Soul Searching/End Game
EG Chapter 18 - What Comes After?
By Chem Prof
Chapter 18, What Comes After?
Minerva McGonagall had lost count of the number of times she had stopped pacing and told herself to keep calm. She had always made it a rule to never second guess herself, but she couldn’t help worrying about what would happen to her students. Would they get out in time? Of course, if Harry didn’t succeed in destroying Voldemort, none of them would be safe.
Once again she reflected on the thought that battles might be even more stressful for those who waited on the sidelines. The professors and younger students had been deployed according to the plan. Firenze, Pomona Sprout and Rolanda Hooch were patrolling the outside of the castle, Firenze and Sprout on the ground and Hooch in the air. Hagrid and his half brother Grawp were stationed at the gates. Horace Slughorn was in the dungeons keeping an eye on the Slytherin students, while Aurora Sinistra was keeping watch from the Astronomy Tower.
Augusta Longbottom, Arabella Figg, and Irma Pince were with her in the Great Hall, trying to give the appearance of being relaxed and composed for the few students who were about. Filius Flitwick was in the infirmary prepared to assist Poppy Pomfrey. Andromeda and Ted Tonks, along with Septima Vector, had been stationed by the tunnel entrances and the remainder of the staff was patrolling the corridors.
Each of the groups of professors had been assigned some of the first and second year DA students as messengers and assistants. McGonagall had smiled when she discovered that she had been given Harry and Hermione’s favorite first years, the five muggleborn students. She recalled that the two Gryffindors were Laura and Kristin, with Laura being the quiet one and Kristin the chatty one. The Ravenclaw who so reminded her of Hermione was Carolyn. The two boys were a Hufflepuff and a Ravenclaw – Mark and Jon were their names but she couldn’t remember which was which.
Without warning her thoughts were redirected as a throng of students began appearing from nowhere and tumbling to the floor of the Great Hall. About one hundred fifty students had gone into Hogsmeade that morning, and somewhere between forty and fifty were remaining behind to fight or defend. The result was that nearly one hundred students (not including the ones escaping through the Honeydukes tunnel) came crashing into the Great Hall over a period of about thirty seconds.
The three professors moved quickly to sort them out and check for injuries. There were quite a few bumps and bruises from the mass portkey landing, but only two serious injuries – a broken arm and a sprained knee. While Longbottom, Pince, and Figg treated the others, McGonagall quickly levitated those two onto stretchers that had been previously conjured and stacked along one of the walls, and sent them up to the Hospital Wing with Laura and Carolyn.
While this was going on, the third through fifth year DA members quickly formed themselves up into squads and raced off to their pre-assigned defensive positions in the castle and on the grounds, joining the professors in those locations. Once the initial flurry of excitement had passed, McGonagall moved among the shaken students gathering as much information as she could before sending them back to their common rooms with Kristin, Mark, and Jon. Then it was back to waiting again.
In the Hospital Wing the first indication that the battle had begun was when Laura and Carolyn showed up with the two injured students. Very shortly after that the first emergency case arrived, as Lavender Brown stumbled into view sobbing and holding on to Dean Thomas. Madame Pomfrey immediately left the first two for Flitwick to deal with and concentrated on the unconscious and heavily bleeding Gryffindor.
Over the course of the next half hour the mood in the infirmary steadily became more somber, as injured and dead fighters gradually appeared. Zacharias Smith showed up just ahead of Remus and Tonks, with Flitwick taking on the grim task of dealing with the Hufflepuff student’s body while Pomfrey tended Remus’s wounds. Anthony Goldstein and Colin Creevy were next, and were easily treated, before the bodies of Michael Corner and Blaise Zabini joined Smith’s. Finally, a distraught Ginny arrived clutching desperately onto Neville Longbottom. By this time McGonagall had moved to the Hospital Wing, since not much was happening in the Great Hall. She quickly sent one of the runners to fetch Augusta Longbottom as Madame Pomfrey carefully moved Neville into one of the beds in the critical section of the infirmary.
As it gradually became more evident that the Hogsmeade battle was drawing to a close, one question began to dominate everyone’s thoughts. ‘What was happening with Harry, Ron, and Hermione?’
