Rejuvenation
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor do I make any profits from posting this fanfiction.
Summary: Epilogue compliant. Set 2019. Harry and Ron fall into the hands of a mad 'scientist' hell bent on eternal youth. Naturally, something goes wrong in the experimental stage. His test subjects weren't too pleased about their new roles as guinea pigs. Unfortunately for all involved, there were many casualties along the way; the most important of which being the death of their former lives.
Warnings: Gender change. OC character deaths. Kidnapping. Experimentation on human; adults and children. Swearing.
Pairings: HP/OC, RW/?
Rejuvenation - Chapter 6
Harry cuddled close to Cameron and Winnifred for warmth. It might have been summertime and the room might have been hot and sticky but Harry was cold. Very cold.
He knew that it was his fever from the infection in his cuts and from his injuries but he was cold. He was cold and they were warm. And the benefit of being the smallest was that he could wiggle up against them more easily.
Honora was gone now…she was inside Winnifred's body. The ritual had gone off without a hitch only last week, four days after Harry's own ritual. Ron had delivered a running commentary throughout telling Harry how much his ritual was different to Honora's.
Apparently when Harry's soul had been halfway across the circle it started to go backwards, back towards Harry's body. Wollaston had chanted harder, standing behind Harry's soul to block the way only that made Harry's soul struggle more. Ron said that after a while Wollaston moved around Harry so that while Harry's soul was busty fighting Wollaston it was also getting closer to Mafalda's body then at the last minute Wollaston stepped away. Harry supposed that made sense. In all honesty he didn't remember what happened. Things were a little blurry.
"Get the bloody hell off! It's too hot to be cuddling." Ron muttered and rolled over away from Harry with a huff and a grumbled. Harry shivered and tried to cuddle closer to Winnifred who grumbled too but put her arm around Harry.
"You okay? You're burning up." Winnifred whispered, blinking a little trying to wake up properly. "You're hotter than last night. Loads hotter!"
"No I'm cold." Harry mumbled. The words felt too big for his mouth. His lips felt dry and uncooperative. His tongue felt heavy.
Winnifred sat up and frowned concernedly. "Hey Ron! Ron, get me some water please?"
"Get it yourself! I'm sleeping!" Ron grumbled back, all the anger and woe-is-me that being a teenager afforded you. Poor Ron. It must suck to be an angry teen again. Especially since Cameron was already an angry teen.
"Fine I'll get it myself!" Winnifred sniped back and pushed herself crossly up to her feet. She stomped over to the water bucket and, with as much noise as possible. She lifted it up and brought it back over to Harry.
"SHUT UP!" Ron screamed when she set it down making sure to bump it a few times just to make extra noise. Harry wondered if either of them realised that with every noise Harry flinched. Merlin but his head hurt.
"Don't shout you'll wake…"
"What's going on?" Came the quiet voice of Serpens who was the only one behind the other ward now. They boy had been on his own in the large warded area for over a week, ever since Winnifred had been put inside the little warded area with Harry and Ron.
"Too late." Winnifred sighed then turned to look at Serpens over her shoulder. "Don't worry Serpens, nothing's happening. I'm just getting some water for…"
"And being bloody noisy about it too!" Ron interrupted, casting a very angry glare over at them. Harry sighed and tried to sit up to reach the water himself wince Winnifred and Ron started sniping at each other and conveniently forgetting about the water.
Wincing and grimacing in pain Harry did manage to move. His head was killing him and he really didn't want to drink, he only wanted to sleep somewhere warm…but the logical adult side of his brain told him that he needed to stay hydrated otherwise his fever would get even worse.
Ron and Winnifred sniped and griped at each other. Serpens even joined in a little with jabbing insults.
It was a great start to the day.
Harry took a few more tiny sips of the water then lay back down. Somehow, despite the noise and arguments, sleep came quickly.
"Harry! Harry wake up! Wake up it's just a nightmare! Wake up!"
The words jolted Harry from the awful dream he was trapped in and made him wake with a start. He shot up and desperately looked around. The adrenaline coursing through his veins helped keep him upright even when the agonising pain in his head hammered at him once more.
"Where is it?! Where?!" Harry asked frantically, he reached out and grabbed Winnifred's sleeve shaking it.
"Where's what?"
"My wand! I need my wand! Voldemort took it and I need it back or I won't be able to arrest Pettigrew and…"
"Mate, Pettigrew's dead. Remember? Died in Azkaban?" Ron muttered. Harry didn't understand. Pettigrew died? Died? As in…as in dead…dead as a dodo…or rat.
