"It's so quiet," Professor Flitwick whispered, as if afraid to break the
silence that had reigned in the Great Hall for near to twenty minutes now.
"Is it over, Headmaster?"
There was no answer.
"Headmaster?"
"The fighting, Filius? The battle? Yes, that is over, for tonight. They may return tomorrow."
"Is everyone in the dormitories?"
"Almost one-fifth of the student population is en route to St. Mungo's," Professor McGonagall told them, looking around. "Headmaster, twenty students are dead. Ten are Gryffindors. One is Slytherin."
Dumbledore closed his eyes, face grey and weary, and Severus stood up and began to pace, ignoring the cut across his forehead that was dripping blood into his eye. Professor Sprout murmered a prayer.
"Who are the dead ones?"
"Slytherin's is Malcom Baddock," Snape said. "Hufflepuff lost Macmillan, Irekk, Losbro, and the Abbot boy. Ravenclaw - Boot, Graham, Tenary, Wesley Wiggett, and Gerry. Gryffindor - Patil, Hovey, MacDonald, Thomas, Dennis Creevey, Aricsson, Therese Bailey, Gordon, Peters, and Lorry."
"Is Potter all right?" Madam Hooch asked anxiously.
McGonagall looked uncertainly at Dumbledore. The Headmaster looked up stiffly, glancing jerkily around, and said in a strangled voice, "He's still missing."
"He's the only one," Severus said. "Where could he be, Headmaster?"
"He was on the field when they attacked. Where would he have gone? His broom was still lying there. I have it. The last they saw him, I think, was when he shouted that they were here. I don't know what happened after that. Everyone panicked." McGonagall broke off.
"Where's Hagrid?" Sprout wondered, looking around.
"Missing as well," Dumbledore answered. "He's most likely looking for Harry."
"I ought to be as well," McGonagall said, standing and looking over at Snape. "He's in my House, after all."
"Not yet, Minerva. They may be waiting in the forest," Madam Hooch said from her seat beside McGonagall's, putting a hand on her arm comfortingly. "We have to wait."
"If they're waiting in the forest and Potter's still out there, he'll be dead by morning," Snape said bluntly. "Let Minerva and I go look for him, Headmaster." He came over to stand next to the Deputy Headmistress, ignoring the rest of the staff as they looked up at him in surprise.
Dumbledore didn't answer for a moment, looking down. Then he raised his head too, hands pressed against the table. "No," he sighed. "No, not now. You're right, Elizabeth. They may be waiting for us to do just that. We have to make sure."
"How many of them did we get?"
"Draco Malfoy killed his father," Severus said softly. "By mistake. Longbottom critically injured MacNair - by mistake also, I suppose." Minerva made an indistinct sound of protest. Severus looked at her would- be calmly, and she shook her head. He continued. "The Weasleys and Granger got Pettigrew together." There was a collective gasp from the staff. Dumbledore and Snape both looked suddenly pained.
"Sirius Black is innocent, Peter Pettigrew was guilty, that is all you need to know for the moment," McGonagall said sharply. Severus nodded thanks to her and continued.
"We as staff members injured fifteen, seven of which got away, two of which were under the Imperius and are going to St. Mungo's, six of which are in custody. Among these are Nott and Goyle. The Gryffindors and Ravenclaws together actually dealt the Dark Lord himself a blow. Then Elizabeth, Minerva and I took out Elaine Lestrange."
"Very well," the Headmaster said quietly. "Minerva, Severus, Filius, and Serena. Go check your Houses, please -"
He was cut off as the doors to the Great Hall opened. Hagrid shouldered his way in, for his hands were full. In one was cradled a form with black hair and blood covering his face, wearing the scarlet robes of a Gryffindor Quidditch player. In the other was a limp man with a mangled arm and matted dark hair. Harry Potter and Sirius Black.
Hagrid looked around almost dimly, then began to walk slowly forward, eyes fixed on the Great Table and Dumbledore. After an eternity, he reached it, and stood there, unmoving, eyes fixed on the Headmaster.
Severus suddenly moved, startling everyone, over to Hagrid and actually lifted Harry from the Half-giant's arm. He turned and strode out of the Hall with all eyes but Hagrid's and Dumbledore's on his back.
McGonagall moved over to him then. Hagrid looked at her, his eyes wide with shock and horror still, and he lay Sirius down on the floor. Madam Hooch reached for her wand, standing and kneeling by the still form on the ground. She tore the sleeve of his robes right off, tossing it to the side and muttering to herself as she looked at the bloody, mutilated arm. The white of bone could be seen through threads of skin and tendon and muscle and blood.
