Remus began the process of herding all of the students that had been in the Three Broomsticks back to Hogwarts via the Floo. His mind had been going a mile a minute ever since the attack was officially over, and he thought back to when the day had started going to hell.

He had been in Dumbledore's office with Sirius and all the other teaching staff, having their final meeting of the year, debating things such as timetables for next term, the budget, and the curse of the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher post. Then the door had burst open and they all started until they saw Ron Weasley barrel into the room, panting so much he couldn't be understood.

Dumbledore was the first to reach the fifth year. "Take your time, Mr Weasley. Severus, a Calming Draught please."

Severus had rolled his eyes, but produced a vial of the stuff and passed it down the table as he was bid. Dumbledore had held the vial to Ron's lips and had him swallow it.

"There's been an attack!" Ron had said the instant Dumbledore allowed him to speak, hyperventilating slightly despite the Potion clearly taking effect. "Death Eater's have arrived in Hogsmeade! Harry sent me. He said for you to get the Auror's and the Order members, and that the Senior DA members will try and hold them off until more qualified help arrives. Then I should get Harry's satchel from the dorm and give it to Madam Pomfrey."

The table had erupted in chaos. Remus's heart was racing, his mind instantly going to Amelia, Harry and Dorea - technically his nieces and nephew - in Hogsmeade. Were they safe? Were they alright? There was no way that every single Senior would be able to hold off every single Death Eater…

Sirius was panicking too, he had burst from his chair and paced the room - worried for his own daughter and charges too. Dumbledore silenced the room with a bang from his wand. "Minerva, Remus, contact as many Order members as you can. Sirius, contact Rufus - we'll likely be needing the whole Auror department. Severus, you go and aid Madam Pomfrey. I'll contact Minister Bones. Cuthbert, inform Madam Pomfrey to start preparing for the injured, there will be lots, and we may need help from St Mungo's." Dumbledore paused as Cuthbert Binns flew out of the room, whilst Severus left in a huff. Minerva went to a corner and sent out hurried Patronus messages, as did Sirius.

The Headmaster continued. "Charity, Sybil, go to my office and retrieve the complete list of students. We must ensure that everyone is accounted for at the end. Start by taking attendance of those in the school, and then Floo to the Three Broomsticks and take a similar role call there. That way, we will know who is missing and who to look for." Trelawney and Burbage left the room running. When Sirius had informed Rufus Scrimgeour did Dumbledore continue talking. "As for the rest of us, we shall go to Hogsmeade and defend it. Remus, Minerva, join us when you are ready."

Remus had been itching to go and help protect his students all while doing his Patronus calls to the Order members, so as soon as he was done he clambered into the Floo and went to join the fight. He'd had trouble keeping up with Sirius, who was simply in a frantic frenzy trying to locate Harry, Dorea and Amelia. He aimed anything and everything at any person in Death Eater garb, past caring about how lethal he was being. These people were harming mere kids and teenagers - they deserved the worst.

He didn't realise how many corners he had rounded until he came on to the main high street and realised that Sirius had stopped. Then he saw his best friend run towards Amelia, who thankfully looked okay. Okay, Amelia's counted for, brilliant, he thought, but where's her twin brother and godsister?

He only had to ponder that for a few minutes, as Harry, Ron and Dorea appeared with other students. Both Sirius and him had interrogated them lengthily about their health, and thankfully all were okay. That was the best news of the day.

Whilst everyone was gladly resting after that huge battle, Order of the Phoenix members as well as Auror's had sent out Patronus messages. Rufus Scrimgeour had scoured the whole north side of Hogsmeade and reported that there were no Death Eaters coming back for more. Tonks said the same likewise for the east side. Emmilene Vance had to take care of a few stragglers on the west side, but had dealt with them accordingly, and since then there hadn't been any more. When Hestia Jones's Patronus arrived and had confirmed that the south side was clear, they could finally relax.

The next matter of business was getting the students back up to the safe walls and boundaries of Hogwarts. Some had already gone back up via the Floo at the Three Broomsticks, but there was no way there would be enough Floo powder for everybody. That meant that all that were able would have to walk back up the path. When that was suggested, Rufus Scrimgeour organised some Auror's to be stationed all the way up the path in case the Death Eater's appeared there again. When that was finally set up, the long process of getting the kids back up to school began.

