I do not own anything. I'm just translating. The characters belong to the great J.K. Rowling. The story belongs to the amazing Brigi. Her e-mail: tbwtpbe [et] hotmail com

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THE BOY WITH THE PIERCING BLUE EYES

Chapter 43 – Twenty-one charitable souls

Dumbledore slowly walked among the debris in the main square. Harry, clinging to his arm, limped beside him. They were trying to get to Snape and saw his son kneeling next to him with bowed head. Professor Flitwick got there first and with a quick 'Stimula' woke him though the man was still very groggy and weak. His chest hurt and he supposed a few of his ribs were broken because he felt blood in his mouth. Despite all the protests, he sat up and leaning on his son's shoulder proceeded to get up.

"There are more seriously injured people here," he said weakly.

He nodded towards the Weasley brothers who had a sizable puddle of blood around them. The suddenly appearing Healers went to them at once.

The students who could still walk helped the others to the fountain. Luna and Neville went to look for the children they hid while the others assessed the injuries. The Patil girls looked weary and worn out from such cruelty but the wizard comforting them said the Dementors' presence also contributed to the terrible mood. Madame Rosmerta still steadfastly fought against the flames trying to save the houses and her pub. The overall picture however, looked horrible. Everywhere he looked, Harry saw injured, dead or grieving people. He also felt his heart throbbing in his throat and his face burning with anguish. He was searching for his friends and saw Hermione arguing with a blank-faced but opposing Draco while Ron held their beloved professor, Lupin.

"…Remus…" Harry groaned as terror appeared on his face. "Oh my God…"

With one of his wounded hands he covered his mouth and bowed his head as tears streamed down his face. He saw the Healers from St. Mungo's running around them, but from their haste and sometimes resigned or horrified eyes he could tell how great the losses were. His only consolation being the many hooded figures lying on the ground.

Dumbledore kept walking and healing some smaller injuries on the way and giving his condolences to the relatives of the deceased.

"Dumbledore!" a familiar man cried in a high voice just as he appeared out of nowhere with his colleagues.

"Cornelius?" the headmaster looked at him over his shoulder. "What took you so long?"

"Merlin's beard! Terrible, TERRIBLE, such destruction!" Fudge blurted out, clutching his hat. "In addition, someone attacked the Ministry in out absence…"

After so many hours, Harry was reminded of what a mess they had left behind after summoning Sirius. Sirius…

"Sirius!" Rowena squealed.

Many had turned their heads towards the voice and looked for the man she was calling. The professor stumbled towards the shape in the mist.

"It's Black!" the Minister shouted. "Capture him!"

"Don't!"

"Cornelius, that man is innocent," Dumbledore stepped closer to the man with wand ready and threatening eyes. "Withdraw your men immediately!"

"But Black… is a criminal! Insane! Murderer! Innocent people…!"

"The real culprit is lying here!" Ron grabbed Wormtail's robes after the Healers had taken Lupin. "Peter Pettigrew, whom everyone believed to be dead! He was my rat for twelve years, because he is an unregistered Animagus!"

He tore the man's robes on his arm.

"Here's the Dark Mark! See?!"

"But…" the Minister stammered.

"Pettigrew was the one who killed all those innocent Muggles, Minister. He faked his own death. The whole thing was a farce," Harry said when he felt happiness fill him upon seeing Sirius alive. "Black is innocent."

"As soon as everyone's safe, Cornelius, I can provide you with more evidence," Dumbledore said in a voice that left no place to argument.

Harry turned towards Sirius happily.

"SIRI…!"

However, the sight stunned him. He saw Rowena throwing herself into his godfather's arms. At first, he didn't really know what to do. He returned the embrace and touched the woman's disheveled hair. Rowena kissed his lips several times and noticed both of their tears. They laughed while crying at the joy of being in each other's arms again.

Harry's heart skipped a beat. He watched stunned for a moment the pair then slowly turned to Snape whose wrath he was terribly afraid of.

