First Strike
Kato was leaning against a wall in the Auror office in Kandy. He was waiting for a report. He doubted Draco had missed using protection. He also doubted the girl would have already realised the symptoms of a plausible pregnancy from anything that might have happened with Draco already.
An Auror came walking up to him. "Are you Peverell?" she asked.
"That I am," Kato said.
"Please come with me," the Auror said.
Kato followed her down the hall to a room. He was asked to take a seat.
"Mr Carlos won't remove his accusations towards your apprentice," the Auror said. "However it is clear that the girl must have had a different partner since you and your apprentice arrived so recently." She placed a file down on the table and pushed it towards Kato.
Kato opened the file. It clearly states that the girl was ten weeks along. Draco was still in Hogwarts back then. There was no way Draco was the father of this child. "Why does her father still blame Draco? He can't possibly have gotten this girl pregnant," he asked.
"Pride," the Auror said. "He can't admit that he was wrong."
Kato sighed. "Well, at least Drago has been cleared. That is what matters to me. I will be heading home," he said.
"Go ahead Healer Peverell," the Auror said.
27th of August, 1998.
Charlie sighed softly as he released the latest Crystalbacks. He watched the dragons fly around for a while. They had questions he didn't mind answering. He smiled as Qozul came flying over. "So you are back home," he said.
"Qozul and Kaanaaz came back with Monah," Qozul said. "Monah was going to see Yuvondun. Qozul really wants to see Yuvondun's hatchling soon. Jul, humans are strange. Wouldn't eggs be more practical?"
Charlie had to stop himself from laughing. "In some ways, I'm sure eggs would be better," he said. "At least Yuvondun probably thinks so right now. Then Lotyolkaas could look after them."
"Will Bormah and Monah have hatchlings?" Qozul asked. "Qozul doesn't think Monah would like swelling."
Charlie's stomach was hurting from the self-restraint he was practising. It seemed someone else didn't have quite the same amount of self-control based on the laughter that suddenly broke out somewhere behind Charlie.
Charlie turned around and raised an eyebrow at his brother. "Really?" he said.
Bill just waved at him as he doubled over and tried to catch his breath. "Oh, I can picture just how unamused he would be," he said.
"Can't happen," Charlie pointed out.
"Probably could if Harry spent the year as a woman," Bill said.
"Is that even possible?" Charlie asked.
"Between Fred and Draco, I'd expect it to be."
"He wouldn't do it."
"You guys haven't even discussed children, have you?"
"Not really," Charlie said.
"You might want to do that because if one of you wants children and the other doesn't, that's just not going to work out," Bill said. "And I don't mean through crazy potions. You could always adopt, you know."
Charlie nodded slowly. He hadn't even considered a serious relationship to any extent before Kato showed up. He'd never thought he'd leave Romania and the dragons there, yet here he was back in Britain with no plans on returning all because of Kato. Sure the Crystalbacks played in too, but he would never have met them if it wasn't for Kato.
Bill was smiling softly as he watched his brother think. He knew this was something that Charlie needed to consider. It was a conversation he needed to have with Harry.
…
Charlie stepped out of the shower later that evening to find Harry sitting cross-legged on the bed in a meditative stance. His shirt was unbuttoned and the scars left by the Selkies glowed faintly. Charlie sat down slowly and reached out. He could feel the magic emanating from Harry. Suddenly a strange blue light appeared by the foot of the bed. Charlie moved back and wrapped an arm around Harry as he drew his wand.
"How cute."
Harry's eyes opened and he placed a hand on the arm around his waist. "It's okay Charlie," he said calmly. "It's Rhavaniel."
Charlie tensed as the blue orb turned into a woman. This was the woman that Harry loved. His feelings for her had kept him from finding a lady love on Earth. She certainly was beautiful. Charlie couldn't deny that. When he had first learnt that she could do this, he had been worried he would lose Harry.
"Possessive," Rhavaniel noted out loud.
Harry held Charlie's arm in place as he tried to move away. "She doesn't mean anything by it," he said with an amused tone in his voice. "This is Charlie," he told Rhavaniel.
"Hello Charlie," Rhavaniel said. "This one looks capable. Jason was nice, but he wasn't meant to go outside the city walls much." She moved closer and sat down on the bed. "You look like Skyrim wouldn't kill you. I think you need that to keep up with Kato."