They sent them back via year groups. McGonagall projected her voice to say that all third years should gather on the main high street. That took about ten minutes, once there was confirmation that some had already been sent back to Hogwarts to be treated for injuries. Then they went up on their way.

Remus had been standing near his nieces, nephew and some of their friends when he noticed a group of fourth year girls gathered around somebody. He kept his eyes on the group. When a gap opened up, he saw who was crying - Hope Geddes. The fourth year Ravenclaw looked horribly distraught.

He wandered over, his werewolf senses telling him this was something bad. The group noticed him.

"What's wrong?" He asked gently to nobody in particular.

"Sir, Hope… Hope saw somebody die." a Hufflepuff girl said nervously.

His heart sank. He knew that feeling very well. He leaned down slightly and looked at the student. "Miss Geddes, who was it?"

Hope Geddes sucked in a breath and tried to steady her breathing and tears. He let her take her time. When she felt she had regained some composure, the girl spoke. "M-Mandy Brocklehurst."

Remus's heart almost stopped. He wasn't expecting that at all. Mandy he knew was in the DA, but he knew the girl quite well as he was her Defence teacher. She had a keen interest in Healing, he knew, and was an all round lovely girl and a pleasure to teach. But now she is dead…

Hope cried again, and without even thinking he pulled her in for a hug. Hope didn't object. The girl only reached his chest in height, but it meant she was able to nestle herself. Remus felt truly awful; both for Hope, as she had to witness that happening in front of her at a young age, and for Mandy herself. He would miss her quick wit and intellect in his classes.

He wanted to stay and comfort the students, but unfortunately he was sure that there was a lot of clean-up and work to be done here in the village. He carefully handed Hope back to her friends before he walked away. As he did that, McGonagall was projecting her voice again to call all fourth year students to the high street.

He saw Dumbledore come out of a side street, with Kingsley Shacklebolt, Flitwick and Sirius flanking him. Remus felt another bad feeling go through him when he saw them all looking grim, with Filius looking close to tears.

He jogged over. "What happened?"

"We'd been informed of Mandy Brocklehurst's death, but the Auror's just found her body.." Sirius spoke for them.

Remus could only imagine how horrible that would be. "I've just comforted Hope Geddes, who was there when she.. Passed." he paused, giving Flitwick a sympathetic look as he felt his eyes become glassy again. "Is there anything else?"

This time Albus replied. "There's been another casualty - Roger Davies."

As Remus absorbed those words, they felt like a punch to the gut. Roger was a seventh year student, literally days away from graduating with top grades across most classes. Remus had first met the lad two years ago, when the boy had just gone into fifth year, and he knew he was excellent back then. In fact, at the graduation ceremony next Sunday, the boy was due to receive the Attainment Cup; a prize given to the girl and boy of seventh year with the highest grades. Now the boy had passed away… He understood Flitwick's crestfallen expression. Sprout had worn a similar one last year when Cedric Diggory died.

"Apparently one of his arms had been severed at the elbow, but the curse's effects were irreversible and he bled out. His friends had gotten him to Madam Pomfrey, but even blood replenishers weren't enough to stop the flow." Sirius explained, also in a sad tone, as Remus knew that Roger did NEWT Astronomy with Sirius.

He knew that the subject needed changing. "What's all happening at the Ministry?"

Kingsley answered. "The Death Eater's that have been captured are all being immediately detained in high-security holding cells. I must say, it was good of the students to bound the Death Eater's and snap their wands once they knocked them out - it has sped up the process of getting them there and detained sooner."

Remus had an inkling he knew just who had taken that initiative.

Kingsley continued. "Minister Bones will be here very shortly. She's just had to deal with Fudge's cronies; they're going mental, trying to brush the attack under the carpet. Fudge and his other supporters are worried about bad press."

"Bad press? Bad press?!" Sirius exclaimed, and Remus felt anger too. "Kids have been killed! It's clear to anybody that this is the work of Death Eater's! They can't just turn a blind eye when the evidence is all right here!"

Kingsley agreed, but made a motion for Sirius to halt as he was going to continue. "That's why they're freaking out, probably. A lot of Ministry workers were either arrested or know at least a few people that have been arrested today. Their future is in jeopardy so they're trying to divert everyone's eyes."