Severus however, felt like his heart had broken into millions of pieces. Despite the smoke and stench, he still felt the beloved woman's warmth and sweet smell around him. But the woman just stood there, not caring about him, only paying attention to her resurrected lover. The wind blew his torn cloak as he turned and with firm-looking but feeble steps started towards the castle. He didn't Apparate or use any tool to get there sooner as he walked on the dirt road alone. His son looked at the treacherous woman with tears in his eyes then ran after his father, hoping to catch up with him.

Harry, however, was unable to do anything. He stood frozen at the place he was ever since the figure appeared and watched the embracing couple with wheezy chest and reddening face. They, after separating, turned to him and walked towards him like happy parents while holding hands.

Sirius' eyes lit up as he looked at his godson. As he got closer, he almost ran while opening his arms wide laughing. It was obvious he was eager to hug the boy again.

Harry moved closer with dazed steps then ran at him with clenched fists. He pushed the man's chest then screamed at him.

"How could you do this?!"

The satisfied smile disappeared from Sirius' face as he looked blankly at the woman standing next to him who seemed to suspect what was wrong.

"Harr…"

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS?" Harry pushed him to the ground.

He was so angry that tears glistened brightly in his eyes.

"Harry!" the woman whispered in horror.

"Shut up!"

"Harry, what…?!"

"Are you satisfied now? Are you proud of yourself for ruining someone's life again?!"

"What's wrong with you?" Sirius looked at him puzzled. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

"Not as happy as this!" he pointed at the woman with disgust.

"How can you say that?" Rowena frowned. "It's a miracle that…"

"I don't want miracles! Someone like you should not lecture me!"

"Harry!" both adults snapped.

"I wish you had never come back! You should have stayed with them! You ruined everything! I don't want to see you again! NEVER!"

He turned around and ran towards the castle.

"It's okay…" Lavender tried to comfort Lamerin who was crying in the boys' room.

"He wouldn't let me in," the boy moaned. "What if he does something to himself?"

"on gulped and looked at Hermione.

"Look," the girl rubbed her aching temples. "…I'm sure your father wouldn't do anything stupid… He knows you need him… Harry, WOULD YOU SIT DOWN already?" she snapped at his pacing friend.

"Maybe you should both talk to him," Ron suggested. "Harry, you know he listens to you nowadays…"

"Sure! You think I can just go and talk to him?! My godfather is the one who had just risen from the dead and ruined their happiness and you think I can appear in front of him and make excuses? It would be a miracle if he didn't kill me on the spot!"

"Dad… likes you," Lamerin sat up. "And don't blame yourself for what happened. It's not your fault."

"It's Rowena's," Harry muttered with a loud sigh.

He looked out of the window for a while but his head started to hurt so he stopped.

"Sleep here tonight, if you can't go into your chambers," he turned to the young Snape. His face was tired and worn out and it was obvious he was trying to appear nice despite looking so sour. "Two or three people can fit in these beds…"

Lamerin nodded gratefully then watched Hermione putting a bowl filled with clean water in front of him. As soon as he saw his smeared face in it he thought it was a good idea to clean up a bit.

Meanwhile, the girl stepped to Harry.

"Don't you want to meet him? I mean… Sirius?"

"We have nothing to do with each other anymore," Harry shook his head. "There's nothing to talk about."

"Harry, PLEASE! It might be just a misunderstanding!"

"There is nothing to misunderstand! It's obvious what happened!" Harry hissed when he saw the others changed to other topics. He didn't want them to hear they were still arguing about that.

"Anyway… I want you to go to the Hospital Wing! Your wounds look terrible and you didn't give the Healers enough time to check you before running off."

"I'm not going…" Harry said walking towards his bed. "I'll be fine…"

"Harry, as a prefect, I order you to…"

"Don't order me! I'm the captain of the Quidditch team, I have the same right as you…!"

"HARRY! GO TO THE HOSPITAL WING! NOW!"

The boy who just had the toughest fight of his life that afternoon walked reluctantly down the dark and cool corridors. Harry was in no mood to get close to the crowd near the Hospital Wing to have everyone look at him then start gossiping about what happened. Even from afar, he could hear the wailing and crying coming from the open doors.