Charlie wasn't sure what to say. "Thanks, I guess," he said. What else could he say?
Rhavaniel laughed freely. "My previous statement stands. He is cute," she said.
"He works with dragons," Harry said.
"Takes a certain sort to survive that unless your dragons are puppies over there," Rhavaniel said.
"Not puppies," Charlie said. "I wouldn't even call our Crystalbacks puppies though they are quite friendly."
"Some of the dragons are easily twice the size of the Skyrim ones," Harry said.
Rhavaniel smiled at his enthusiasm. She rolled her shoulders uncomfortably. "I have something I need you to make before I can do this again," she said. "It is very straining. I want to keep up with you and I want to keep you informed about everyone here, but you need to help me."
Harry nodded. "Of course," he said. "What do you need me to do?"
Charlie leaned back as Rhavaniel got into some kind of strange branch of magic he couldn't keep up with. He looked down at the hand that Harry still had resting on his leg. Maybe it was silly to worry. Harry had assured him that even if she could come over he wouldn't leave. Not because of her and she knew that. He blinked as Harry disappeared out the door.
"He needed to go get something," Rhavaniel said.
Charlie nodded slowly. He took a deep breath. "So you don't mind that he's seeing someone else?" he asked.
"I never minded him seeing other people," Rhavaniel said. "What you are asking is if I care that he'll never be with me again. I knew that the moment he left. He didn't have a choice at the time and I'm glad that he is finding happiness in his own world. Who he finds that happiness with is up to him."
"Never say never," Harry said as he came back. "We don't know what the future will bring."
"Far in the future," Rhavaniel said. "You have a life to live here and now."
"This is Lahonikbah?" Qozul asked. He had followed Harry into the bedroom.
"Zu'u Lahonikbah," Rhavaniel said. "Zu'u zin wah grind hi, I'm proud to meet you, little one."
"Lahonikbah won't take Monah away?" Qozul asked.
Rhavaniel laughed heartily. "Nid, no I will not," she said. "I simply want to tinvaak, speak with him." The little dragon was fascinating. She would have loved to see ones like it on Nirn. A companion dragon.
Harry was smirking as she looked back at him. "Oh, hush you," she said. Rhavaniel stood straighter. "I will have to cut this short. I'll be going back home soon. The Psijic are tiring. I would rather not have to deal with them anymore and Vivianna could use my help."
"I will hear from you again when you can," Harry said. "I'll build the focus and charge it."
"Travel far my love," Rhavaniel said.
"Love again," Harry responded. He sat down on the bed heavily and turned to Charlie as the blue light of her spell faded. "I've missed you. Let's not split up for a bit."
Charlie smiled. "Sounds good to me," he said. He wrapped his arms around Harry. "Bill brought something up that I think we need to talk about," he said after a while.
"Oh," Harry met Charlie's eyes.
"Do you want children?" Charlie asked.
"Yes," Harry said simply. He was holding laughter back as he was regaled with the earlier conversation between Bill and Charlie. "It could probably be done," He said. He rubbed his face.
"Would you?" Charlie left the question hanging.
Harry chuckled. "If a potion could be developed where it is perfectly safe to do it… maybe, I could certainly suggest as much to Draco. He would find it interesting," he said. "I'm thinking adoption though."
"Yeah, that is probably better," Charlie said. He kissed Harry and pulled him closer as he fell back. "I wouldn't mind children. Mother would be ecstatic."
Mirth filled Harry, he wasn't sure that was a conversation he wanted to have right now. He leaned back in and kissed Charlie. Maybe they could have some fun instead.
10th of September, 1998.
Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He was standing above Dragon's Breath Cavern. He was carrying several dragons on his person. They were getting used to the sun before heading over to Ennerdale. Charlie had been bringing quite a few dragons with him already and they had picked the pace up with Misty and Dusty's help. They only needed a few more trips before they had brought all the willing dragons with them. Once that was done Harry needed to start working on the portals he wanted to set up between Shell Cottage and Ennerdale as well as the focus that Rhavaniel needed him to build.
"Ready to head home?" Charlie asked. He looked up at Harry from where he was sitting on the ground. "I think these guys are ready."