Of course he had died.
Harry sighed. Voldemort was dead too. It was the dream. The dream and the fever. He hated being ill. He didn't like the dreams. He always had bad dreams when he was ill. Daddy always gave him a potion that helped and a potion to make him feel better but Daddy was there and…and he was Harry Potter! Harry's Potter had never been looked after by his dad because his dad was dead…no…his dad was probably working.
Damn it. Harry shook his head trying to clear it but that made the pain sharped, more intense and more focus grabbing.
"Here. Do you want some water?" Winnifred asked. Harry groaned but nodded, barely. Winnifred seemed to understand anyway because she pulled the water bucket over and helped Harry drink a bit. "Better?"
"Yes. Lots. Thanks." Harry mumbled.
"You're welcome. I wish I could do more."
"Daddy always gives me a potion and…" Harry started to say then frowned at himself. He huffed and lay back down. "I don't have a dad."
"No, but you remember one don't you? I'm an orphan too but I remember my parents now…well, Winnifred's parents."
Harry frowned. What? That made no sense! How could she not have parents and have parents? And why was she talking about herself using her name? That was odd.
"Huh? You are Winnifred."
"No I'm not I'm Honora."
Harry laughed and shook his head then groaned at the pain.
"No you're not you're Winnifred. Honora's over there somewhere with Harry and Ron and Eloise and…" Harry listed and trailed off as Winnifred sighed and placed her hand on Harry's head.
"Shh, don't worry about it. Just rest up a bit yeah? Maybe if you sleep you will feel better."
Harry nodded. Sleep sounded good.
"Keep the badies away?" He asked. Winnifred nodded.
"Of course."
Harry woke up to shouting. It wasn't exactly abnormal in and of itself. What was abnormal was that it was two people yelling exactly the same thing.
"Monster!"
"Bastard!"
"Leave him alone!"
"Let go of him!"
Let go of who? Harry blinked and pushed himself up. And where was he? What was going on? Where was Gretchen, Sigmund, Mummy and Daddy? And why was there a bucket and…
Oh.
Harry rubbed his head, wincing as he touched the bumps on his head that still hadn't healed. He was willing to bet he still had concussion too. Could it last a week? Well whatever was wrong with him, fever or what, it was mixing up his memories and making it hard to think straight.
Harry blinked and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. The shouting was still going on along with stomping and angry screams…and fear filled screams of a little boy.
Harry spun around. Winced. Then winced again as he saw Wollaston had Serpens in the ritual circle. Harry pushed himself up to his feet and went to stand between the screaming and yelling Winnifred and Cameron.
"Let me go! Help! HELP! HELP!"
"Let him go you bastard!" Cameron, Ron, was screaming.
Harry opened his mouth to shout too but he coughed instead and his head spun. He couldn't shout. Speaking was going to be a problem. But he had to try because he didn't want to not try anything for poor Serpens. Poor Serpens who was about to get taken over by Wollaston's soul.
"Stop it!" Harry managed then grimaced as his throat tightened around his words. He coughed again but that set off a lot of pain in his ribs and stomach.
"LET HIM GO!"
Wollaston ignored them. He stood in his own circle then cast a stunning spell at Serpens which had the boy falling down completely unconscious. Wollaston had done the same thing for Winnifred and Honora to make sure they wouldn't fight what happened like Harry had. He had also condensed the chant down to something that could, if there were no interruptions, be done in one long spell which then did as intended once all the words were finished with. That was how he was now able to transfer his soul into Serpens' body. Or at least it was something like that, Harry didn't remember very much. He hadn't been well at the time.
Wollaston lay down in his circle and began the chant. The long stream of Latin flowed easily, practised, from the old man's lips and even from the room away Harry felt the cold start to creep in. It was cold already…why did it have to get colder. Harry shivered.
Wollaston finished the chant and the cold reached frigid temperatures. Harry could see Wollaston and Serpens' breath rising from their bodies in puffs of white. Some small patches of the carpet glistened with spidery icicles that began to form on them. Serpens' body shivered.
Then the white souls began to rise from the bodies. Wollaston's body falling still.
"Merlin DAMN IT!" Ron yelled and spun around angrily kicking the bucket of water so it went flying off to the other side of the room and whacked into the wall. "Fuck! Shit! Merlin's saggy fucking testicles!"
Ron kicked the empty plate they had been given food on. It spun and slid across the floor bashing into the sofa then sliding underneath it.