His heart sank as he peered inside and saw almost every bed was occupied. He had never experienced anything like that, not even during the winter when a lot of students came down with a cold. The nurses ran from bed to bed with potions while others cleaned dirty wounds. Every bed and bandage was bloody making Harry feel like he stepped into a military hospital.

He slowly walked among the beds peeking at the people behind the curtains to see who lay there. In one of the closest ones, the Creevey family waited anxiously to see if the Healers could heal Dennis who was in a terrible condition. Colin, who Harry found terribly annoying in his first year, now sat at the edge of his brother's bed with a blank look. He gently stroked Dennis' legs through the covers. The little boy was still unconscious.

"Colin," Harry whispered as he put a hand on his shoulder.

The boy turned to him and seemed relieved upon seeing him.

"How's Dennis?"

"Not good… we're… waiting for the potions… They're bringing them from St. Mungo's…"

Harry looked at their weeping mother and grim-looking father.

"Are you…?" the man started.

"Harry Potter," Harry held out his hand respectfully. "I'm really sorry for what happened to Dennis…"

"It's not your fault," the sobbing mother said. "Poor child, you're covered with wounds too! Come we'll find a healer for you too…!"

"No, thank you… I'll manage… just… stay with Dennis…"

He squeezed Colin's shoulder one last time then left.

Most of the wounded were strangers to him from the village though he knew some of their faces; a waiter from Madame Puddyfoot's café, a gentle-looking witch from Honeydukes… On one of the beds sat Madame Rosmerta as a Healer tended to the burns on her arm.

"I swear to you, Cornelius, I've never seen such cruelty in my life," the woman said as her arm was covered with a red antiseptic liquid. "And these children…! Without them, we would have twice as many injured people!"

"It's a shame!" a waiter said whose ear the Healers were trying to save. "Our children have to fight against these monsters! The Ministry needs more Aurors!"

"You have to understand, dear Archie, that the Auror profession entails very serious requirements," the Minister said. "Absolute precision in terms of skills, moral certificates…"

"But not if the cost is to not have new recruits for years!" Rosmerta interjected. "If no one's good enough then who will protect us from You-Know-Who's followers?"

"The Ministry should tidy up in their own backyard and rewrite their requirements before throwing every applying person out!"

Caramel didn't answer because he noticed that Harry was witness to their little argument.

"Potter," the wizard with severed ear whispered.

"Potter, come and…"

Harry walked away without a word. He had no desire to share the bed with the Minister. Unfortunately for him, on the bed next to his was Tonks.

The woman was restrained by two nurses as she cried hysterically. She pressed her hands to her abdomen as if in great pain. Her body was covered with bruises but no serious injuries were visible. Harry didn't understand why she acted like that unless…

"Come, Potter, don't watch this," McGonagall took his arm and led him away.

"Remus!" the boy ran to a nearby bed where the man rested.

Lupin was unconscious; one of the nurses just sedated him.

"Is he alright? Is he alive?" Harry asked.

The white-robed man nodded then ran to the bed next to them.

"What happened to him?"

"Professor Lupin studied Animagi all year, Potter, I don't know if he told you or now," McGonagall started and Harry shook his head. "I thought so. Well… Despite being an adult with exceptional abilities, he didn't make much progress. Only recently, he started to make progress when he managed to transform some body parts. That's how… he was able to turn to a wolf in part and bite Pettigrew."

"But Professor…" Harry asked quietly. "…they're not going to punish him for this, right? I mean… we learnt in Professor Snape's lesson that a werewolf that bites and infects another could very well end up in Azkaban…"

"Pettigrew was a criminal, Potter, I doubt his death would be a cause to send anyone to prison."

"And… why did Remus learn Animagi?"

"Professor Lupin, Potter. He was trying to find a solution to the transformation. If he managed to take the form of a wolf during the full moon his mind might stay clear… theoretically. No one has ever succeeded before. But come now, let someone take a look at your wounds.