Shaking her head, Elizabeth conjured a stretcher. Hagrid bent down and lifted Sirius onto it, and Professor Hooch hurried out of the hall with Sirius on the stretcher behind her.
Dumbledore sat down heavily in his chair, head in his hands.
_-_-_-_
Harry drifted in and out of conciousness, never reaching it quite enough to move.
Two days had come and gone since the battle. The staff had drifted in and out of his room, although he didn't know it, but no students had come. None had been allowed to. None, that is, except one. And Draco Malfoy hadn't stayed for long.
One person had stayed throughout the whole two days, until he woke, and that person was not Dumbledore or McGonagall or Hagrid. It was in fact Severus Snape, and he hadn't spoken a word since that night in the Hall.
Sirius was in his room down the hall, and had woken coherent several times - coherent, but despite the spells and potions, in unbearable pain, actually screaming more than once.
On the second night after the battle, Harry opened his eyes in almost- blinding light.
He closed them again quickly, still able to see the warm light behind his eyelids until it died. He opened his eyes again in relative dark. The light from under the door, however, was enough to see Severus Snape sitting on a wooden stool next to him.
"What happened?" he asked weakly, not caring that it was Snape he was speaking to.
"You were nearly killed by Death Eaters."
"Where am I?"
"St. Mungo's, along with more than a hundred other injured students."
"Sirius - where's - what happened to -"
"He's here as well. He's in extreme pain. He might never be able to use his wand arm again."
Harry squeezed his eyes shut and moaned softly.
"Do you remember anything that happened, Potter?"
"That spell was aimed at me," Harry whispered without opening his eyes. "The one Sirius took - it was aimed at my heart. It was Voldemort. And Sirius took it for me."
"Thank God for Sirius Black," Snape muttered without realizing it, and then froze. Five words he never thought he would hear himself say - much less have Harry Potter hear him say them.
"But that means that it's my fault."
"He's free now, Potter. They got Pettigrew."
"Who did?"
"Miss Granger, Miss Weasley and her brother."
"Good," Harry sighed. "I didn't want Sirius to have to do it. In case."
"Yes. The three of them are fairly haunted by it, from what the Headmaster tells me."
Harry laughed suddenly, and winced, but his smile didn't fade. "Gryffindor won," he told the Potions master before sinking back into blackness.
Severus Snape smiled.
There was no answer.
"Headmaster?"
"The fighting, Filius? The battle? Yes, that is over, for tonight. They may return tomorrow."
"Is everyone in the dormitories?"
"Almost one-fifth of the student population is en route to St. Mungo's," Professor McGonagall told them, looking around. "Headmaster, twenty students are dead. Ten are Gryffindors. One is Slytherin."
Dumbledore closed his eyes, face grey and weary, and Severus stood up and began to pace, ignoring the cut across his forehead that was dripping blood into his eye. Professor Sprout murmered a prayer.
"Who are the dead ones?"
"Slytherin's is Malcom Baddock," Snape said. "Hufflepuff lost Macmillan, Irekk, Losbro, and the Abbot boy. Ravenclaw - Boot, Graham, Tenary, Wesley Wiggett, and Gerry. Gryffindor - Patil, Hovey, MacDonald, Thomas, Dennis Creevey, Aricsson, Therese Bailey, Gordon, Peters, and Lorry."
"Is Potter all right?" Madam Hooch asked anxiously.
McGonagall looked uncertainly at Dumbledore. The Headmaster looked up stiffly, glancing jerkily around, and said in a strangled voice, "He's still missing."
"He's the only one," Severus said. "Where could he be, Headmaster?"
"He was on the field when they attacked. Where would he have gone? His broom was still lying there. I have it. The last they saw him, I think, was when he shouted that they were here. I don't know what happened after that. Everyone panicked." McGonagall broke off.
"Where's Hagrid?" Sprout wondered, looking around.
"Missing as well," Dumbledore answered. "He's most likely looking for Harry."
"I ought to be as well," McGonagall said, standing and looking over at Snape. "He's in my House, after all."
"Not yet, Minerva. They may be waiting in the forest," Madam Hooch said from her seat beside McGonagall's, putting a hand on her arm comfortingly. "We have to wait."
"If they're waiting in the forest and Potter's still out there, he'll be dead by morning," Snape said bluntly. "Let Minerva and I go look for him, Headmaster." He came over to stand next to the Deputy Headmistress, ignoring the rest of the staff as they looked up at him in surprise.