"Let's head back," Harry said. "Draco had something he wanted to talk to me about."
"Did you mention the potion?"
"I did. He will look into it. Though, he wonders why on Earth we would want to do it that way and not just use a surrogate," Harry said.
Charlie shrugged. "It might be a little insane," he said. "It really was just a foolish thought. It wasn't meant to be taken seriously."
"Oh, he is taking it very seriously," Harry said. "He asked for the recipe of the potion that Fred made. He will work from there."
Charlie rolled his eyes. He stood up slowly and took Harry's hand. "Let's go home," he said.
26th of September, 1998.
Fleur sighed as her wand hit the floor. She was getting tired of how big and clumsy she was. Any day now… any day. She smiled as the baby kicked.
Bill walked into the kitchen. He picked Fleur's wand up and handed it back to her before kissing her. "I have to head over to Gringotts. Do you want me to call Harry over?" he said as he grabbed a drink out of the fridge.
"No, I'll be fine," Fleur said. She waddled over to her chair and sat down with a book. She didn't need a keeper. Harry was really nice, but he didn't need to come over just because Bill wasn't going to be home.
It was hard to get settled. She lost focus on the book constantly. She went through several breathing exercises she had learnt during her studies. Soon enough she was up again. The nursery was all done. The soft green walls with bright shimmery stars glowed softly from the golden light of the lamp. She folded up a knitted blanket that Mrs Weasley had made. Softly she started humming.
At least everything was ready.
Bill came home rather late that evening. He did his best to get Fleur as comfortable as he could before they went to bed.
…
Fleur woke up. It was still dark outside. Something was wrong though. She wasn't sure what. "Bill," she shook him. "Bill wake up."
Bill sat up groggily and rubbed his eyes while a yawn escaped him. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"Something doesn't feel right," Fleur said.
"Do you want to head in?" Bill asked. He was already out of bed and looking for clothes to put on.
"Yes," Fleur said.
Bill helped her up and fetched her a dress she could change into then he wrapped his arms around her and dissapparated. While apparating wasn't the best thing to do with someone who was pregnant, it wasn't considered dangerous as long as the one doing it was calm. They arrived at St. Mungos to chaos. There were people everywhere. Blood had dripped on the floor in puddles. People were bumping into them. Crying rang in their ears while panicked screaming bombarded them.
Through all of this Bill managed to get them up to the correct floor. He tried to get a hold of a Healer, but no one seemed to have time to stop and speak to them. He felt Fleur grabbing onto him tightly. "Excuse me," Bill said as he grabbed at a healer.
"Can't you see that I'm busy!" the Healer said.
Bill closed his eyes. His wife was about to give birth. Everyone was running around in a blind panic. He understood that something bad had happened, but that didn't change the fact that Fleur was giving birth. "Winky!" he called.
The little elf showed up and gave them one look before disappearing again. It took her half a second to find her Master. "Fleur is having her baby in the corridor, Master," she said sharply, pulling everyone's attention to her.
"Go."
Kato looked down on the woman he had been helping. "She needs you more than I do."
"Winky get Draco and shadow him," Kato said. "Don't let him out of your sight for a second." He smiled down at the woman. "My apprentice will come and take over."
"Thank you, Healer," the woman said. "Take care of that poor girl now."
27th of September, 1998.
"Misty," Kato called as he headed out of the room. "I need to clean up on the go. Fleur is having her baby now," he said while he kept walking. The little elf did her best to help her Master as he made his way up a floor and straight over to Bill and Fleur. "This way," he called. Someone tried to grab at him and he slipped out of their hand. He understood that people were in a panic right now, but he wasn't leaving Fleur at this point.
"What is going on?" Bill asked once they were alone in a delivery room.
"Hogsmead was attacked by Death Eaters," Kato said. "I was called in two hours ago and we've been working hard ever since just to keep this place afloat." He helped Fleur down in the bed and moved her dress up. "Okay… take a deep breath," he told her calmly. "Next time your body wants to push, just go with it. It's a lot like pooping. Just take it easy." He looked up at Bill. "Take a chair and take her hand. You are not far off dear. Everything will be fine."
Fleur screamed and clutched at Bill. This was not how she had imagined the birth of their first child. She screamed and pushed.