I suggest you don't walk around too much for now, Sirius. We don't want another panic among the students. Be sure to always have someone with you… a teacher.

Dumbledore's words still rang in Sirius' ears. The man left his room at dawn to watch the sunrise from one of the corridors looking over the garden. Though the charges weren't officially dropped yet, he was no longer under house arrest and it filled him with a sense of freedom. However, what could that happiness mean when Harry didn't want to see him?

He had not seen the boy since their parting in Hogsmeade. He was so aggressive, so impatient… Why didn't he let him explain everything?

As he watched the sun coming up the horizon he suddenly heard footsteps. He looked to the side and found Rowena dressed in white. She seemed surprised to find him there.

"I was on my way to you," Sirius admitted. "I wanted to ask you to accompany me to the Gryffindor tower. Dumbledore said I would scare the kids alone…"

"Unfortunately, I'm too busy now…" the woman replied sadly. "I have to go to the Hospital Wing; Poppy simply can't handle all of this alone. But the children are probably still asleep so we could go up later. Will you come with me?" she asked while putting on a white apron.

"Sure," the man nodded.

They walked silently, not daring to talk. Finally, Sirius broke the silence.

"Did you talk to… Severus?"

Rowena remained silent then wiped a tear from her face.

"No," she shook her head. "He wouldn't open the door and changed the protection spell too. I can't just… go in anymore. He doesn't want to listen to me…"

Sirius sighed.

"That damned bat, just let me at him…!"

"Don't say that!" she commanded him. "Don't talk about Severus like that. He's a good man! This is all my fault! Our fault! Hatred isn't a solution!"

"But not letting you explain isn't a solution either…"

"Just… he knew this was going to happen…" Rowena kept walking with her head bowed. "That's why he protested so much… you know. But he still did it in the end," he looked into his former lover's eyes sharply. "You should be grateful for that!"

"I am… in a way…" Sirius muttered.

Slowly, they reached the Hospital Wing that welcomed them with open doors. Madame Pomfrey ran around inside but something else got Black's attention.

Three students were whispering at the entrance and he recognized Harry in one of them.

He was trying to comfort a sobbing girl who clang to his robes like a lifeline.

"It's okay, Susan…" he patted her long hair she always kept in a tight braid. "It's not certain yet…"

Seamus leaned against the wall and tried to hold back his tears. His head and wrist were bandaged and there were cuts on his face too.

"Why didn't I get there in time…?" he whispered bitterly.

"Poor Hannah!" Susan stammered crying loudly.

"Susan, please be a little quieter," Harry said in a low voice. "Patients might still be sleeping inside…"

"Harry, hi," Sirius greeted him making the boy wince.

Seamus and the blond girl looked at him in horror when they recognized him from the wanted posters.

Harry reluctantly let go of the girl and turned to them. His face showed nothing but hatred.

"I'm glad you're here… You know we need to talk."

"I'm sorry," the boy said as his muscles trembled with rage. "…but this is not the right time. One of our classmates might become blind and who know when the others will get better so I WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF YOU STOPPED BOTHERING ME!"

"Potter!" Madame Pomfrey ran to the door furiously. "Get out of here if you can't be quiet! This is the Hospital Wing!"

The three students reluctantly walked towards the Great Hall and the two adults felt terribly ashamed.

"It will be much harder than I thought."

"Life's always difficult with a teenager…" Rowena said feeling guilty. "He's just like you were back then. Come on and… help giving out the potions."

Sirius put on the white apron and started pushing the cart with the bottles. Though the glass jars cluttered sometimes, he managed to move in a relatively silent fashion.

Rowena got a paper with names and doses on so she put the potions on the bedside tables accordingly. If there were children lying in bed she tried to smile at them.

"Poor girl…" she looked at Tonks who slept probably thanks to some strong sleeping potion. She kissed her forehead. "Nymphadora was pregnant, did you know?" she asked Sirius softly.