The disgust in Kingsley's voice was clear. Everyone knew that the high-up Death Eater's, such as Malfoy, had bought their way out of justice during the first war. Remus was just glad that with Amelia Bones in charge, nothing like that was going to happen this time around. Justice was going to be served one way or another.

Tonks joined them then, along with Rufus Scrimgeour. Remus nodded at Emmeline Vance and Hestia Jones as they walked past - strangely, with a very upset Pansy Parkinson between them. The two Order members (and Auror's) were comforting her in a side embrace. Surely the child of a pure-blood Slytherin family wasn't caught up in all this? Remus thought. Had Parkinson seen something?

Scrimgeour lowered his voice a bit, looking mournful. "We need to interview all the kids that were involved in the fighting today. It may just be that we need to interview every single student that was here in Hogsmeade today."

Albus looked in thought. "That's going to be lengthy."

Scrimgeour made a noise of agreement. "That's true, but I don't want a single stone unturned. I want to know every. Single. Death Eater that was here today, to make sure that every last one of them is rotting in Azkaban." The Head Auror said, punctuating his words.

"A good place to start would be my own daughter and godchildren." Sirius offered. "They're unharmed, so will be able to answer any questions straight away, and they fought in the defence of the village."

Scrimgeour nodded. "I think I should say - they did a brilliant job in that regard. I've heard kids saying they were valiant in defending the Three Broomsticks from the inside and outside in particular."

Sirius smiled proudly very briefly, as did Remus, but they knew there would be another time for that. They had work still to do here.

"We are best to interview the students whilst the event is still fresh," Dumbledore said, "but it may have to wait a few hours. I feel there is an announcement to the school I must make, once the casualties are all official."

Scrimgeour made another noise, but understood. "I can come to Hogwarts over the course of the rest of this week and parts of next. I can take more Auror's with me and we can all question, so that the process will be sped up."

Dumbledore nodded, before saying, "Now that that's in place, I'm afraid I need to see if there's any other casualties."

They all dipped their heads and nodded solemnly, before going their separate ways.

The fighting was done, but that was just one part.

Dorea Black knew that nobody was going to like the news of casualties. Though she desperately wanted everybody to be okay, to live another day, that was impossible. There was just no way that everybody had managed to survive the Death Eater's.

As the fifth years slowly walked back up to Hogwarts, she knew that part of the reason they were walking so slowly was because the stress of the day was finally catching up to everybody. Fighting for your life, there was no time for tears. But now that the fighting had passed, the tears and anguish from all they had witnessed came.

She found herself beside Padma Patil as they walked solemnly. The girl was furiously wiping her face and quietly crying. Dorea had an arm wrapped around her as they walked side-by-side - she knew Padma pretty well and considered her a friend.

"It's all over with now," Dorea said, trying to bring comfort, "we've survived."

Padma nodded, but still spoke. "B-but not all of us have."

Dorea understood, and squeezed Padma's hand. Her friend squeezed it back. Sue Li appeared to Dorea's left. The girl had been a bit distraught when the fighting was done, as she'd seen her walking about, calling and searching for Mandy Brocklehurst, who nobody had seen since the fighting started. Naturally, they were all worried sick for her. The Auror's had promised they would do everything they could to locate Mandy, the words dead or alive being unspoken but understood.

There were Auror's stationed every fifty meters up the path to Hogwarts, and Dorea only recognised a handful of them. They must've brought along those still in training, she thought, as they looked a bit fresh faced and wide-eyed. Though being an Auror was a desired and well-paid job, it took commitment and determination to make it past training, and quite a lot dropped out at various stages along the way, meaning that the department actually had a shortage for the first time in twenty or so years. If her dad wasn't the Astronomy teacher at Hogwarts, Dorea was sure that they would have called him back to help out.

When they eventually got back to the boundaries of Hogwarts after what felt like years, they all breathed a sigh of relief - they were completely safe now. The protective enchantments surrounding the castle would not be able to be broken. Dorea looked back at Harry, Amelia, Ron and Hermone, literally just a few feet behind her, and shared a look with them.

"Inside, please!" Dorea heard the voice of Mad-Eye Moody bark out. "Those with even the mildest of injuries, get to the Hospital Wing. Everyone else, to the Great Hall, and mourn."