-ooOoo-
Ron’s head jerked up as he suddenly realized that he had fallen asleep. Judging by the sun it was getting on in the afternoon, and his stiff body reminded him that he was still leaning against a tombstone with the unconscious forms of his best friends sprawled out on his lap. A glance over at the remains of Voldemort confirmed that it had not been a dream – they really had destroyed the dark lord. Now it looked like it was up to him to get them back home. He soon discovered that the anti-apparation and anti-portkey wards were still operating. He knew that Harry had a mirror that could contact Viktor Krum, but it was keyed to Harry and wouldn’t work for Ron. Next he decided to try Hermione’s cell phone.
While digging it out of her pack, he spotted the potions she had been carrying and decided to take one of the restorative potions. Looking at Harry and Hermione, it was obvious that they needed it more than he did, and Harry could probably use a dose of the blood replenishing potion as well, but since they were unconscious there was nothing he could do about it. He turned his attention to trying to figure out how to use the cell phone and began pushing the buttons.
After a few frustrating clicks and beeps, followed by a voice saying something about minutes, there was a buzzing sound, which made him pause for a bit. Just as he was about to give up and press some more buttons, another voice sounded.
“Hermione?”
“Hello?” Ron shouted. He still didn’t quite have the hang of how loud you talked on one of these things.
“Harry?” The woman’s voice replied. “Is that you?”
“No, it’s Ron. Who’s this?”
“This is Emma Granger, Hermione’s mum. You’re Hermione’s friend, right? What’s going on? And you don’t need to shout, dear.”
Initially, Ron nearly gave Emma a heart attack when he told her they had just killed Voldemort, and she assumed that Hermione and Harry must be dead if Ron was the only one left to use the phone. Eventually he managed to reassure her that they were alive but unconscious and he was trying to contact someone who could assist them. Once she got herself under control, she explained to him which buttons he needed to push to call Remus’s and Tonks’s cell phones. Unfortunately, Remus was lying near death in the Hogwarts infirmary with Tonks by his side. In the bedlam of the Hospital Wing no one heard the phones ringing.
Trembling with excitement, Emma Granger hurried to tell Dan the news, and they immediately began to make arrangements to end their trip and catch the first plane they could book back home.
Meanwhile, Ron was still trying to figure out what to try next. If he picked them up and carried them far enough, he could get out of the range of the portkey supression charm. But he would have to carry them one at a time and he didn’t really want to leave the other behind in this horrible place. Then, he spotted something flying toward him in the distance.
Thinking quickly, he summoned the invisibility cloaks and put them over Harry and Hermione, then disillusioned himself as he kept an eye on the figures that were steadily growing larger. They appeared to be men on broomsticks. If they were Death Eaters he was in trouble. Steeling himself for another fight, he drew his wand and waited.
As they came closer, he noticed that the fliers were being led by a snowy owl, and a big smile broke out on his face accompanied by a sigh of relief. Good old Hedwig had come through again. Dropping the disillusionment charm, he waved the three wizards over to him as he finally recognized Viktor Krum, Patrick Troy, and his brother Bill.
After some hugs of joy he excitedly filled them in with a very short version of what had happened in the graveyard, and indicated Voldemort’s body. Wasting no time, Bill set to work dismantling the goblin portkey supression charm. Ron watched, fascinated, as his older brother the curse breaker went about his business. He had never seen such complicated wand movements. When Bill finished, each of the rescuers took one of the students.
As Viktor Krum carefully picked up Hermione, he stood for a moment staring at the woman in his arms, thinking about what might have been. He shook his head in amusement. He had known, even back then, that the most important person in her life was Harry Potter.
Patrick Troy easily hoisted Harry into his strong arms, and smiled as Hedwig landed on his shoulder and nipped at his ear. The large Irishman also looked down at the figure he held, recalling the brash young student who had challenged him at his birthday party just over six months ago. He would never have believed back then that the skinny kid would be the one who would deliver the world from the dark lord. But now, he believed. This kid was the toughest man he would ever meet in his life.
Bill Weasley embraced his younger brother with tears in his eyes. Ron was now as big as he was, and there was no hint remaining of the scared boy who had been intimidated by his older brothers, and who had despaired of ever escaping their shadows. Now before him stood a man who had just accomplished the unimaginable, who he knew he would admire for the rest of his life.
Pulling themselves back from their thoughts, the three rescuers nodded to each other and activated their portkeys.