"Yes, I heard Madame Pomfrey talking about it with one of the Healers… terrible. Poor Remus…"

"And poor Tonks," Rowena corrected.

"You know that's not what I meant," Sirius furrowed his eyebrows. "She's my relative, my cousin…!"

"In addition, Remus might not have known about it… That Mulciber…" she hissed. "He deserved what he got from Kingsley…"

"That doesn't change the fact that Remus could have been incredibly happy if Tonks didn't lose the baby when she fell…"

Since Rowena didn't answer just sighed sadly, he continued.

"Remus has always loved playing with babies. He loved Harry when he was small."

"Yes, I remember…" the professor smiled as the pleasant memories flooded her mind. "He only calmed down when Remus held him… or Lily. He always cried when you played with him. They were so afraid you or James would drop him…!"

"Weird," he grimaced. "I always thought he enjoyed it…"

"Don't expect a baby that small to instantly love flying… you would have made a reckless father."

Black grinned.

"I'm glad we never thought about having children…"

"That's not nice," Sirius chuckled.

"No, it was out of the question. You were too irresponsible…"

"I don't deny it…" he said with a charming smile.

While the woman put two red potions on a bedside table next to a white-haired man's bed, he looked at her fingers curiously.

"I see you're not wearing my ring anymore…"

Rowena straightened up.

"You don't think I would wear that while I'm with Severus?" she asked then scratched her head in embarrassment. "Anyway… I don't have it."

"What? How come? You lost it?"

"I sold it and bought a pair of dragon skin boots," the woman shrugged.

"You did what?" her former lover laughed.

"Don't look at me like that! I was really angry at you! I thought you betrayed your friends. You were in prison! What did you expect? That I would grieve like a widow all my life? But if it's any consolation; it was a really comfortable pair of boots. I wore it for years until the heel broke."

Sirius could barely stop laughing and wiped his tears off several times as he followed the woman.

"You're crazy… I've always known…"

Lessons didn't resume in the next several days since the ministry people, healers and nurses all went around in the castle to take care of the patients. They couldn't have started teaching even if all the teachers were healthy and uninjured.

Not only Severus and Remus suffered from injuries. Professor Flitwick also had cuts and bruises and even Honeybourne had some wounds. Stainthorp, despite being the Defense Against Dark Arts teacher, didn't prove to be particularly helpful; he escaped relatively unscathed but the snide remarks reached even his ears. He watched enviously as the previously wanted Black mysteriously reappeared and spent almost all his time with Rowena. He had another rival beside Severus, so he was quickly loosing hope of ever getting the woman. He spent most of his time with guarding the prisoners. Hogwarts hasn't had this many evil wizards in it for centuries. Those who previously wondered why so many cells were built in the Slytherin dungeons knew now how well-built the castle was. Aurors and Order members stood guard to prevent the prisoners from escaping.

The students who sided with the Death Eaters were a much bigger problem. Millicent, Pansy, Nott, Crabbe, Goyle and Malfoy claimed to have been under the Imperius charm. Many noticed how quiet Malfoy became while being interrogated. Dumbledore suspected what haunted the boy and decided to keep an eye on him. He asked for the charges to be dropped and the students to be placed under his jurisdiction to give them sufficient punishment.

Caramel happily agreed to this rapid conclusion since they had a lot of others people to deal with.

A few days later, on a sunny March day, he invited the students who fought on that sad Saturday to the Great Hall. Lavender, Colin, Seamus, the two Patil girls, Dean, Neville, Luna, Terry Boot, Michael Corner, the still limping Anthony, Susan, Justin and Earnie stood somewhat puzzled lined up in front of the teacher's table. Ron didn't even want to appear because his brothers' health was more important to him than some political move to praise them. However, Hermione dragged him there because Dumbledore asked them to attend. Harry also wanted to get out of it because he suspected they were going to lecture them about how reckless their actions were. So he put his hands in his pockets as he eyed Dumbledore's cup. The Headmaster sat at his usual seat, in the middle. Next to him were secretaries, journalists, a clerk and two official looking man with a large wooden crate.

