"Collateral Damage" by Redcandle17

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and elements from the Harry Potter series belong to J.K. Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended.

Angelina's work consisted of replying to complaints owled to the Ministry by concerned Quidditch fans. There were far more of them than she'd expected before she started the job, and with the current unrest, there was even more. People wrote to inform the Ministry that their favorite teams had performed poorly because they were under the Imperius Curse and that the opposing players all bore the Dark Mark anyway. The new Minister was set on calming the public so Angelina had to answer each and every letter, even the one written backwards in Gobbledegook.

It was quite a relief to find Montague leaning against the doorway, waiting for her, after work. She wasn't sure how he managed to be ready before her each day since his department was far busier than hers, but she was happier than she'd admit to about it. The sight of him smiling at her was enough to make the tension of the day fade away.

"My place or yours today?" he asked.

"I'll meet you at your place later. I've got to visit Katie first." On an impulse, she added, "Unless you want to come with me…"

Montague shrugged. "If you want me to. I've got nothing else to do."

Angelina grabbed her cloak and purse. "Great."

"So, does Bell already know about us?" Montague asked, as they made their way to the elevator.

"She's still in a coma," Angelina said quietly.

There was silence until they reached the row of fireplaces in the Ministry lobby.

"Are you sure you want me along?"

"I'm sure," Angelina replied, linking her arm through Montague's.

There were no other visitors in the coma ward, and only one other patient. According to the nurse Angelina asked the first time she came here, the man had been in a coma for four years.

"She looks dead," Montague commented, standing beside Katie's narrow hospital bed.

"Tactful, honey, very tactful."

"Oh, sorry," he apologized.

But he was right. Katie did look like a corpse. Her skin was pale with grey undertones and the movement of her chest was barely perceptible. Some kind nurse had brushed her hair and artfully arranged it around her pillow, but it only served to make her look like she'd been posed for her funeral.

Angelina rested her head on Montague's shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her. "I keep wondering why it was her. There were hundreds of students in Hogsmeade that day, why couldn't the Death Eater bastards have chosen someone else?"

"We – the Slytherin Quidditch players - used to wish you Gryffindors would drop dead," Montague said. "We didn't mean it, of course. I'm sorry about this."

"Collateral damage," Angelina whispered.

"What?"

"That's what the Ministry considers her. I overheard Percy Weasley saying it."

Angelina detangled herself from Montague and sat on the edge of Katie's cot. She ruffled her hair, making it look more normal, and kissed her forehead. "Wake up soon, sweetie. If you sleep any longer, you might have to repeat your Seventh Year. And you don't want to match Flint's record, do you?"

There was no change. Angelina had almost expected Katie to bolt awake in horror. She sighed and stood. "What's for dinner tonight?" she asked.

"You know, good girlfriends cook," Montague said.

"And good boyfriends give out diamonds like candy." Angelina's laughter was forced as she tried to suppress the fear that she'd be visiting Katie again next year and the year after that. "Come to think of it, I don't even think you've given me candy yet."

End