Jeez, not exactly the most comforting voice you want to hear after being in a traumatising battle. Dorea thought.

In contrast, the looming figure of Hagrid was standing at the threshold between the Entrance Hall and the Great Hall up ahead. He made a much more comforting sight than Moody.

As they walked even slower into the school, everyone's attention seemed to peer towards a corner of the Entrance Hall, where a group of girls could be heard crying.

"Oh no…" Padma said from next to her.

"Who's crying, Padma?" Hermione asked, leaning her head forward so much her head was almost resting on Padma Patil's left shoulder.

"A lot of Ravenclaw girls. Oh dear, I can see Cho…"

Dorea felt a pang of sympathy. Though she and Cho weren't the closest, she got on very well with her. In fact, she and Amelia had saved Cho from some awful bullies earlier in the year. She was very sweet for a popular girl, not horrible or spiteful in the slightest.

Cho had to mourn Cedric last year, and now she was mourning somebody else, clearly. Dorea felt absolutely awful.

The line stopped momentarily, as Padma took the initiative to wonder just who they were crying over. "Cho, what's wrong? Did you see something? Somebody get hurt?"

Cho Chang looked over, tears furiously running down her face. They all understood why the second she cleared her throat and spoke.

"M-Marietta's dead."

The attack had only been four hours ago, yet it had felt like mere seconds. It had all been so fast… It still hurt to think that some students were going to Hogsmeade, with all intentions of having a nice relaxed day spent shopping with friends - for people like Roger it was going to be their final weekend visiting as a student… but then they were cruelly torn away from the world.

The Great Hall, which had been a makeshift space for people to recuperate once they'd been dismissed from the Hospital Wing, or to stand around in and mourn, was almost packed. The first to second years didn't look battered at all, since they were too young to go to Hogsmeade, but everyone from third years and up looked both physically and mentally crap.

Amelia was gathered with most of the DA members near the staff table, furthest away from the door - as if that would somehow delay the inevitable news of death reaching them. A good chunk of them were quietly crying, as if they already knew just who had been killed. Either way, they were all there for each other once the news was brought to them. She had tucked her head into Theo's shoulder and had herself half-wrapped around him, almost feeling drowsy. Both of his hands were around her waist, and his head rested gently on top of hers. Fred and Dorea were in a similar embrace, as were some other close friend groups. Seamus and Dean were even holding hands.

Professor Sprout had just walked into the Hall, looking very bleary eyed indeed. They all watched as their kind, lovable Herbology teacher slowly made her way towards different groups of people, and seemed to be telling them some news. It didn't sound good - for one girl let out a heart-breaking cry. Clearly, someone had been reported either dead or seriously injured.

They all looked to one another as Sprout walked towards them. Amelia held Theo's hand that little bit tighter, bracing herself. Here we go.

"A-another death. Patricia Stimpson, seventh year." Sprout paused, as a few of the Slytherin seventh years broke down crying. Patricia was clearly their beloved friend. "Her killer has been arrested. Justice will be served."

Though Amelia only knew the Stimpson girl to see her, she felt terrible nonetheless. She let a few tears fall and went to join the students surrounding the grieving friends, offering her sympathies. When she got back, Theo was furiously rubbing his face. "Very friendly girl. Wanted to work with creatures."

She tucked herself into his side again. "She will be missed."

News slowly trickled back up to the students taking refuge in the school, though it was either relayed by Sprout or Babbling. Professor Vector and Madam Hooch had taken it upon themselves to go around offering anyone seriously affected if they wished to go to an unused classroom to vent and let out their anger and grief. That was a very smart idea - it was better to let off some steam whilst the news was still so fresh. Amelia didn't take up the offer, but others did.

Since dinner was clearly going to be delayed, all different types of light meals appeared on all of the tables. Only a handful of people ate - and even so they mostly nibbled. Amelia knew she wasn't the only one that didn't feel like eating, for the sole reason being that she knew she would probably throw it all back up at some point.