-ooOoo-
“What’s wrong, Poppy?” McGonagall inquired in a low voice. Madame Pomfrey just shook her head. The arrival of the trio in the hospital wing a few minutes before with their three rescuers had set off an uproar. It had taken a few minutes for the headmistress and the school nurse to reestablish control. The infirmary had been cleared of everyone except the most serious cases and their loved ones. Nothing was going to pry Lavender away from Dean; likewise Tonks from Remus. Augusta Longbottom was allowed to remain with Neville, and Ginny, who had been with Neville and was now frantically dashing between her brother and her two best friends, was also permitted to stay. Now, Pomfrey had finally finished her diagnoses.
“Mr. Weasley will be fine, but Mr. Potter and Miss Granger are suffering from magical exhaustion.” She hesitated. “I’ve seen cases like Potter’s before, and he’ll probably recover after a few days but Granger …” she trailed off, not wanting to say it.
“What?” McGonagall had never seen Poppy react this way to an injured patient.
“Miss Granger’s magic is completely gone.” McGonagall stared at the nurse wide-eyed as she continued. “And I don’t know how I can treat her. It’s as though she’s a muggle now. I doubt if she’ll respond to magical healing. But she’s the most badly banged up of the three of them. I think I can use healing spells on her cuts and bruises, but I don’t dare give her any potions.”
McGonagall managed to reign in her shock. She had work to do. The students would need to be informed about the victory, as well as the losses that had been suffered. There would be reporters and Ministry officials to deal with. Meeting with the parents of the three dead students would be of the highest priority. As distressed as she was about what had happened to her favorite student, this troubling piece of information regarding Hermione needed be kept under wraps for now.
-ooOoo-
Viktor Krum ran his hands through his hair in frustration as he looked at the casualty reports from the battle. How had he ended up in this position, effectively the man in charge of the victorious light side forces? That thought brought a guilty grimace to his face. It was because all the other leaders were either lying unconscious in hospital beds or were missing in action, he reminded himself.
The Order of the Phoenix was leaderless. Remus Lupin was in critical condition in the Hogwart’s Hospital Wing, and Alastor Moody’s missing body would soon be recovered from a pile of rubble in an alleyway in Hogsmeade. Harry and Hermione were both still unconscious, and likely to remain that way for some time. And Rufus Scrimgeour was nowhere to be found, having sent word only that he was engaged in a highly sensitive matter.
But we got all of the Death Eaters, he mused in satisfaction. Once they had picked up Dolohov at Madame Puddefoot's, along with the recovery of the bodies of Malfoy, Avery, Pettigrew, and Macnair, they had accounted for the last of Voldemort's inner circle.
He groaned again as he picked up some more papers. At least Ron Weasley was doing his part, Viktor thought gratefully. After a check up and short stay in the Hogwarts infirmary Madame Pomfrey had released him. He had immediately met with the elite DA members and exchanged information with them, then the whole lot of them had met with rest of the students, answering their questions as fully as they could. Although the Valentine’s Day dance scheduled for that evening had obviously been canceled, the celebrations going on at Hogwarts were unmatched by any in recent history.
After that, Ron and the Lovegood girl had agreed to make a statement to reporters from the front steps of the castle. Viktor was delighted to have them take on that task, since he wasn’t much more fond of reporters than Harry was. Luna Lovegood, though, was particularly skillful at dealing with them, seemingly regarding it as some kind of a game.
Viktor had not forgotten his deal with Rita Skeeter. As soon as he and Troy had delivered the teens to Hogwarts, he had summoned a strike team and returned to the Riddle graveyard, where they collected the remains of Voldemort for proof, and taken pictures. A certain beetle animagus had accompanied them, unobserved by the others. Rita would also be getting some exclusive interviews, although Luna would make sure that the Quibbler had equal access to everything she wrote.
He returned his attention to the casualties. His strike force had come through relatively unscathed. Potter’s student army had suffered three killed and two seriously wounded, not too bad since they were in the thick of the fighting. The Auror ranks, though, had been devastated. More than half of them had been killed or critically injured. The question was sure to be raised – why?
The easy answer, which was also not a particularly wise one from a political standpoint, was training. His troops were far better trained, particularly in fighting as a group, covering for each other, than the Aurors. He suspected that even Potter’s student army was better prepared to fight trolls and inferi than the Ministry Aurors were.