Underneath it. Harry would bet that sofa was nice and soft. It looked soft. It looked just like a bed.
"Ron! Stop kicking everything! What are we going to eat off now?! What are we going to drink?! I know you are cross but did you have to…"
"Did I have to kick it?! Yes. YES I BLOODY WELL DID AND…"
Harry stepped over to the sofa. Oh he could just lie down. He was so tired. He hadn't laid on anything softer than carpeted floor since he had been captured. He just wanted to sink his body down onto those soft luxurious pieces of furniture.
Harry reached out and ran his hand over the fabric. Oh it was just as soft as the one at home. Just as soft. Mummy used to sit at the end of the sofa and Gretchen would sit in front having her hair brushed. She would sit next to mummy usually playing, sometimes reading. Once she had even helped mummy do some sewing but it was too boring for her and…
And oh those cushions looked wonderful. Harry picked one up. Why hadn't he had the cushion before? He missed cushions. He…
He was past the ward.
He was past the ward!
Harry looked back, shaking off the fever induced confusion as best he could. The warded area had been behind him. It stopped them from getting to the furniture. But he was at the furniture. That meant the ward was down. That meant…
"RON!" Harry screamed. Somehow it broke through Ron and Winnifred's argument and their heads turned to Harry. Harry saw the moment understanding dawned through both of them. Ron's eyes widened, Winnifred's mouth dropped open. Harry flicked his eyes back to Ron and then turned and ran.
He pushed his mind to work past the fever, past the illness, past whatever pains plagued him. He ran. His short, little and thin legs burned but he made them work. He sprinted across the room to the ritual circle and scuffed his shoes across the line. The light from Wollaston hadn't even made it partway across the circle yet. Serpens' light was slowly floating higher and higher.
"How do we stop it?! How do we stop it?"
"I dunno! I dunno we…" Harry said and ran over to Wollaston's wand. He picked it up quickly. The others were with Serpens.
"Do we move Serpens?" Winnifred asked and hooked an arm under Serpens' arm.
"No! No! Don't move Serpens! We might lose his soul." Ron ordered.
"What then?!"
"Move Wollaston! Move him because it doesn't matter if his soul can't find its way back." Ron instructed and ran over to Wollaston. "And break Wollaston's circle!"
Harry moved to help him. Weak though he was he managed to help Cameron push the body past the edge of the salt circle interrupting the salt lines as they went.
"Good okay…what about the runes?!"
"Serpens' soul is still going up." Winifred observed and Harry snapped his head to look over. "And Wollaston's is still coming closer! Should I move Serpens yet?!"
"No! No! Just…let me try something!" Harry said and ran to the centre of the circle standing in front of Wollaston's soul. The bead of light came closer towards him, closer and closer then tried to go around him. Harry dodged to block the way. The soul tried again but Harry blocked.
"Good thinking!" Ron called.
"Yeah but what now?" Harry yelled and stepped again to block the soul.
"Um…I'll ruin the runes!" Ron offered and leaped over to start scuffing out the runes with his feet. One rune went then the next one. The soul kept trying to go around Harry.
"Oh Merlin what now?! What?!"
"I dunno! I dunno!" Ron yelled. "We don't know enough about the bloody ritual to know how to make it go in reverse!"
"But! But we can't just leave Serpens!"
"What do we know about the ritual?" Harry asked, blocking again and wishing more than anything he could bat the soul away. Run it off.
"It's…it works like a dementor's kiss. It extracts the souls. It creates the cold. Then it puts one soul into the other's body." Ron said.
"Okay then. So dementors…patronus?" Harry asked and brandished the wand.
"I don't know…there aren't any dementor's here."
"No but there's a soul. The patronus at the very least protects souls doesn't it?" Harry asked and brandished the wand in his hand. Ron bit his lip. Cameron's plump lip was squashed between dirty teeth that hadn't been brushed in months because there weren't any brushes.
"It's worth a go. Anything is." The teenager muttered angrily and made a slashing gesture to the soul before Harry. Harry scowled at it and took a few steps backwards.
"Okay. Okay then. Happy thoughts." Harry muttered and tried to focus on his happiest memories. Only the happiest. Flying on his broom for the first time. Seeing his parents. Playing in the gardens. Being allowed to fly on Claudia for the first time! Seeing Claudia have a foul. Seeing James being born. Seeing Albus. Seeing Lily. "Expecto patronum!"