What was simply both the quickest yet longest day of their lives lasted for hours. At four o'clock, Dumbledore and some of the Aurors arrived back at the school, as they saw them talking in the Entrance Hall. Apparently Minister Bones was there too, though they didn't see her, but she was probably focussing more on the damage done in Hogsmeade. The whole room seemed to perk up when Dumbledore strode into the room, walking down between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables to head towards the podium. They soon saw the rest of the school - well, the ones who weren't injured, dead or in the Hospital Wing, slowly walking into the Hall. There was clearly an announcement about to be made.

Normally, for assemblies, they would all be sitting at their house tables; or in the case of Cedric Diggory's death announcement last year, rows of chairs would be set out in the hall for everybody to just sit and face the front. But Dumbledore seemed to acknowledge that nobody would be thinking about school protocol right now, so let them just stay where they were and didn't seem to care whether people were standing or sitting. That was appreciated greatly.

More and more people slowly made their way into the Great Hall and chose places to sit or stand. Amelia sighted Draco with Crabbe and Goyle, looking neither windswept nor perfectly kept. Was he at Hogsmeade today? Amelia wondered.

She didn't have time to ponder before Dumbledore prepped the podium and awaited everybody to get comfortable. Then his speech began.

"As many of you here know, the nearby village of Hogsmeade was attacked brutally at lunchtime today. The attack has left the village almost destroyed, but more importantly, it has taken a large toll on us. A lot of you were there today; spending time with friends, loved ones, and enjoying the last visit of this school year. That is why this attack was such a shock, and is still hard to process."

"There is no denying that this attack was carried out by the Death Eater's, a vile group of people that sought to harm anyone they saw, all in the name of the ideology and person that they support. What they did was brutal and unforgivable. In their rampage, they sadly managed to claim the lives of some of your fellow classmates."

At that, Amelia looked to the ground momentarily, trying to stifle her emotions. Theo, next to her, started rubbing his hand up and down her back gently.

"I must say - every one of you who were at Hogsmeade today were very brave. You all took your own initiatives when the attack started and there were initially Auror's yet to arrive, but despite that, you all ended up working as one to repel the dark witches and wizards out to cause chaos and terror. I have no doubt that lives were saved today as a result of your valiance.

"And now we come to the horrible part. As mentioned earlier, there were casualties from this event, which is utterly heartbreaking. Those students that lost their lives did not deserve to be murdered brutally. Every one of them were gifted pupils, with great mindsets and exceptional loyalty and kindness to those that knew them. Now that we have full confirmation of casualties, I feel duty and honour bound to inform you of who lost their lives today. They are as follows: Roger Davies - Ravenclaw, Patricia Stimpson - Slytherin, Scarlett Lympsham - Slytherin, Marietta Edgecombe - Ravenclaw, Mandy Brocklehurst - Ravenclaw."

After Dumbledore had read out each name, he paused to allow people to take in the news. Amelia pursed her mouth and squeezed her eyes - for she felt sad all over again at the confirmation that her own yearmate and friend - Mandy, was dead. She could hear people inhaling sharp breaths all around her, whimpers, whispers and the sure sound of people trying to be quiet whilst sniffling. Theo moved slightly from next to her, and whispered to her, "it's alright, baby, cry if you need to, I've got you."

That warmed her heart so much that she almost started crying purely from his sweetness and understanding.

She only heard the last sentence of Dumbledore's speech from then on in. "...But know this: We will get through this, I have no doubt. We will all keep on going in their memory, as I'm sure they would want us to. We will honour them, and fight this evil we are now officially living within, even if their killers are brought to justice. Now, you are all free to go to your common rooms, embrace each other, and mourn."

Nobody needed to be told that twice.

Everyone in the Hall got up, and slowly made their way out and away to their common rooms, albeit slowly again. When they got closer and closer to the Grand Staircase, Theo got more clingy.

"What's wrong?" She asked him, in a tired, croaky voice.

"Don't wanna leave you." Theo said, wiping his face and replying in the same tone as her.

"I'll be fine," then she quickly corrected herself, "we'll both be fine. We'll both be among friends for the night."

"But I want to comfort you," Theo said, almost in a childlike voice, "hold you, cuddle you, make you forget all the horrible things you saw. After today, I don't wanna let you out of m' sight again…"

She almost smiled at how cute he looked and sounded, although it was sad circumstances. She ran a hand down his face, which instantly drew his wide eyes to look into hers, and he melted into her touch. "Theo. you're forgetting that we all went through some hard shit today. Blaise will need you, as will Barnaby and your other Slytherin friends. Be there for them. You don't have to be constantly vigilant over me when your friends need you as well." she told him gently.

