Remus looked up at the healer, completely shocked by the words Remus, he is still alive. He began boiling over with anger, and frustration.
“What? That can not be,” was all he could stutter.
“It is true, my friend. Although he would not be treated at St. Mungo’s. The Ministry doesn’t really know what to do with him. The fleet of dementors no longer guards Azkaban, so they can’t administer a kiss. He already survived the order and the staff’s killing curse. They don’t know what to do with him, Remus. It is rather unfortunate. He didn’t escape without injury, that’s for sure. He is on the edge of passing, much like Harry here,” the Healer said looking up at Professor Lupin.
Professor Lupin got up, and straigtened his tattered coat. “I will kill that damned wizard,” Lupin said running out of the room, the Healer calling after him even though it was no use.
Bill stared at Kingsley and then looked over to his mother, who was now crying uncontrollably.
“Molly, I am sorry. They couldn’t do anything,” Shacklebolt told her with a tear falling from his eye. “Arthur is in a better place.”
“Better place? BETTER PLACE? And what about me? What am I going to tell the kids? How am I going to raise the kids? How am I…” Molly started crying out as she looked over at Bill. She immediately threw up her arms and ran to hug him, crying non-stop into his shirt.
Bill understood immediately the conversation they exchanged as Kingsley walked over to where they stood. He patted Bill’s back and walked off back through a nearby fire, shouting out "Hogwarts" as the green flames engulfed him and he disappeared.
Bill squeezed his mother and held her tightly as he walked back with her to go and find Arthur’s body. She grabbed his hand, and cried onto him, bowing her head in silence. She looked back up at Bill who had finally let his tears fall freely.
“What am I going to tell the others?” she asked him between the coughs and the tears.
“The truth,” Bill muttered as he stood up to pace back and forth next to his father’s bed. Kingsley was right when they said the healers had tried everything. Bandage wrappers were surrounding his bed, where his open wound left a dark maroon spot on his sheets.
Ron and Ginny felt completely helpless as they sat in the Great Hall. Neither one of them touched their food. Their friends were all gone, save for Neville who hadn’t found the appetite to eat either. Neville waited for his grandmother to arrive to get him.
Longbottom was shaking nervously as he took his seat, leaning his head on the table, and pushing away all the food that the surviving house elves had cooked for them.
Ginny still didn’t cry, and she looked up at the surrounding students. She fought next to these people over night. She fought with these very people. They provided her with a shield around Hermione, and she provided them a shield when they didn’t know the proper spell to say. She watched as the fires were still bustling with workers and staff of all kinds.
It was only a little after the battle and she still hadn’t been able to grasp the concept of the attack.
Lavender stood there in front of the portrait hole as it swung open. There in front of it, was a Death Eater, masked and standing against a background of terrified second years and first years.
Lavender was so confused as the man made a grab for her arm to reel her inside the common room.
Mad-Eye made the dash out from the corner and stunned the Death Eater, as he walked in, stunning the three remaining ones, as Lavender went straight to the third year. “What happened?” she asked soothingly as the third year cried.
“Another one woke up, and no one saw him, and he revived the others, and well, you know that second years charms aren’t the strongest. They started stunning the students and then one pulled out one of the three unforgivable curses. Everyone started to scream, and all order was lost,” she sobbed as she got up off the floor where she was knocked down by first years trying to run to the stairs.
Moody left the common room, levitating the motionless bodies in front of him and out of the way. He gave a small wink at Lavender as he walked out of the room and shut the empty portrait behind him. Soon afterwards, the students slowly started to mingle back down stairs.
The second years were all interested in what was happening downstairs.
Lavender jolted at the questions, tears forming in her eyes as she remembered the bodies of students mingled on the floor with Death Eaters. She remembered the portraits screaming and crying from the losses and devastation of the war. She remembered seeing the crumpled body of Dumbledore in the corner. She remembered seeing the green flames of the fire as workers bustled in and out. She remembered Hermione lying in the corner, with Ginny by her side, and the Weasley’s huddling over two members of their family. She looked at the second years one by one, and thought any of them could have been the ones to die. She looked deep into their young eyes, and how much joy they had to offer the world, and how much longer they had to live. Any one of them could have died and their lives could have been cut short when it was unneeded.
All of this death was unneeded. All of this sadness was unneeded. She looked up at the Gryffindor common room as their small beady eyes focused and stared at her, and she dropped a small tear.
“Well…” she started.
Bill walked out of the fire, and into the Entrance Hall once more. He walked into the Great Hall where he noticed his siblings staring off into oblivion, not knowing that their father had been killed yet. He took a deep breath as he walked slowly over to his little brother and sister. They both looked up at him, got up and headed his way.
