The Refiner's Fire

Abraxan

Story Summary:
Complete. Prequel to "The Time of Destiny." In the summer before his sixth year at Hogwarts, Harry Potter learns to come to terms with the death of Sirius. As he heals and grows emotionally, he learns how to enjoy life again. But there's a war on, and Voldemort's primary objective is to kill Harry Potter, by any means necessary. As a result, Harry and his friends have a very adventurous sixth year at Hogwarts. Canon-based through OotP with some OC.

Chapter 34

Chapter Summary:
The aftermath of the battles. Warning: deaths of several characters (we're at war, remember??)
Posted:
05/27/2005
Hits:
4,817
Author's Note:
Many thanks to Kelpie, my brilliant Brit-picker, and to Blakevich, Starfox, Shawn and Pilar for beta reading! For those who don’t know, an “elegy” is a funeral song (and a much prettier word than “dirge,” which means the same thing).


Chapter 34 - Elegy

Harry was in a deep, dark, warm place. He wanted to stay there, but something was drawing him out of it. Coming out of that lovely rich darkness meant he hurt. He hurt all over. His head hurt, his scar hurt, his back hurt, his chest hurt, his arms and legs hurt, his insides hurt. Some were sharp, stabbing pains, others were dull, throbbing pains, others were pain beyond description. He moaned and moved restlessly, which made everything hurt more. He moaned again, fighting his way out of his stupor, finally opening his eyes to see Ginny sitting next to his bed, her face red and blotchy, tears streaming from her eyes, kissing his right hand over and over, glancing up at him between kisses.

"Harry, come back to me! Come on, wake up! OH! HARRY!" she cried when she saw his eyes were open and actually looking at her. She stood up and leaned over the bed, kissing him gently on the temple. He groaned as she bumped his bed in her excitement. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" She bent to kiss him again, moving more carefully this time. "Madam Pomfrey!" she called, running to peep out of the curtain. "Madam Pomfrey? Healer Pomfrey?" Soon both the nurse and healer were standing by Harry's bed, examining him, full of questions but trying hard not to overwhelm him.

"Hello, Harry," Marcus said kindly. "I'm Marcus Pomfrey, your nurse's brother. I'm a healer at St. Mungo's."

"St. Mung. . .?" Harry mumbled, glancing around. Due to his injuries, he was still lying on his side, so looking around was difficult at best. His bed was surrounded by curtains, but the Great Hall's celestial ceiling with its thousands of floating candles showed above him. His forehead furrowed in confusion, making him moan in pain again.

"We're at Hogwarts, Harry," Ginny said quickly. "We're in the Great Hall so there would be more room for the wounded. You're going to be fine, sweetheart," she assured him, hoping she was right.

"Can you tell me how you're feeling?" Marcus asked as he used his wand over Harry's body, casting Diagnostic Spells here and there to check his patient's progress since his initial treatment.

"Password?" Harry muttered.

"He is my brother, Harry," Madam Pomfrey said, leaning down to whisper "scar on bum" in Harry's ear. "My brother's password is the scar on my left arm - he dropped me when we were little and I landed on the gravel path. See?" she said, pulling up the sleeve of her robes so he could see the small jagged scar above her elbow.

Harry looked from one to the other and finally nodded. "Hurts all over," he muttered. "Different. . .in different places."

Marcus threw back Harry's covers, exposing his bare back, bum and legs, making the boy blush all over. "Do you have to. . .?" Harry asked uncomfortably, clutching the covers to his chest.

"Afraid so, lad," Marcus replied kindly. "You have wounds just about everywhere. It looks like you were spinning when you got some of these injuries."

"I was," Harry replied softly. "Sloth Grip Roll . . . without . . . a broom," he added, looking at Ginny and very deliberately winking, a small smile tickling his mouth. He was rewarded by a small smile from her in return. Both of them remembered having to learn that manoeuvre, a very difficult evasive Quidditch move. He reached out to touch Ginny's face, his fingers awkwardly brushing the tears from her cheeks. "Don't cry, sweetheart," he whispered. "I'm . . . all right."