A smaller scream joined the mother. Kato moved aside and cleaned the little baby up. He placed her down on her mother's chest. "You have a healthy baby girl," he said as he placed a blanket over them.
Bill moved closer. He reached out and touched a tiny hand. They had talked about a few names but currently only one rang true to him. "What do you think?" he asked Fleur.
Fleur smiled at her husband tiredly. "Theia," she said. "Theia Heather."
Kato noted the name down on the birth certificate before walking up to them. "Do you want to cut the cord?" he asked Bill as he held out a pair of Umbilical Scissors.
Bill took them shakily and did as Kato instructed him. He knew somewhere that Kato cleaned things up and got rid of the afterbirth, but his focus was on Fleur and Theia. They were all that mattered right then.
"I'll have to take her for a bit to measure and weigh," Kato said. "You should try to get some sleep, Fleur."
"Go with him," Fleur told Bill.
Kato activated a spell on the bed that changed it to be more comfortable. He made sure he had Bill with him as he headed out of the room and down a long corridor.
Healer Brand was standing in the room with another little newborn when they entered. She looked up at Kato as he walked in. "Someone else showed up?" she asked.
"Friends of mine," Kato said. "We really need a better system here. I understand that an attack is horrible but more than half the people I have dealt with tonight didn't really need my help. Then when I'm finally dealing with someone who could die if I leave, my personal house-elf shows up and tells me that we have a pregnant woman ready to give birth where she stands. They received no help. No room, nothing."
"Will she make it?" Bill asked softly.
Kato smiled at him. "I'll go check as soon as you two are back with Fleur," he said. "I called Draco in to take over. He is capable enough, but I really shouldn't have dropped him on his own the way I did." He wrote down numbers and filled in a graf before handing the papers over to Bill. "Everything looks great," he said. "You should be able to head back home tomorrow. I'll send Charlie over to grab the carrier and some fresh clothes for you as soon as I can."
"Where is Charlie?" Bill asked though he had a feeling he already knew the answer.
"At Hogsmeade trying to salvage what can be saved," Kato said. "We need you to take care of your family. We'll handle the rest." He walked back into the room where Fleur lay. Thankfully, she had fallen asleep already. "Take your shirt off and have a seat," he told Bill. "Skin-to-skin contact is good for newborns." He made sure neither father nor daughter would get cold before heading back out. He set the panic button so he would be alerted personally if something happened then he went to find Draco.
…
Draco jolted awake as Winky arrived in his room. "Is something wrong?" he asked as he rubbed his eyes.
"Hogsmeade was attacked and Fleur is giving birth," Winky said. "Master needs Draco to take care of a woman who is bleeding so he can help Fleur."
Draco was out of bed in a second. "Can you go check with Severus Snape if he has any healing potions to spare? If he isn't at Hogwarts or alone at Malfoy Manor don't approach him," he said as he ripped his clothes off. He got dressed again while performing every cleaning charm and germ-removing charm he knew.
Winky disappeared and returned only moments later with a case of potions. "He says to be careful," she said. "Master ordered Winky to stay with you."
Draco nodded. He had a feeling both Severus and Harry were thinking along the same lines. There could be Death Eaters around. "Let's go," he said. He took Winky's hand and they went over to St. Mungos. They landed in front of a closed door. Draco took a deep breath and cast a few more cleansing spells before entering the room. Several junior healers were moving about quickly. Winky easily led him over to the woman that Kato had abandoned only moments earlier.
Draco cast several diagnostic spells. The woman was bleeding internally as well as from several external wounds. He pulled a potion from the case that Winky was still carrying and administered it.
The woman opened her eyes and looked at him.
"I'm Healer Peverell's apprentice," Draco said. "I'll take care of you." He moved to place a hand on her stomach. A golden glow shone from his hand as he scanned the visible wounds. He recognised the curse. It was one that his father had shown him once. He racked through his brain for the counter-course. He checked the internal bleeding. He had gotten that under control at least. His wand moved quickly as he started on what he was pretty sure was the counter to the curse she was suffering under. The wounds ran clear for a moment before his healing potion took hold. He cast several more spells before moving back. She was sleeping now. He hoped she would be alright. He looked around the room at the other beds. He guessed he might as well help anyone else he could help. He started moving from bed to bed slowly.
