper basket again.

"I don't think it's going to get up again," A deep voice, that most definitely didn't belong in a girl's lavatory, said softly from the doorway.

"Hufflepuff just…" Taylor began.

"It's alright to be scared you know." The Head Boy said gently as he came up behind his witch.

"Is that what you think I am?" Taylor asked, wheeling to glare up at the tall Hufflepuff.

"I know you are. I can see it in your eyes. I can also see your frustration." The Hufflepuff said gently as he put his hands on the witch's shoulders.

A/N I know another cliff-hanger but when I was writting this chapter I had to find someplace to end it and this was where I did it. Poor Taylor! Her hands are useless and she is missing her wand... NOT a good thing in a magical world! ;) So what did you think of Taylor going to Greg's classes? I always wanted to explore some of the other classes that were offered at Hogwarts and this was how I came up with doing it. Ancient Runes always seemed like it would of been a neat class to take. This sequence of events is just getting started... :D Yeah I know I am evil! I will try to post another chapter soon so you don't have to wait too long!

Thank you to all those who left a review! I LOVE to hear what you readers think of this story! Thanks as well for those who added this to their Favorites and Alerts! ANd if you made it this far into this massive story then THANK YOU! Cause you must like it some or you wouldn't read like 248000 words or what ever it is now! ;) Thanks to my wonderful beta, barbc these updates are possible because she just rocks at getting me the corrected chapters back! Well until next time, cytpotter.