His mouth parted slightly, and he nodded, but she wondered if he actually just heard anything she said. "You'll definitely be okay, in the common room and your dorm?" He wanted confirmation.

She actually giggled, as if the Gryffindor common room and subsequent fifth year girls dormitory could be a death trap of hiding Death Eater's. She pictured Bellatrix Lestrange jumping out from behind the curtains and felt wrong for almost laughing. "I'll have my brother, my girl friends, and all my other housemates. We'll be there for each other."

He smiled sadly at her, before he had to leave her and descend the stairs to the dungeon. She watched him go as she climbed the stairs, and wished she could just invite him for a cuddle.

The common room felt weirdly subdued, but there were pockets of people still crying, every single one of them with at least two friends surrounding them, comforting them. She shared a look with Dorea and Hermione, and they knew what it meant: straight to bed for them.

Harry and Ron said they would see them in the morning, and off they went to bed.

It wasn't long before Lavender and Parvati also retired for the night. They entered the dormitory looking utterly red-faced and exhausted. It was quiet as they all got changed into pyjamas, until Hermione suggested something. "C-can we hold each other, tonight?"

Nobody objected.

Since there was no way all five of them would fit in one bed, they pushed Dorea, Lavender and Parvati's beds together and prepared their pillows accordingly. Without speaking, they all got in, and just held one another.

Amelia knew that across a lot of dormitories tonight, there would be roommates doing the same likewise.

Though it was no secret that a lot of Slytherin's were from families with Death Eater sympathies, the attack had shaken everyone. The Slytherin common room was silent in mourning, nobody afraid of being seen upset. It seemed some were having doubts. "How could they harm Slytherin's?" The boyfriend of Patricia Stimpson, Niles Hanley, said in his grief, his friends that were comforting him nodded avidly.

Even Pansy had found it all too much. She made her way to her dormitory feeling broken. After all - she had witnessed Patricia and Scarlett being killed before her very eyes, all because of one Axel Bulstrode. She had no clue how the man was unable to kill her or the others before those two Auror's arrived and chased him off. She had failed Patricia and Scarlett - and now both of their families were grieving them because she failed to negotiate with Bulstrode.

When she got to her dorm, she saw that the curtains around Daphne's bed were pulled, though she could hear two people crying within them. Tracey must be in there with her, Pansy deduced, comforting each other.

Pansy wanted to join them in crying. Though she would likely be shunned; ever since the beginning of the year, she had fallen out with Daphne and Tracey. All because they had joined the DA and were willing to befriend muggles and half-bloods. Looking back, she wished she had the power of hindsight. Maybe if she had been a DA member she could have saved Patricia and Scarlett…

The side of her brain that had been filled with pure-blood supremacy screamed at her: Stop thinking those thoughts, idiot, you're above those twats in the DA.

She sat down on her bed, although didn't draw her curtains. She crossed her legs and sat with her head in her hands, still feeling herself shake. She allowed herself to sniffle. She thought back on the day - about how at breakfast she and her friends were excited to spend one last Hogsmeade weekend before summer in each other's company. She'd bought a wax seal and stamp set from the stationary shop and said that she was going to send them letters over the summer with the envelope stamped with wax, like the olden days.

Then the day had gotten darker within the blink of an eye.

The dormitory door opened, and Pansy looked up. It was Millicent, as well as their other yearmate and friend, Sophie Roper. Sophie, like them, was a fan of intimidating people they thought were below them, and her father was looking to join the Death Eater's.

To look at them, you'd think that no attack had happened. In fact, they were giggling about something. Giggling. Pansy had seen two people die before her very eyes, had seen Hogsmeade partially destroyed, and people as young as thirteen being terrorised by people she thought were worth admiring, but those two were already back to laughing?

She stared at them, trying not to let her mouth hang open in disbelief as the two of them sat down on Sophie's bed and talked quietly, smiles on their faces. As much as Pansy wanted to believe this was all just a normal Saturday afternoon, she couldn't. Not after what she had seen and experienced.

"What are you two giggling about?" Pansy asked, trying to keep her voice neutral as she absentmindedly ran her fingers over the duvet, tracing the patterns.