Dumbledore didn't answer for a moment, looking down. Then he raised his head too, hands pressed against the table. "No," he sighed. "No, not now. You're right, Elizabeth. They may be waiting for us to do just that. We have to make sure."
"How many of them did we get?"
"Draco Malfoy killed his father," Severus said softly. "By mistake. Longbottom critically injured MacNair - by mistake also, I suppose." Minerva made an indistinct sound of protest. Severus looked at her would- be calmly, and she shook her head. He continued. "The Weasleys and Granger got Pettigrew together." There was a collective gasp from the staff. Dumbledore and Snape both looked suddenly pained.
"Sirius Black is innocent, Peter Pettigrew was guilty, that is all you need to know for the moment," McGonagall said sharply. Severus nodded thanks to her and continued.
"We as staff members injured fifteen, seven of which got away, two of which were under the Imperius and are going to St. Mungo's, six of which are in custody. Among these are Nott and Goyle. The Gryffindors and Ravenclaws together actually dealt the Dark Lord himself a blow. Then Elizabeth, Minerva and I took out Elaine Lestrange."
"Very well," the Headmaster said quietly. "Minerva, Severus, Filius, and Serena. Go check your Houses, please -"
He was cut off as the doors to the Great Hall opened. Hagrid shouldered his way in, for his hands were full. In one was cradled a form with black hair and blood covering his face, wearing the scarlet robes of a Gryffindor Quidditch player. In the other was a limp man with a mangled arm and matted dark hair. Harry Potter and Sirius Black.
Hagrid looked around almost dimly, then began to walk slowly forward, eyes fixed on the Great Table and Dumbledore. After an eternity, he reached it, and stood there, unmoving, eyes fixed on the Headmaster.
Severus suddenly moved, startling everyone, over to Hagrid and actually lifted Harry from the Half-giant's arm. He turned and strode out of the Hall with all eyes but Hagrid's and Dumbledore's on his back.
McGonagall moved over to him then. Hagrid looked at her, his eyes wide with shock and horror still, and he lay Sirius down on the floor. Madam Hooch reached for her wand, standing and kneeling by the still form on the ground. She tore the sleeve of his robes right off, tossing it to the side and muttering to herself as she looked at the bloody, mutilated arm. The white of bone could be seen through threads of skin and tendon and muscle and blood.
Shaking her head, Elizabeth conjured a stretcher. Hagrid bent down and lifted Sirius onto it, and Professor Hooch hurried out of the hall with Sirius on the stretcher behind her.
Dumbledore sat down heavily in his chair, head in his hands.
_-_-_-_
Harry drifted in and out of conciousness, never reaching it quite enough to move.
Two days had come and gone since the battle. The staff had drifted in and out of his room, although he didn't know it, but no students had come. None had been allowed to. None, that is, except one. And Draco Malfoy hadn't stayed for long.
One person had stayed throughout the whole two days, until he woke, and that person was not Dumbledore or McGonagall or Hagrid. It was in fact Severus Snape, and he hadn't spoken a word since that night in the Hall.
Sirius was in his room down the hall, and had woken coherent several times - coherent, but despite the spells and potions, in unbearable pain, actually screaming more than once.
On the second night after the battle, Harry opened his eyes in almost- blinding light.
He closed them again quickly, still able to see the warm light behind his eyelids until it died. He opened his eyes again in relative dark. The light from under the door, however, was enough to see Severus Snape sitting on a wooden stool next to him.
"What happened?" he asked weakly, not caring that it was Snape he was speaking to.
"You were nearly killed by Death Eaters."
"Where am I?"
"St. Mungo's, along with more than a hundred other injured students."
"Sirius - where's - what happened to -"
"He's here as well. He's in extreme pain. He might never be able to use his wand arm again."
Harry squeezed his eyes shut and moaned softly.
"Do you remember anything that happened, Potter?"
"That spell was aimed at me," Harry whispered without opening his eyes. "The one Sirius took - it was aimed at my heart. It was Voldemort. And Sirius took it for me."
"Thank God for Sirius Black," Snape muttered without realizing it, and then froze. Five words he never thought he would hear himself say - much less have Harry Potter hear him say them.
"But that means that it's my fault."
"He's free now, Potter. They got Pettigrew."
"Who did?"
"Miss Granger, Miss Weasley and her brother."
"Good," Harry sighed. "I didn't want Sirius to have to do it. In case."
"Yes. The three of them are fairly haunted by it, from what the Headmaster tells me."
Harry laughed suddenly, and winced, but his smile didn't fade. "Gryffindor won," he told the Potions master before sinking back into blackness.
Severus Snape smiled.