His assurance just brought a fresh flood of tears from Ginny, but these were tears of relief. He'd been unconscious for hours, breathing in pain-filled gasps despite the potions they'd managed to get into him. She was so afraid she was going to lose him this time. She kept kissing his hand, laying her face in his palm, breathing in the smell of him.

"Ginny?" he murmured.

"Yes, baby, what is it?" she said eagerly.


"Ron . . . Hermione . . . OK?"

"Yes, they're fine. Minor spell burns, already treated. They're helping Dumbledore with something or they'd be here too," she said, hoping he wouldn't ask what they were doing.

As if he'd read her mind, he asked, "What are they doing?"

"I'll tell you all about it later, sweetheart," she said evasively. "You need to talk to the healer now."

"You? Your folks? Fred and George? Remus?"

"Yes, baby, all of us are fine. Please, listen to the healer. He needs to ask you some questions."

Marcus had pulled the young man's covers back over him, then waited patiently for Harry and Ginny to get to a stopping point in their conversation. He looked at Ginny gratefully, then walked around the bed so he'd be in Harry's line of sight.

"How . . . bad . . . am I?" Harry asked, obviously in considerable pain.

"Much better than you were, Mr. Potter," Marcus assured him. "The phoenix stopped the bleeding in the worst of your wounds and healed the minor ones completely. He couldn't heal the worst ones beyond stopping the bleeding. Apparently there was some kind of spell on the lashes of the whip that prevented the phoenix's tears from healing the deepest wounds. You have some internal injuries and had some internal bleeding. We've managed to control some of those with potions. What you need now is lots of rest and some medications, as well as time. You're young and healthy. You should heal quickly."

"How long?"

"A matter of weeks or months at the most," he assured Harry.

"Weeks or months?" Harry's eyes widened in shock.

"Your injuries would have killed anyone else, Mr. Potter. You're a very strong young man." He moved Harry's covers so he could look at his chest, lifted his arm to see how the deep gashes on his side were doing, then covered him again. Marcus turned and took a flagon of potion from Madam Pomfrey. "This is a non-drowsy pain potion, Mr. Potter. I'm going to give it to you to ease your pain, but it won't put you to sleep like most other pain potions do. That way, you can answer questions for me and help me make sure I'm treating all your injuries. All right?"

Harry nodded and tried not to cry out as the healer lifted his head a little so he could take his potion.

"You should feel better in a minute or two," Marcus assured him. Before long, Harry relaxed as his pain subsided and he was able to respond to the healer's questions. Marcus was able to prescribe some different potions than the ones he'd been using, now that he knew how Harry actually felt. "These should set you right much more quickly than the ones I had to use before. These potions are more targeted at your specific injuries. How are you feeling now?

"It hurts again," Harry said breathlessly as waves of pain washed over him.

"That's because the non-drowsy potion doesn't last very long if you have serious pain. This one," he said, picking up another flagon, "will ease your pain and help you sleep for a while. It isn't like the Dreamless Sleep potion - you won't be so sound asleep that you won't wake for hours. We may need to wake you from time to time to check on you, so I don't want you to sleep too soundly."

As the healer started to give it to Harry, the boy said, "Wait." He looked at Ginny seriously. "I need to tell you something."

"What is it, sweetheart?" she said, smoothing the hair gently off his forehead, wincing when it stuck to the blood from his scar.

"I love you," he murmured.

"I love you too," she replied, blinking hard to keep the tears from flowing again.

Harry looked up at the healer and nodded, then took his potion willingly. He slept.

* * * * *

Some time later, the calm by Harry's bed was disrupted by a commotion outside the curtains. "I WILL see them, RIGHT NOW!" someone was saying quite forcefully. Ginny kissed Harry's hand and laid it gently on the bed as she got up to peek out of the curtains.