"Did you see all the boys crying?" Millicent said, snorting, "they look so funny. Barnaby Lee even had a bubble forming-"

Pansy felt rage bubble inside her. They were laughing at the boys showing emotion? Who bloody cared what Barnaby Lee looked like at that moment?

"...looked so ugly as well, the bubbling mess." Sophie was saying. Millicent giggled loudly, causing Sophie to dissolve in laughter too. Pansy couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"Do you two have no shame?" Pansy voiced. Thirty seconds of courage. She had to show them that this was wrong.

Millicent and Sophie stopped laughing, and looked at her as if she was crazy. "Whatever do you mean, Pansy?" Sophie asked.

"People have died today! People in Slytherin as well as the other houses have been butchered without a second thought, and yet here you two are laughing about how people looked whilst crying for their friends?" She said, her voice raising a bit.

She had a feeling that Daphne and Tracey were listening.

"Jeez, Pansy, okay," Millicent said in a tone that was condescending, which made Sophie smirk and cause Pansy's anger to flare more.

"Okay? Okay? That's all you have to say to that?" She said slowly.

"What else is there to say?" Sophie said.

She scoffed, she really couldn't believe this. "Oh, I don't know, maybe say that you're sad that Mandy had to die, as well as Marietta and Roger and god knows who else. Or say that you're sad that your fellow Slytherin's were killed in the attack, at least. That would be a start."

"Patricia and Scarlett?" Millicent said.

"You know fine well who they were."

Millicent stared at Pansy for a few moments before shrugging her shoulders. "What is there to say?"

She almost exploded. "Millicent, Sophie, come off it. You knew them. They were good people and friends. You two have spoken to them on plenty of occasions! How are you not feeling sad for them?! They were literally days away from graduating!"

"They were traitors!" Millicent barked.

Pansy's lips tightened and her nostrils flared. "I beg your pardon?"

"Yeah, that's right, they were traitors. If they were ardent believers in the dark lord's cause, they wouldn't have been killed. But they were killed, you see, so clearly my uncle did the right thing. They deserved what they got."

Pansy couldn't believe she just heard that.

Sophie agreed with Millicent's view. "They betrayed their house and its values, and they betrayed their social class."

Pansy thought long and hard about what to scream at them. This was wrong. So wrong. Were these their true colours shining through? Were they this nonplussed about Cedric Diggory's death last year? Pansy tried to remember… and then had a horrible realisation that she hadn't been overly upset regarding that scenario either.

"Fuck you both," Pansy said. "You disgust me."

Millicent and Sophie looked ready to burst. "Are you a traitor too, Pansy?"

Is that really all they care about? She thought incredulously. "I guess I'm letting you down in that regard too."

Sophie glared at her, and spouted all sorts of words under her breath. Millicent looked betrayed. "Don't come crying to us when you next face my uncle, Pansy."

With that, Millicent yanked the curtains around her bed. Pansy gripped her duvet so hard her knuckles were white. She just ended a five year friendship with her closest friends. It did feel good; though there was something nagging her. Millicent and Sophie had been brainwashed the same way she had - only, she had broken free from its hold, whereas they were still ensnared by it.

Pansy knew she had done the right thing in calling them out, but what were the consequences going to be? Millicent, being petty, would likely tell all the other people they were friends with about their argument. That included Draco, Crabbe, Goyle… but she didn't care.

Does this mean I've switched sides?

Pansy was about to ponder that thought when she heard the sound of curtains being pulled back a little. She looked up, ready to have another argument with Millicent and Sophie, but it wasn't their curtains being pulled back.

It was Daphne's curtains.

Tracey peeked around, and caught eyes with her. Pansy had only now realised that a few tears had slipped down her face, though she hadn't felt them in the moment. She looked at her ex-friend and wondered what she was thinking.

Tracey looked unsure about what to say. Daphne appeared next to her. Pansy didn't know what to think or do.

"Can we talk?" Daphne whispered.

Pansy was surprised. Was this going to be their first civil discussion in months where there would be no snide remarks? She nodded, and moved to within the threshold of the area within the curtains.

She sat down in the same way she had been sitting on her own bed - cross-legged. She studied Daphne and Tracey's faces - it was clear to anyone they'd been crying recently. She straightened her posture and waited for them to speak.

