Chapter 1:

Oddly enough, the first sense to return to her was her sense of smell. The heavy, sulphur-like odour of spent spells saturated the air. Harriet licked her dry, cracked lips and tasted the coppery tang of blood. 'Wha happn?' was her first muddled thought. Slowly, the cold from the rough stone beneath her sunk into her skin through her jeans and jumper. Noises she couldn't identify sounded distant and muffled but gradually grew more audible as her senses cleared, and the numbness waned. Without warning her bony, emaciated shoulders were grabbed by strong but dainty hands that shook her like a rattle. The wonky Charlie-brown sounds buzzing in her ear coalesced into Hermione's voice.

"Wake up!" she commanded in a desperate way. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and sat back on her heels as Harriet's eyes snapped open and glared at her.

"Stop it Hermi." Harriet slurred as she propped herself up onto her elbows. She located her glasses on the ground beside her and shoved them back onto her face.

"You did it Harri!" Hermione exclaimed whilst gesturing wildly with her hands. " I've been trying to Rennervate you since the battle ended. I was worried you'd fallen into a coma from the magical backlash caused by your disarming spell."

Harriet surveyed her surroundings from her prone position. She was in front of the doors of Hogwarts. The front steps of the school were cracked and battered, and the main doors hung dangerously from their massive hinges. Across the courtyard two Aurors from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement were guarding Tom Riddle's lifeless body. Other Aurors were gathering the dead or preparing the captured death eaters for transport. Healers in sickly pale green robes travelled between the clustered groups of weary fighters, administering first aid and whisking away the more seriously wounded to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries via portkey.

Recent events gradually returned to her memory. The hunt for the Horcruxes, the Fiendfyre, the walk through the forbidden forest, the hollows, the final battle, and then the nothingness of blacking out.

Harri's eyes widened in shock as a disturbing thought crossed her mind. She sat up abruptly and looked over at her friend. "Hermione!" She gasped, "We forgot about Snape!"

Hermione crossed her arms protectively over her chest, grimaced and looked down. "He's dead Harri." She whispered. "You were there, remember? We both saw him being killed by that stupid snake."

Harriet scrambled onto her knees, ignoring the way the broken stones scraped her skin through the holes in her overlarge jeans. She grasped Hermione's shoulders, forcing her to look up at her face. "We didn't exactly stop to check if he was really dead, did we? There's no time to lose. If he's still alive we have to save him 'Mione. Please!" Harri begged.

Hermione sucked in a steadying breath and her features settled into a determined scowl. "Ok. I have the potions and bandages we'll need in my beaded bag if we do find him alive." she declared as she reached over and touched the dilapidated pink beaded bag attached to her hip.

Harri dropped her hands to her side and looked at her friend incredulously. "How in the name of Merlin have you managed to keep hold of that thing through all this mess?" she asked

"Sticking charms." Hermione replied curtly as she thrust the Elder wand in Harri's face. "Here, take this back. We need to move."

They rose together and hurried across the expansive lawn towards the whomping willow, sparing little more than a passing glance at fallen foe and friend alike. Harriet's heart clenched painfully at the sight, but she couldn't allow herself to be distracted from her goal. Hermione levitated a rock at the knot in the tree and they scrambled through the cramped underground tunnel once the deadly branches stopped swaying.

Harriet eased herself out of the tunnel and knelt next to Snape's prone form, ignoring the sticky pool of blood at her feet. He looked like death. She anxiously reached out with two trembling fingers and rested them gently on the uninjured side of his neck. The weak thumping of his heart filled her with relief. She released the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding in. "He's still alive 'Mione!" she said breathlessly as she looked over at her friend beside her. Together they administered the life-saving first aid. Hermione borrowed Harriet's invisibility cloak and draped it over Snape's levitating body. Harri leads the way out of the shrieking shack and through Hogsmead back to the castle. They quietly snuck past the crowds using notice-me-not and disillusionment charms.

Once inside the busy infirmary they ensconced the critically wounded headmaster in a private room hidden in the back of the hospital. Hermione gently laid his body down on the bed. Harriet removed the invisibility cloak and stuffed it back into the pocket of her jeans along with her borrowed wand.

Hermione took one look and Harri's pale face and pushed her down into the armchair next to the bed. "Don't move a muscle, Harri. You're likely suffering from severe magical exhaustion. I'm going to go fetch Madame Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall."

Harriet nodded and reached out to grab Snape's hand. He was so cold. "Ok 'Mione" she acquiesced weakly.

Harriet laid her head down onto the bed without letting go of Snape's hand as Hermione swept from the room with a purposeful step. Harriet closed her tired eyes against the morning light streaming in through the single window in the bare whitewashed room.