A brilliant white light spilled from the borrowed wand and out into a funnel shaped shield. No corporal patronus. No stag. Nothing but a shield.
Had Harry not thought of happy enough memories? Maybe not but they were happy ones! They were the happiest he could remember, even with the extra memories. So why didn't it work? Maybe…maybe because those memories were happy but Harry wasn't? Maybe even though the memories were happy ones they didn't stir up the same emotion in Harry now…they were almost bitter memories because some didn't seem real and some only filled him with regret and grief of a life long past.
"It's working! It's working!" Winnifred cried and pointed to Wollaston's soul that was floating backwards now away from the shield. Backwards back to Wollaston's body.
"Great so that means he's going to wake up!"
"It doesn't matter. We have his wand and Serpens didn't get…oh look! Serpens' soul is coming back down. It's coming back!" Winnifred slapped her hands to her cheeks, holding onto them as tears spilled over her eyes. She didn't take her eyes off Serpens for a moment, just watching the soul go further and further down. "It's nearly there!"
"Hey mate, slow down with battling Wollaston's soul back yeah? Maybe just leave it alone now and hope it disappears too." Cameron said with anger hacking at the harsh consonants.
Really? Ron had really said that? "What?! You can't be serious!"
"Oh yes I can. Deadly serious!"
"I can't just let him die! He has to pay for his crimes!" Harry argued. Cameron shrugged.
"The way I see it this would be the perfect punishment for the things he's done, the rotten murdering bastard!"
"I'm not going to play judge, jury and executioner just because we all hate him!" Harry protested still shocked that such a furious, cold-hearted, unethical thing like that had passed Ron's lips. New body or not, teenage hormones or not, hatred and fury or not, it wasn't a very Ron thing to say. Perhaps the stress of everything had gotten to him. Along with the confusion of being in a very unfamiliar body of a young developing teen. Cameron had always been angry, swearing and cursing and ranting about things. Combine that with the extra hormones and Ron's hot temper perhaps it just made for a very unstable concoction.
"Why not? He played executioner to us!"
"Yeah but we are better than him!"
"Yeah! We won't stoop to his level!" Winnifred said and Ron scowled and sneered at her, the look marring Cameron's pretty face.
"Fine then! Let's let the bastard live! Who knows?! Perhaps the Wizengamot will make him suffer before he dies! I'd certainly like to see his reaction when he hears he's going to get life imprisonment inside Azkaban! Let him go back into his body! See if I care!"
Harry huffed and turned his attention back to the soul floating in front of his patronus shield. He paced forwards carefully, the soul reacting by backing up further and then further. Harry sighed and made those final steps towards Wollaston's body. Was he doing the right thing? Was it worse to put Wollaston's soul back in his body or let it go?
Harry wasn't entirely convinced. Not entirely.
The prospect of knowing Wollaston could never harm anyone ever again was almost too great.
But Harry was an auror. First and foremost. And he wanted Wollaston arrested, put on trial and found guilty. He wanted Wollaston's name dishonoured and wanted him locked up for the rest of his life so he couldn't hurt anybody ever again and so that he knew, with absolute certainty, that he was abhorred for his cruel experiments.
"Aaaah!" Serpens gasped behind him and then started to cry. Harry kept his concentration and stepped forwards once more, making the soul of the healer sink back inside the man's body.
Quick as a flash those blue eyes opened and the man shot up into a sitting position his eyes narrowing on Harry.
Just as quickly Harry fired off a stupefy, a body bind and the rope curse to tie the man up.
"Well done." Cameron muttered. Harry glanced over his shoulder to the others. Cameron was stood to one side, scuffing out the remainder of the runes with one foot. Winnifred was hugging the still crying Serpens tightly, Serpens clinging onto her and weeping with all his fear and grief.
Harry glanced around the room feeling rather at a loss. What did they need to do now? They had stopped the ritual, they had saved Serpens and Wollaston was incarcerated as best as he could be when Harry didn't have any cells or any warded areas. What now?
They needed to escape, that was what. The question was how. "What now? How do we get out of here? We are in children's bodies again, we can't exactly apparate."
"No we can't. I don't know." Cameron muttered then glanced around the room. "What about looking out the window, we could see where we are and maybe find a door."
"Sure." Harry nodded and began crossing to the windows, fist clenching on the wand. Harry paused. Wand. Only one wand. Wollaston's wand. "Accio Harry Potter's wand!"