"We heard everything," Tracey started, quietly, "all the disgusting things they were laughing about. We… we really liked how you stood up to them, your own friends."

"It was the right thing to do," Pansy said, slightly brushing the praise off, "before today I'd never seen a dead person. But in the last eight hours I've seen two people being killed in front of me. They were having a laugh about that. Saying they deserved it. I had to say something."

Daphne studied her. "You witnessed deaths?"

She nodded. She felt her eyes welling up again. "Patricia Stimpson and Scarlett Lympsham."

Daphne and Tracey inhaled sharply. They too were getting upset again. "I-I'm sorry you had to see that."

Pansy took a deep breath. She nodded in acknowledgement. Her thoughts turned to the other victims of the day. "I know that you two knew… knew Mandy. And Marietta and Roger."

Tracey and Daphne's heads bowed downwards, and Pansy felt horrible bringing them up. She heard them sniffling. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

She was cut off when she felt two different hands on each of her shoulders. It felt… comforting. Then she was being pulled into a three-way hug. Pansy Parkinson felt even more tears coming.

They hugged it out. It felt so strange, yet Pansy craved it so, so much. Everything came back to her then.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry, for everything. Everything I've said and aimed towards you two, everything I've said about Potter and the DA. I was just so… jealous. Yet now I can see - I yearned for something like that. Brotherhood and sisterhood. Proper friendships. I craved it. But my stupid upbringing put a barrier between that and me."

Daphne and Tracey, still in tears like her, smiled as they pulled back slightly to listen to what she was saying. "You don't have to apologise, Pansy, we know you were brainwashed." Tracey said, and Pansy could have kissed her.

"The main thing is that you're seeing the light." Daphne said shakily. "Millicent and Sophie were never your friends."

"I know, I know," she sniffed, "I see all the friends you guys in the DA have. It angered me that I wasn't in that position - that I couldn't join because of my image and beliefs. You all… act like one big family."

"Today we proved we are," Tracey said, "we have each other's backs. We mourned today, and were all there for each other."

"That," Pansy said, though she felt her voice falter and more tears spill, "is what I crave. What I want."

The three of them resumed crying then - and fell forward into a hug again. She realised that she missed them terribly - which was weird as they were always under the same roof, never apart - but never acknowledging each other since she fell out with them.

The night wore on. When it came to lights out, Pansy was about to get up and go to her own bed, but Daphne gently grabbed her hand. "Stay."

She looked at the pale blonde girl. "Y-you want me to?"

Her and Tracey nodded. "We all need each other tonight."

Pansy nodded, understanding. She briefly went to her own bed and quickly changed into pyjamas and went to the adjacent bathroom to quietly clean herself up and ready for bed. When she was done, she found that Daphne and Tracey were likewise getting ready for bed. When they were ready, they prepared the pillows before getting into Daphne's bed together. Without even speaking, they got into comfortable positions and just cuddled. Daphne was in the middle, her body facing Pansy, who had sat herself on Daphne's right, and was cuddled tightly into Pansy's arms. Tracey was on Daphne's left, and likewise had her arms wrapped around Daphne Greengrass's middle. The whole thing was entirely platonically intimate; to them, they were friends holding each other close after a nightmare of a day. United at last. The last time they'd done something like this was ages ago - second or third year maybe? They did this on nights where one of them received bad news, or were homesick, or had cramps from menstruation. Offtimes it would be all five of them - though Millicent and Sophie weren't really ones for hugs or affection, they had joined in these wholesome traditions too. Years ago.

At some point in the night, Pansy woke slightly to find herself now in the middle - Daphne on her left and Tracey to her right. Tracey was hugging her loosely from behind, whilst Daphne had slid down the bed a bit and had her head resting on her stomach.

Pansy wouldn't have had it any other way.

Damned the consequences. This was what she wanted.

She just hoped the rest of the DA agreed.

A/N: I loved writing the part where they all just hug it out and lets be honest, they all need to be there for each other.

Soooo Pansy redemption! I've honestly been so excited to write this for a while and was so glad to finally do it. She witnessed some traumatising shit last chapter that caused her to doubt her very upbringing and views. Let's just hope this is the start of a new leaf for her.