He wondered if there was more to it than that, though. Just then, confirming his suspicion, Patrick Troy entered the room carrying some parchments.
“We’ve been plotting the casualties on a map of Hogsmeade,” his second in command announced. “The worst Auror losses were in the area of Honeydukes, which is where Potter’s closest friends were fighting, and where Malfoy was killed. We’ve also managed to get statements from two badly injured survivors. They both claimed they suddenly went numb while they were fighting trolls, and it left them helpless to defend themselves.”
Viktor nodded. “So it looks like Malfoy was biding his time, staying hidden for some reason, and was able to intervene at critical times. Good. That sounds better than the reason I came up with for why they fared so badly.”
Troy agreed. “My guess is the reason he was staying hidden was to try to get to Potter’s best friends. But I don’t think that needs to go into the official report.”
They were interrupted before they could conclude their discussion by the sudden appearance of Dobby.
“Master Krum! You must come right away. There is being trouble at Hogwarts.”
Viktor was on his feet in a flash. “What is it Dobby? Another attack?”
“No sir,” Dobby wailed, anxiously wringing his hands. “They is trying to take away Harry Potter sir.”
-ooOoo-
Things were about to turn ugly at Hogwarts. Ron and Luna had finished talking with the reporters, and were accepting congratulations from some students when a group of Ministry officials with an Auror detachment stormed up the path from Hogsmeade and demanded to be taken to Harry Potter. In no uncertain terms they let it be known that a school infirmary was no place for the hero of the wizarding world. He should be in St. Mungo’s, in the most expensive and luxurious quarters they had available, and they had come to move him.
At first Ron attempted to reason with them that Harry would prefer to remain at Hogwarts, where his friends were (Ron was especially certain that he wouldn’t want to be separated from Hermione), but to no avail. These were midlevel bureaucrats puffed up with their own self-importance, who thought they had discovered a way to advance their careers, and nothing would dissuade them.
At that point Luna had pulled him aside and motioned to her DA coin, then stepped up to greet the intruders. Ron figured out what she was trying to do and activated the coin while hurrying toward the Hospital Wing as Luna delayed the Ministry officials. Hermione had modified the charm on the coin so that she, Harry, or Ron could summon the elite DA members to themselves, wherever they were located.
Ron smiled to himself as he heard Luna inquiring of the officials about their journey to the castle and whether they had successfully avoided all manner of bizarre and little known creatures and other hazards. He knew that she would have them completely confused by the time she was finished.
When the dazed group from the Ministry arrived at the Hospital Wing with Luna, who had kept up a nonstop commentary on a bewildering array of topics, they found about a dozen very determined young wizards and witches waiting for them. Luna simply smiled at her companions and thanked them for their attention, then walked over and stood next to Ron and drew her wand.
“What do you children think you’re doing?” demanded the lead Ministry official, who reminded Ron very much of Percy. “We are here on important Ministry business. Now stand aside.”
“Nobody’s taking Harry anywhere,” answered Ron, as he felt the others draw up behind him in support. “This is where he belongs and this is where he’s going to stay.”
“Nonsense,” responded the arrogant official, as Ron wished desperately that some teachers would show up soon. “Harry Potter is going to receive the best medical care available. He deserves better than a school nurse.” Unbeknownst to Ron, McGonagall, Flitwick, and Sprout were off visiting the parents of the slain students, and the other teachers were occupied with trying to keep the excited students under control. Madame Pomfrey emerged from the infirmary door behind him just in time to hear herself being insulted.
“Excuse me,” she interjected. “I have treated Mr. Potter and his friends for seven years now, for more different injuries and illnesses than you can possibly imagine. I assure you …”
“That’s enough,” shouted another official, trying to assert his own authority. “We are not here to debate this. We are going to be taking Mr. Potter whether you like it or not. Now step aside.”
“Over our dead bodies,” called out Ernie McMillan, and several of the other students nodded. Ron grimaced. This had been a really long day. The thought that less than eight hours ago he had helped Harry kill Lord Voldemort only to now face death from a group of Ministry Aurors was just too bizarre to contemplate.