"What are you doing?"
Draco turned slightly away from the patient he was treating. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"You can't just walk in here and start messing around with our patients," the young Healer said.
"My Master called me in," Draco said. "Kato Peverell. He had to deal with a birth. If he didn't think I was ready to help people, he wouldn't have called me in to take over for him." He turned back to the patient and did another scan. Something was off, but he wasn't sure what.
"How about you leave," the young Healer said.
"How about you help someone instead of getting in my way," Draco said calmly.
"Healer Jacobs!" the young Healer called.
An older woman came walking over. "Why are you over here, Fening? You have a job to do," she said sternly.
"But he is messing with our patients," Fening said as he pointed at Draco.
"That is neither here nor there," Healer Jacobs said. "You need to go back to your assignment." She turned to Draco as the junior Healer finally left. "And you are?" she asked.
"Healer Kato Peverell's apprentice," Draco said.
"Anyone could tell me that," Healer Jacobs said. She walked up to the patient. "He reacts badly to healing spells. We can't close the wounds."
"Does it get worse when you've tried to heal him?" Draco asked.
"It does."
Draco closed his eyes as he tried to bring back his lessons with his father on dark spells. Slowly he raised his wand. Then he cast. He didn't care what the Senior Healer had to say. If he was right, they could already be too late. There was a curse that reacted badly to healing spells. The more spells and potions you used the faster the patient would die. Even with the counter curse healing spells couldn't be used. A few very specific potions could help, and that was it. No one was going to have those potions stocked. As soon as he could, he needed to head back home. He told Healer Jacobs as much and she nodded slowly "Keep working until your Master returns. We need all hands right now," she said.
Once they had tended to all patients in the room they were in, Healer Jacobs moved them over to another. She was no-nonsense and worked as quickly as she could without compromising the health of the patients. Draco barely noticed the glances she sent his way as he worked.
…
People were everywhere. Family and friends of those hurt had heard the news of the attack and had shown up. Kato surrounded himself with a cloak that kept people off him as he walked past. He reached out and grabbed onto the shoulder of a poor stressed-out Healer who was being accosted for information. "Go home and let us work. If you had family in Hogsmeade the best thing you can do for them is leave the Healers alone so we can save their lives. The more time you spend talking to us the more people die!" he said harshly. He led the tired-looking healer away. "Go home, sleep for four hours and come back. We need you, but you won't do us any good if you faint." He didn't stay to check if he was listened to. He still needed to make it back to his apprentice.
"He's a bloody Malfoy. No way he's helping those people."
Kato raised an eyebrow.
"Did you see how he countered some of those dark curses? He knows how to cast them. Bet his daddy taught him how."
Kato kept walking. He didn't care about anyone foolish enough to simply judge another person based on their name. He entered a room and looked around. Healer Jacobs caught his eyes and waved him over. "You have a good one over there," she said as she motioned to Draco. "He works hard and keeps his head down."
"I've been teaching him to pick his battles," Kato said. "Some simply aren't worth it."
Jacobs nodded. "How did the delivery go?" she asked.
"Everything went well. Took no time at all and there were no complications," Kato said.
"That's good to hear," Jacobs said before turning back to her patient.
Kato walked over to Draco and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Good," Draco said once he looked up. "I need to go home and brew a potion. There is a man in the other room who needs a very specific set of potions if he is going to make it."
"Go, I'll take care of this," Kato said.
Slowly, as Kato worked the sun rose to a new day. He closed the door and headed down a corridor. There weren't enough healers for something like this. He wondered briefly how Charlie was doing over at Hogsmeade. He had no idea how much damage there was. Now the question was, why hadn't Lucius warned him? It was possible that Lucius hadn't known of course. He wouldn't blame this on Lucius. At this point, he was just as much to blame. He was the one who could defeat Voldemort and he hadn't. He wasn't ready to sacrifice Severus or Lucius yet. This was one attack that could have been handled better if the Ministry wasn't as stuck in their ways as they were. The Order could also have done a better job. All in all, he refused to be the only person to accept blame.
He walked back into Fleur's room and smiled as she looked over at him. "Feeling alright?" he asked.
Fleur nodded. "Thank you," she said. "I know you would have preferred if someone else took care of me, but I'm glad it was you."