"Well, brave young men and ladies…" started the minister. "In behalf of the Ministry and the wizard society, I would like to express my gratitude for your heroic deeds when You-Know-Who and his followers attacked Hogsmeade."

Ron sighed as he looked at the writing clerk. It wasn't Percy; some stranger sat there but that didn't change the fact that their presence was unnecessary. He was more interested in his brothers' and little sister's recovery.

"This day will be a part of history forever and I can assure you that your names will not be forgotten."

"Yeah, sure," Anthony whispered into Susan's ear but Harry heard it too. "This whole shebang is for him to be bale to remain in office longer…"

"I hope you didn't find the interviews and photos of the Prophet too intrusive; it was only necessary to appease the public, so everyone knew there were still young people ready to take action against the threat of these dark forces. Of course, there are those already accustomed to the presence of the media…"

His mischievous eyes turned to Harry who hated him for it. He rolled his eyes.

"I know all of you have losses to deal with. I don't know how one could compensate for it with money, but… The Ministry gave me a considerable amount to give out as a token of appreciation. Please, when you hear your name," he pulled out a piece of parchment, "…step forward and receive the hundred galleons from the two gentlemen here."

In different circumstances, they would have rejoiced at the prospect of receiving so much money but now they all took the bag of coins sadly.

"All right. Miss Ginny Weasley, Miss. Hannah Abbott, Mr. Zacharias Smith and Mr. Dennis Creevey will receive their award from the Headmaster since they couldn't make it here due to their injuries."

Susan Bones burst into tears again as she looked at the bag of money and thought of her friend, Hannah. Anthony leaned on one of his crutches and patted her back. The boy's other hand, the one that held the money, shook with anger. Colin simply looked blankly ahead not really seeing anything; his face was pale and gaunt due to his worry over his brother.

"In addition, I am pleased to announce that you don't need to take exams at the end of the year. The OWLs can't be skipped though, Miss. Lovegood," he turned to the girl who looked ahead blankly as she always did. "Those are important for your future education and occupation. But I can promise you that you already got an 'Excellent' in Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Sir," Neville said in a terribly menacing voice. He tried to hide his resentment but his friends knew how difficult it was for him. Hermione feared the boy would be nervous, considering how important the man he was talking to was, but there was no trace of nervousness in his voice. "I doubt any of us did this to get a reward."

Fudge raised a thick eyebrow and started at the boy.

"Mr. Longbottom, I didn't…"

"Neville's right!" Anthony blurted out. "We only did what we thought was right! We weren't expecting any reward or exception-making!"

"In addition…" Susan sobbed. "…there are things you can't compensate for with money…"

The Minister looked from one student to the other as more of them started to speak up. Harry looked into Dumbledore's eyes who nodded with a smile. The boy started speaking.

"Minister Fudge, I doubt the Ministry has a lot of money to spare in these difficult times. Instead of wasting it on us, you should use it to help the villagers who need it more. A lot of people lost their homes in Hogsmeade and they need all the support they can get to rebuild the houses. Several families suffered through the Death Eaters' cruelty; who's going to rebuild their houses?" he glanced at Ron. "I for one would like to give up my reward." He threw the bag on the floor in front of the Minister. "It might not be much but other people need it more."

"Harry's right," Hermione agreed and put her own bag of money down.

The others weren't so polite; they just dropped their reward and some of the coins fell out.

The journalists didn't fail to write down every word and when Harry threw the money on the ground they took out their cameras to capture the scene.

Fudge paled and wiped his sweating brow.

"Well… well… all right…" he moaned in humiliation.

As the students cried on each other's shoulders Harry looked over Fudge's shoulder to look at Dumbledore. The headmaster raised his cup and drank to their health. His eyes beamed with pride.

Next day, the newspapers wrote about the generosity of the Hogwarts students and their touching and powerful words not leaving out Caramel's shame. The Minister, forced by the reporters' questions donated a generous amount to the people in need. The man recovered some of his lost popularity with this, but it would never be the same as before…