Neither of them knew exactly what news he had, or what they were walking to in the future. Neither of them had any clue that an innocent father’s life was taken that night.
Bill whispered, “Come with me,” as he made his way back to the fire with them following close behind.
McGonagall slowly made her way down the hospital wing, the air still knocked out of her and the strength in her upper body was gone. She looked up at Madam Pomfrey, and she was sat down on a chair as all of the beds were full, and was handed a potion. Within a few minutes she was restored. She gave a weak smile for Madam Pomfrey as she heard the vomitting of a nearby student, and quickly left for the Entrance Hall again.
McGonagall stared at the Weasley’s as they one by one made their way through the fire. Ginny looked up at her, gloom was surrounding her as she vanished into the green flames. McGonagall gave a small jog, picking up her robes, running into the hearth shouting out, “St. Mungo’s” as she threw the floo powder down. She arrived just shortly after the Weasley’s and they all gave a respectful nod to her, as she quickly ran through the corridors, asking Healers where Potter was.
“That way, ma’am,” said one healer as he pointed down the corridor.
McGonagall squinted into the distance and was relieved to see Lupin running her way. She paused for a moment, and looked at Lupin. He was getting closer and closer, it didn’t look like he was going to stop, and he didn’t. He ran right past her, leaving her speechless. She picked up her robes and called after him, “Remus! Remus!” she pulled out her wand, and called out a trip jinx sending Lupin to the floor. She stopped next to him.
“Where do you think you are going?” she asked.
He looked up at her, tears streaming down his face. “To the Ministry of Magic.”
McGonagall looked down at him, and couldn’t help but asking why.
“He is there.” Lupin replied quietly, trying to make sure he wasn’t over heard by anyone. McGonagall gave a small gasp.
“But he…he died,” McGonagall told him. Lupin shook his head and remained silent.
McGonagall felt horrible. All that pain and suffering, and Voldemort was still alive. “Lupin,” she said cautiously, “let the Ministry of Magic deal with him. We need to help Potter in any way we can.”
“No, we can’t.”
McGonagall was now officially confused. “Merlin’s beard! He’s dead?!” she asked silently.
Lupin shook his head no.
“Then for goodness sakes, explain everything to me as we go and see Harry,” she said as she pulled him to his feet and they slowly started making their way to Harry’s room, as Lupin discussed silently what he had been told by the Healer.
Just as Ron , Ginny and Bill turned the corner, Ron looked out and from the corner of his eyes, he saw two muggles standing there quite nervously. They were Hermione’s parents, he could recognize them anywhere. Ron stopped and turned around, and walked over to them. They smiled at the sight of someone they recognized.
“Mr. and Mrs. Granger?” Ron asked as they nodded their heads yes. “Do you need help finding Hermione?”
“Very much so, we don’t understand this hospital,” Mr. Granger explained as he looked at an incoming witch from the fire.
“I’ll go find out where Hermione is for you,” Ron said solemnly as he headed for the desk. An odd looking witch stood busily behind it. She was talking into a small fire and popped her head out when Ron came up to the desk.
“May I help you?” she asked with a croak.
“Yes, I am looking for Hogwarts student Hermione Granger. She was hit by the Cruciatus Curse,” Ron said weakly.
“Ah, Granger. Room 101,” she said as she pointed in the same direction Bill was leading them before he ditched them.
“Can you also tell me where Arthur Weasley is?” he asked again.
She frowned at him as she croaked, “Room 125.” Ron nodded a thank you and waved for the Grangers to follow him.
He lead them to Room 101 where a more peaceful looking Hermione laid on one of the beds. He had to leave the Grangers to meet with his own family.
Molly looked up at Bill and Ginny whom had just walked in. “Where is Ronald?” she asked as Bill quickly turned around, and noticed that his little brother had disappeared as Ginny ran to her father, realizing that his chest wasn’t moving with the regular breathing movement. She saw that he was covered in his own thick blood. She shrieked and hugged her mother tightly.
Bill peaked out of the room, and saw Ron coming up from the other direction. Ron walked into the room solemnly.
Ron saw that his brother, his sister and his mother were all crying. He looked at his father who was laying on the bed motionless.
“Well…” Lavender started, “you should all be so thankful you are to young to fight. You should all be thankful that you were safe in the common room. You should be happy that you didn’t have to witness the sadness and devastation that had spread throughout the Entrance Hall. You guys should all be happy you are loved. You should all stay in the common room, and hope for the best of the students and staff who are on the edge of passing. Your thoughts should not be on the events of what happened down stairs rather the people involved in the fight down stairs,” Lavender said, as a second year snuggled up by her side.