There was a rattling, then the sliding of wood against wood, then a whistling. Harry turned just in time to catch his most precious possession just before it smacked him in the face. He held it up and inspected it. It still looked as it had all that time ago. Still in need of a polish, same little groves, same patterns in the wood and same fingerprints on the handle. Definitely his wand. And because his wand could get out…
"Accio Ron Weasley's wand! Accio Cameron Wood's wand! Accio Honora Sloper's wand! Accio Serpens Black's wand!" Harry reeled off as many names as he could remember. Serpens didn't have a wand, neither did Winnifred because they were too young yet. Harry didn't even bother summoning Mafalda's wand because he knew she didn't have one, she was too young. A couple of wands didn't respond, Harry supposed it was because the magic in them died when their owners had. Some did respond because their owners were only newly dead. Some, when they turned up, looked dull and lifeless and Harry knew just from looking at them that they were useless wooden shells, useless to anything now.
But in the meantime there were enough working wands for two each for him, Ron and Winnifred. Serpens got one wand.
Armed and ready just in case, they checked out the room. There was a door, locked of course, but all the windows were open. They were in the countryside. And from every window they looked out of they could only see fields. Acres upon acres of fields. No other houses, no cottages, no roads, no vehicles. Nothing. Just empty fields.
"Let's try and unlock the doors then hm?" Cameron said and marched purposefully over to the doors.
Then Cameron was flying backwards through the air nearly hitting Harry. Harry only just dodged letting Cameron hit the floor instead of him.
"Oooff! What the bloody buggering fuck was that?!"
"Mind your language!" Winnifred scolded for the Merlin-only-knew how many times.
"Oh don't you bloody start." Ron grumbled and sat up. "What the hell was that?"
"Umm…" Harry hummed and stepped forwards reaching one hand out in front of him. Nothing for a moment. Another step forwards and still nothing. One more step and…
Harry was thrown backwards colliding with the floor with impressive force and sending Harry into a world of pain his thoughts short circuited for a moment. With black swimming on the edges of his vision Harry fought desperately to stay conscious. It hurt so much though! So much!
"Owie…" Harry moaned then sniffled. Tears welled up in his eyes and he could feel his lower lip tremble. He tried hard to stem the flow of tears and to control his quivering chin but…but everything hurt and when she hurt she cried till mummy or daddy made it better.
Harry wiped his eyes on the sleeve of the once purple dress he was wearing. It was half brown with muck and grime because they hadn't been able to wash the clothes very well during their time in the wards. As Harry wiped his face with the sleeve he realised how grotty the material was because it felt like sandpaper against his skin. He grabbed up the hem of his dress instead and used that. He hoped if he got rid of enough tears he could get the crying thing under control. He wasn't a baby!
"You alright?" Ron asked gruffly. Harry gave him a stiff nod and shakily, painfully, pushed himself to sit up. Merlin but that hurt! Hurt and hurt and hurt and hurt! "Hurts like a dickens doesn't it?"
"Yeah." Harry muttered in agreement and rubbed his stomach. It was hot and hurt and his head was killing him. He just wanted to lie back down and go to sleep but they had to escape. He could be ill and get healed and feel better and cry later. Now was not the time. They needed to escape.
"Right well. It looks like the windows are our only option right now." Came the useful snarky observation from Cameron.
"We could climb through them!" Winnifred chirped.
"And go where exactly? And how would we get to Merlin knows where? Walking? How would we take Wollaston? Float him behind us? Oh yes what a great idea. Let's all give away magic to the muggles and break the secrecy act all the while putting ourselves at danger to the elements and Wollaston who could wake up any minute and…"
"Stop being so dramatic all the time! What elements are you talking about? It's summer, in case you haven't noticed. Wollaston's tied up. We can't be that far from another house because even muggle houses aren't too far from each other. And if we floated him low behind us then we could make it appear like we are dragging him along and-what's that?!"
Winnifred's counter argument had started off reasonably well. She managed an infuriated but calm voice, speaking through gritted teeth, then seemed to really get her teeth into her argument. Then when her voice switched to incredible alarm in the middle of a sentence her tone spoke right to Harry's adrenaline.
"What's what?!" Harry demanded and snapped his gaze to where Winnifred was frightenedly pointing out of one of the windows. Harry felt fear grip him even as more adrenaline pumped through his veins giving him not only the strength to stand but also enough to counter the incredible pain that was coursing through his body.
There was a shape, an odd V shape flying right towards them. It was headed straight at the window and getting to it with incredible speed.