It was into this tense standoff that Viktor Krum suddenly popped into existence holding onto Dobby, who immediately disappeared and reappeared moments later with Patrick Troy. To the shock of the Ministry officials, Krum and Troy immediately sided with the students. No matter. They were on a mission and were not going to be thwarted by a couple of foreigners and a bunch of students. Losing any patience they had, they ordered their Aurors to disarm the troublemakers by any means necessary.
But the Aurors hesitated, looking nervously at each other. Krum and Troy were living legends among the Auror Corps. They all knew very well that these two and the strike force they led had been fighting Death Eaters, vampires, giants, and whatnot for half a year, and in doing so had spared the lives of many Aurors who would otherwise have had to deal with the deadly threats. They were under no illusions as to how well they would have fared at those tasks, since rumors of the fate of the Auror detachments at Hogsmeade had spread rapidly.
“There’s no way I’m crossing wands with Viktor Krum and Patrick Troy,” the Auror leader announced after a strained silence, as he crossed over and took up a position next to the pair. “If these folks want Potter here that bad he can stay here.” The rest of the Aurors followed, and none of the threats of possible repercussions or disciplinary actions by the blustering Ministry officials could sway them. Furious, the humiliated bureaucrats stalked away, vowing retribution.
The students then cheered and congratulated each other and gratefully thanked the two quidditch stars, while keeping a respectful distance. Ron filled them in on the drama, particularly noting Luna’s brilliant delaying tactics. Viktor turned to congratulate her, realizing that this was yet another impressive performance by the blonde Ravenclaw.
“Thank you Viktor Krum,” she smiled at him. Viktor regarded her thoughtfully, gradually becoming aware that there was more to this mysterious girl than met the eye.
-ooOoo-
The next day brought a mixed bag of news.
Remus and Neville remained in comas. Dean’s injuries were now healed, but it was uncertain if he would ever walk again. For spinal cord injuries, wizarding healers were nearly as helpless as muggle doctors. Only time would tell. Ginny noticed Lavender’s engagement ring, and soon girls all over the castle were crying over the bittersweet story of how Lavender and Dean’s romantic engagement was immediately disrupted by the attack that left him paralyzed.
Lavender had still not told anyone else her other news, although Madame Pomfrey was aware of it. To her credit, she never once considered changing her mind about either marrying Dean or having the baby, despite the difficulties that loomed ahead for them.
Since she had healed him to the best of her abilities, Madame Pomfrey released Dean from the infirmary. Flitwick had created a wizarding version of a wheelchair for him, one that floated instead of rolled, and was loaded with amenities, so that Dean could get around in relative comfort. There was enough room on the chair that Lavender decided to ride back to Gryffindor tower on his lap.
As she shifted around to get comfortable, her face lit up with a smile as she noticed to her delight that not everything below Dean’s waist was paralyzed. The smile quickly spread to Dean’s face as well, and he tightened his arms around her, pulling her into a hug as the now much happier couple set off back to their common room, where Lavender intended to determine if the floating chair could bypass the enchanted stairs to the girls’ dorms.
During the commotion of their departure from the hospital wing Harry regained consciousness. Of course, the first thing he needed to know was if Hermione and Ron were all right. Ginny came back into the room to find him struggling to get up to find them, which due to his weakened state almost made him pass out again.
“Harry, lay back down,” she called out to him, rushing to his bedside and throwing her arms around him. “You’re not fully recovered yet.” He had to agree that she was right and allowed her to maneuver him back into the bed.
Harry looked up at her, relief flooding through him at the realization that she appeared to have made it through the battle unscathed. “Ginny! You’re OK!” He hugged her fiercely for a moment, losing himself temporarily to the feeling of her in his arms. It had been so long since he had held her like this. Then his original concern reasserted itself and he pulled back a bit without releasing her.
“What about Ron and Hermione?”
“Ron’s fine. He was up and around right away. Wait until we tell you what he did to those Ministry hacks …” She stopped as she saw the anxious expression on his face as his eyes darted around the infirmary. “Hermione’s right over there,” she said, stepping back and directing him in the right direction. “She’s still unconscious. Her injuries have been healed but …” she hesitated.
“What! What’s wrong with her?” Harry’s voice was frantic.
Ginny looked around worriedly as her voice dropped. “I heard Madame Pomfrey say that she was magically exhausted like you were, but hers is worse.” She felt her eyes watering as she saw the anguished concern etched on his face and she took his hands in hers. “Harry, they said she lost her magic completely. They don’t know how, but her magic’s gone.”