Kato shrugged. "I just didn't want a repeat of Leoline's birth," he said. "Is nursing working out for you?" he asked. He could see that she was holding Theia and the girl looked content.
"I think so," Fleur said. "It hurts a bit but Mother said that was common enough."
"There is a salve that helps and isn't dangerous to Theia. I'll get you some," Kato said.
"Thank you… Bill said we could head home today?" Fleur looked at Kato expectantly.
"That shouldn't be a problem," Kato said. "I'll be back in a bit with the salve." He left again. It was good to know that Fleur was feeling alright. Now he just needed to get them some things. It worried him a little that he hadn't seen Charlie yet. "Winky could you get the baby things from Shell Cottage as well as a change of clothes for Fleur."
"Winky will fetch," Winky said.
Kato headed back down to the main floor. So far, he knew of two hundred and forty injured and twenty-three dead. There could be more than that. They wouldn't know until someone had compiled a list. They didn't have enough healers to handle that on staff in the middle of the night and no one seemed to have taken it upon themselves to call the other healers in. He had been pinged because Healer Brand was working. At least now the morning crew was showing up. Hopefully, someone would figure out that they needed a better method of getting capable healers in when something like this happened.
"Kato!"
Kato turned around and started running towards Charlie. He was carrying a small broken body in his arms.
"I found her in a collapsed house," Charlie said. "Is she…?"
"She is still breathing," Kato said. "Come this way. He waved Charlie with him as he started scanning the small girl for injuries. Broken bones were the least of his worries right then. She was bleeding internally and her lungs were filled with smoke. He cleared her airways and refilled them with clean air. He got them into an empty room and down on a bed. He grabbed an amethyst and refilled his magic reserves before he started working on setting her bones while healing the cuts and internal bleeding.
"Hogsmeade is in shambles," Charlie said softly. "The Three Broomsticks is one of the few places still standing. Most people are fine if they are still over there, but we could use a healer on location."
"As soon as she is stable," Kato said.
"I'm heading back. I called my family in and we're doing what we can," Charlie said. "Mother is feeding people."
"She'll be appreciated," Kato said. He didn't take his eyes off the girl as he worked. He heard the door open and close. His eyes narrowed as he found a nasty cut. This poor girl was covered in smoke, but he could still see that some of her wounds were older than the attack. He performed another scan. He didn't like what he saw. He drew his wand and sent off a Patronus. He needed an Auror present as well as someone to document the injuries.
It didn't take Colin long to show up. Kato had done his best to clean the girl up so the injuries would show properly. "She was in the attack?" Colin asked.
"She was but these injuries are older. I need you to take a few pictures for the Aurors," Kato said. Thankfully Tonks walked in only moments later. "Wotcher, I'm Tonks. You called for an Auror?"
"Kato Peverell," Kato said. "I found old injuries on this girl. She was brought in by Charlie Weasley. She was found in Hogsmeade, some of these injuries are from the attack, but I have dated several others to be from before that. She has signs of breaks on her bones as well. I'll give you a full report once I'm done." He moved back to the girl. "For now I can tell you that she is nine or ten years old, but looks more like six or seven. She has not had an easy life." He waved at Colin as he left.
"Any signs of sexual assault?" Tonks asked.
Kato froze for a moment before running the scan. He grimaced. "Yes, repeated," he said.
"Can you pull anything?" Tonks asked.
Kato shook his head. "I don't think so, but I'll look for that and a magical signature. I'll add it to my report. There will be pictures in the report. Charlie Weasley went back to Hogsmeade; he can show you where he found her."
"Will continue over there then. That's where I was heading. This is a mess," Tonks said. "If the Minister doesn't get that something isn't right now then I don't know what to say."
"The Dooleys didn't make it," Kato pointed out. "They were Aurors, were they not?"
"They were friends," Tonks said. She had tears in her eyes as she walked away. She dissapparated as soon as she was out of the hospital. She could see several redheads as she landed. She was after a specific one though. She waved at Luke who looked about as bad as she felt. The Brigade was holding a memorial. She knew it was.
"Hey, Charlie!"
He was dirty and his clothes had ripped, but he was uninjured and helping people. "You here about the girl?" he asked.