"It's…" Cameron began then paused and squinted a little as if needing clarity. "It's an owl?"
"An owl?" Harry echoed. An owl? Really? Well that was…good.
"An owl?! QUICK! Let it in! We could send a letter for help!"
"Genius except we don't know where 'here' is!" Cameron spat but went over to the window being careful about where to step so the wards for their old containment areas didn't react and throw Cameron back across the room. Carefully, slowly, Cameron made it to the window and threw it open. Harry waited and watched, the adrenaline slowly ebbing away and returning him to an ever increasing world of agony.
The owl, a little brown owl, flew swiftly towards them, swooping down through the window and then landing effortlessly on the little coffee table in front of Harry. It looked at Harry with those impossibly round eyes then hooted and held out its leg. Onto it was an envelope that was scrolled up. Harry reached carefully and reluctantly out to the letter.
"Shut the window so it can't leave just in case it doesn't want a reply." Winnifred instructed and with a grunt and another cuss Cameron did as asked. "Well? What does it say?"
Harry had barely more than touched the envelope lip when the letter flew from his hands, floated in the air and contorted into a pair of lips that began speaking with whistled 's's and sharp consonants.
"Dear Miss Vaisey. There have been several cases of high levels of magic detected at your place of residence. Should these acts of under-aged magic continue an auror squad will be dispatched to your residence to arrest you and your guardians for breach of the underage wand laws, improper use of magic due to age, and neglectful and abusive exposure to magic when the caster is under-aged and underdeveloped to cope with such magics. Please put down your wand or I shall be forced to take legal action. Yours sincerely, Mafalda Hopkins." The letter primly announced before tearing itself to pieces that floated down to litter the ground.
"Seriously?" Ron spluttered.
Harry snorted then laughed bitterly and raised his wand. Casting the strongest sets of spells he knew, and dangerous ones too so he would attract even more attention, Harry aimed at all the pieces of furniture around them. Cameron joined in too. Winnifred repeated the same incantation over and over again and Serpens just pointed and shot saying any words that came into his young head to get a reaction from the wand in his hand.
Soon fluff, springs and shreds of fabric were flying through the air. Sofas were turned over with scorch marks blackening them. Others had been blasted into pieces, their splinters littering the floor. Some pillows lay torn and strewn about the place. One coffee table was on fire, blazing happily. Another had gouge marks down it. A further coffee table had been turned a luminous yellow then quartered.
Harry let himself sag a little. Tiredness, agony and fever drawing in on him. His arms fell limp to his sides. His head felt too heavy to hold up. He struggled but managed to keep himself upright. His head felt fuzzy though. He'd had enough. His body couldn't take any more.
"Keep going Harry! If we don't they might not come!" Winnifred urged and all Harry could do was weakly try to lift his arm again. Shakily Harry took aim at the locked door.
"Bombarda!" He whispered and…unlike the last few times he'd tried it, the door exploded into smithereens!
"Bloody hell mate!" Cameron swore.
"Harry!" Winnifred gasped.
"SHIT!" That voice wasn't Serpens'.
"MORDRED, MORGANA AND MORGAUSE!" Neither was that one. It was too deep and coming from the wrong direction.
"Whoever you are, stop! We are armed and fully trained aurors! Cease with your show of force else we shall be forced to use offensive magic against you!"
"Finally!" Cameron yelled. "Get in here for Melin's sake! What the hell took you so bloody long?! Did you get lost or something when leaving HQ?!"
Aurors walked through the smoke and debris by the door all holding their wands before them and stepping carefully on the wood shards with their dragonhide boots.
Help was here. At last.
"Oh thank you!" Winnifred ran towards them. "Thank you thank you thank you!" She implored and cried as she ran up to one who relaxed their grip on their wand. Winnifred ran right up to him and gave the auror a big hug, sobbing and whispering her thanks.
Serpens started crying into the crook of his arm, dropping his wand to the floor and just standing there unmoving but crying with relief.
Harry just stared. Relief. Praise. Thanks. Excitement. Exhaustion. Pleasure. Relief.
He was relieved. Immeasurably relieved.
So insurmountably relieved that he relaxed. He fell back and fell away. Right away. Fell into a place of calm, of warmth, of no pain, of no worries, of nothing.
AN: Thank you to those who have commented and reviewed so far. Also, thank you to those of you who have added my story to your favourite's list, or who have put the follow alerts on this story.
So this is the first section of the story sorted, captivity is over with. Now how does everybody cope with the aftermath?