Harry slumped back into his pillow, devastated. He remembered now what had happened. She had transferred all her magic to him through the necklace and the ring at the critical point in the battle. He covered his face with his hands as guilt overtook him. Oh my God! Hermione, what have you done?
Ginny stroked his arm, aware that Harry would blame himself for this, and tried to find words of comfort for him. Finally he pulled himself together and asked her how everyone else was. Hesitantly she told him of the three deaths in the DA, and the serious injuries of Dean and Remus. Then she broke into sobs as her own feeling of guilt overtook her as she tried to tell him what happened to Neville.
“Neville … he stepped in front of Malfoy’s curse for me … and now he’s … they don’t know if he’ll make it.” Harry reached up and pulled the distraught young witch down to himself, comforting her as she had just done for him and they both fell silent, each burdened with the self-imposed responsibility for the plight of a loved one.
Madame Pomfrey entered to find the two students entwined together and raised an eyebrow. Earlier Miss Weasley had been similarly wrapped up with Mr. Longbottom, whom she was supposedly dating. Now she also appeared to be equally close to Mr. Potter. The nurse wondered briefly which wizard actually held her heart. But she quickly shook that thought off as her professionalism asserted itself.
“Mr. Potter. It’s so good to see you awake.” Ginny pulled back to let Harry be examined. Pomfrey gave him some potions and told him he would probably only need to stay in the Hospital Wing one more night. When Harry asked her about Hermione she hesitated, then decided that if anyone deserved to know the details about her condition, it would be him. Ginny excused herself, knowing that the nurse would be more apt to tell Harry what he wanted to know if she was not present, and left to find Ron and let him know that Harry was awake.
After hearing Pomfrey confirm Ginny’s information, including the fact that she was unable to treat Hermione’s condition, Harry asked that Hermione’s bed be moved next to his. Although this was somewhat irregular, the nurse complied (this was the Savior of the Wizarding World Harry Potter after all) and Harry reached over and took Hermione’s hand, wishing there was something he could do. Just as he began to descend once more into unbearable guilt, Ron arrived and forcibly pulled him back.
“Hey mate!” he called out, engulfing Harry in a bear hug, “you’re finally awake. Now you can help me deal with all these nutters.” Harry grinned at his best friend, knowing that he was in fact thrilled to be in the limelight for a change. Ron and Ginny then sat down on the other side of Harry’s bed and caught him up on everything that had happened at the battle in Hogsmeade and since.
Scrimgeour had stopped by that morning and apologized for the Ministry intrusion the previous day and assured them that it had not been authorized by him. He had assigned some Aurors headed by Kingsley to assist them in fending off any other unwelcome visitors, and promised to return when Harry awakened. Viktor and Luna were now dealing with the ever-expanding press corps, and Harry reluctantly realized that he would need to make a statement soon.
-ooOoo-
As the day went on Harry had more visitors. First Viktor came in and confirmed with Harry the details of the interview he had arranged for later, then his friends from the elite DA were admitted. Harry profusely expressed his appreciation for all they had done, especially singling out those who had been killed or injured. Each member individually approached him for a few private words, and to his chagrin Harry got a hug and kiss from every one of the females.
Of course Colin had brought along his camera, and the witches all insisted that he take pictures of their individual congratulations so they could show them to their children and grandchildren. The wizards likewise had photos taken of Harry shaking hands with them.
Scrimgeour arrived and indicated that he needed a private word with Harry and Viktor, so the students departed, but not before one of them remembered to tell him that classes had been canceled for the week. Ron and Harry shared quick grins, both of them thinking that it was a good thing Hermione wasn’t awake to hear that as they recalled her dismay at a similar announcement several years earlier.
Ginny and Ron waited patiently while Scrimgeour quickly filled Viktor and Harry in on what he had been working on so feverishly the preceding day. The two younger wizards eventually nodded their agreement and the Minister of Magic departed. Viktor then brought up the topic of honors and awards. At first Harry wanted nothing to do with them, but when Viktor pointed out that his friends that had fought so bravely deserved acknowledgement, and that they couldn’t be honored if he were not, he gave in, and they began discussing the various Orders of Merlin.