Tonks nodded.
"I found her over this way," Charlie said. He started walking.
"Do you know who lives here?" Tonks asked.
"No, but we have a few folks around who know more about that. I'll get you, someone who can tell you," Charlie said. He headed off and left Tonks to look through the rubble. There wasn't much left. It honestly looked like this house had taken it worse than most of the rest around it.
Luke came over eventually. "This shouldn't have happened," he said softly. "Are we really this vulnerable? This is Hogsmeade for Merlin's sake."
"I think that was the point," Tonks said. "Hit them where it hurts, you know." She looked around. "If they can do this, then what else can they do and when will they do it? People will be scared for a long time." She continued walking slowly. Poor Kat and Jeremy… how had this happened? A part of her wanted to blame someone Raiden came to mind, but without him, this might have been worse. She sighed heavily. There were no traces of this girl before the attack. Had she been brought in? She walked back out of the house. Her heart was heavy as she looked around at the destruction.
Charlie looked over at Tonks as the man he had sent over reached her. He wondered just what had happened. They had a child they knew nothing about. She needed to be taken care of. He guessed Kato would have a plan. For now, all they could do was fix the houses back up. Maybe Kato could add on some wards later. He couldn't promise anything though.
Hogwarts loomed over them. At least the Castle hadn't been touched. The children had been safe through the attack. Maybe it would be good to check the Hogwarts wards as well so the Death Eaters didn't do anything to the wards. Kato would have to check on that too.
"I'm heading back to the Hospital to check in with the Healer," Tonks said as she walked back over to Charlie. "Nothing seems to be adding up here and I'm hoping he can give me some answers." She shuffled. "What happened to the Dooleys?" she asked.
"From what we could tell they got people into safety. They definitely hurt Death Eaters and killed a few as well," Charlie said. "We're bunching the bodies up. Hopefully, someone from the Ministry will come by and deal with them or something. The Dooleys were taken to the Hospital. Kato probably knows where to find them."
"See you later," Tonks said. She apparated back to St Mungo's and walked inside. She asked around for Healer Peverell. No one seemed to know where to find him. The room he had last been in was empty. The girl was gone.
"Cousin Nymphadora?"
Tonks turned around. She looked confused for a moment before it clicked for her. "Draco?" she said.
"Certainly," Draco said. "You are looking for Master Peverell? I can show you to him."
"You are helping out?" Tonks asked.
"Are you surprised, cousin?" Draco said. "I have been studying under Master Peverell for a while now. Eventually, I'll be a Healer."
"Isn't that a very mundane job for a Malfoy?" Tonks said without thinking. She blushed when she realised what she had said.
Draco raised an eyebrow. "Specialised Master Healer doesn't sound bad," he said.
Tonks chuckled. "I guess not. I should have known you weren't planning to grunt at the Hospital," she said.
Draco pulled a door open and stuck his head in. "Master the Auror is here," he said.
"Send her in," Kato said. "How did the potion work out?"
"Looks like he'll make it, but he'll have a hard journey ahead of him," Draco said. "Do you need me here?"
"Will you take a look here," Kato waved him inside. "You might know some of these curses. I'm having some issues figuring them out. I would have called in an expert but he is unavailable currently. I might ask Bill in a few days if we haven't figured it out by then." He looked over at Tonks. "Any wiser?" he asked.
Tonks shook her head. "Not really," she said. "Just more questions."
"I can probably bring you some clarity," Kato said. He handed her a file. "I can't tell you who attacked her from the magical signatures I have recorded. However, I can tell you that her attacker was a Death Eater. He or she bears a Dark Mark. There is another signature that is present a lot, but they don't seem to have cast any malicious magic at her. There may be a family member… a sibling or mother, who still lives with this Death Eater."
Tonks nodded slowly. She shook her head as she read through the file. It was disgusting. This poor girl had been through far too much. "No one should have to live like this," she said.
"At least we can do right by her now," Kato said.
"What will happen to her?" Tonks asked.
"I will reach out to a few stable families and see if they can care for her. I'll let you know how that turns out."
"I really appreciate that," Tonks said.
They said farewell. Kato and Draco headed over to Hogsmeade to help there for a few hours before going back home and collapsing. It had been a rough day and there was still a lot to do.