-ooOoo-
The interview that afternoon didn’t go as badly as Harry had feared. Rita Skeeter, Luna’s father, a representative from the Daily Prophet and one from Witch Weekly, along with a reporter chosen to represent wizarding papers in other countries were the only ones admitted to the Hospital Wing. Viktor and McGonagall had informed Harry that there were now three separate layers of security (with the last being a rotating series of DA members standing watch just outside the room) keeping life in the castle as normal as possible.
McGonagall, Flitwick, Pomfrey, Ron, Ginny, Luna, Viktor, and Troy were also present for the interview, and Tonks and Augusta Longbottom were in the infirmary as well watching out for Remus and Neville. Given that the reporters were vastly outnumbered, and Mr. Lovegood and Rita Skeeter were on his side to begin with, the press conference proceeded smoothly.
Ginny, Luna, Viktor, and Troy described the attack on Hogsmeade and the tactics used on the trolls and inferi. Viktor made it clear that every known Death Eater was now dead or in custody and Troy praised the bravery and coolness under fire of the students during the battle. McGonagall declined to release any names of dead or injured students, but said that she was very thankful that the losses had been as low as they were.
Harry and Ron described the tactics the trio had used against Voldemort, both of them emphasizing the teamwork they had used to overcome him. Had Hermione been awake, she would have been extremely embarrassed at the amount of praise they heaped on her for her ability to counter and block Voldemort’s spells.
They left out the part about the transfer of magic and the handgun, but Ron took delight in describing Harry’s final thrust of the Sword of Gryffindor into Voldemort’s brain and the resulting blast of noise, light, and magic that erupted upon his final destruction. Viktor then added that he and Troy had visited the site and confirmed the dark lord’s death, and shared the photos they had taken with them all.
The reporters were extremely polite, without the demanding questions and accusations that Harry was accustomed to in his previous dealings with the wizarding press. Once the press conference was out of the way, Harry was able to relax and have a pleasant dinner with his friends, tempered only by his constant concern with Hermione’s fate.
-ooOoo-
The best episode of the day was when Remus finally regained consciousness. One of Slughorn’s protégés who worked at St. Mungo’s had been doing research into using muggle methods in magical treatments for illnesses. When Slughorn found out that Remus was stricken with silver poisoning, he contacted her immediately. Dropping the name ‘Harry Potter’ worked magic. No one in Britain was going to resist that sort of summons now. Despite his distaste for the Potions Master, Harry had to admit that building up a network of contacts like Slughorn had was certainly valuable.
This particular witch’s specific interest was in substances that would remove poisons from the bloodstream. Based on the muggle technique of chelation therapy, she came up with the idea of inserting an enchanted substance into Remus’s bloodstream that would seek out and neutralize the silver particles that were slowly killing him. Six hours after the potion had been injected the last bit of silver had been eliminated and Remus healed quickly thereafter. By evening he was ready to be released.
-ooOoo-
By nightfall the celebration over Remus’s recovery had died down and everyone left the infirmary. Only Harry, Hermione, and Neville remained. After sitting and thinking for a while, Harry sat up and swung his legs over the side of his bed. Gingerly, not wanting to pass out again, he got up and carefully padded over to Neville’s bed. As he stood gazing down at his loyal friend, he reached out and gave his shoulder a squeeze and vowed never to take Neville for granted again. Then he turned and made his way back to Hermione’s bed.
There he sat on the edge of her bed and found his thoughts going back to his second year when she had lain here after being petrified by the basilisk. The same feeling of helplessness that he had felt then engulfed him now. How often had their roles been reversed, with Hermione sitting by his bedside waiting for him to awaken from one of his injuries? There had been nothing he could do back in second year but hold her hand and hope that Madame Pomfrey would be able to mix up a draught to bring her out of her trance. But this time there was nothing the talented healer could do for her. He knew it was selfish of him, but he found himself thinking that he wouldn’t care if she never got her magic back; it would be enough if she regained her health.
Pulling back the sheets and blankets, he climbed into the bed with her and wrapped his arms around her as his eyes began to well up with tears. Please come back to me Hermione. I need you in my life. I need you to help me with all the things that are happening to me. I don’t think I can go on without you.
I love you, Hermione.
An hour later, the matronly nurse looked out into the infirmary on one of her nightly checks of her patients. She stood watching the two head students snuggled up together in one bed for a while, then turned back into her office, a tear slowly tracking its way down her cheek.
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