"Mum!" she cried, then ran out to hug her mother. "Mum, are you all right? Professor Dumbledore told me you and Dad were fine, but I haven't seen you, and I've been so worried!" Ginny said at the same time as her mother asked her similar questions. They both laughed through their tears, exchanging hugs and kisses. "Where's Dad?"

"He's coming. He went to see how Ron's doing," her mother began.


"Shh. Harry doesn't know yet," Ginny whispered.

"Oh, OK," Molly replied nervously, hoping Harry hadn't heard her. "How is he?"

"He just went to sleep. They finished examining him a few minutes ago." Ginny turned to go back in, still holding on to her mother's arm. "You're on the list of immediate family, Mum. Come and see him," she urged, glancing at the nurse from St. Mungo's holding a list of names of those allowed in to visit Harry and daring the woman to contradict her. "Look on the list. Molly Weasley." The nurse found Molly's name and made a note by it, then stopped trying to block their entrance.

"I'm on the list?" Molly exclaimed, touched.

"Of course," Ginny replied, her hand on the curtain ready to open it.

"Ginny, wait. What's wrong with him?" Molly asked, worried.

Ginny went through the list of injuries Harry was suffering from. The anguish on Molly's face increased with every additional injury she heard about.

"And he has internal injuries as well?"

"Yes. Those are pretty serious. He's been bleeding internally. He lost a lot of blood from his wounds, as well. He's white as a sheet - scary looking. They think the internal bleeding's stopped now, but still - he's in very bad shape," Ginny said wearily.

"I'm glad I asked you before I saw him. Thank you for being honest with me," Molly said as she lifted Ginny's thick red hair off her shoulders and brushed her cheek with her fingers.

At her mother's gentle touch, Ginny fell apart. "Oh, Mum! It's been so awful! He's hurt so badly. He . . . . Did you hear he took a Killing Curse for me?"

Molly pushed her daughter back and looked into her eyes in horror. "He what?"

"He was a phoenix when he did it. That's why Fawkes had to bring him back here, why he didn't come back with the rest of the wounded. He became a baby phoenix after taking that curse for me. It really injured him, Mum. His scar has an extra zigzag and it bleeds every so often. It's never bled before that I know of. It's longer and thicker than it was. Voldemort was doing something to make his scar painful when they were duelling, too, and when his scar hurts, it's nearly unbearable for him. Sometimes he can barely see, or even passes out when it hurts. And yet he had to fight while suffering all that pain! Harry's been through so much, I just don't see how he . . . ." She collapsed on her mother's shoulder, the wracking sobs she'd been fighting back for hours released at last. Molly held her and comforted her, rocking her back and forth and crooning soothingly to her.

"What's wrong, Miss Weasley?" Madam Pomfrey gasped as she ran up to them. "Is he worse?"

"No, oh no, he's . . . no change," Ginny said, straightening up and fighting to regain her emotional control. "My mum. . . ."

Madam Pomfrey looked from Ginny to Molly and back again. "Oh, I understand. I'm glad you're here for her, Mrs. Weasley. She's been so strong. I knew she'd need comfort at some point."

"I'm here to help you, but I'll be in with Ginny and Harry for a while, if you need me," Molly said quietly.

"Thank you. I appreciate your willingness to help," Madam Pomfrey said, then turned and went back to her duties.

Ginny tiptoed into the curtained area around Harry's bed and caught the gleam of a green eye as he awakened. "Harry, Mum's here to see you," she whispered, not wanting to wake him if he was truly asleep. Harry opened his eyes and turned his head to look at Molly, squinting as he did so. Ginny put his glasses on his face for him. He smiled his thanks.

"Oh, Harry, dear, how are you?" Molly said, gently touching his hair. There were very few places on his body that weren't bloody or wounded in some way. She wanted to enfold him in her arms, to help him somehow, but he was so badly injured, she was afraid to touch him.

"Hi," he said quietly. "You OK?"

"Yes, dear, I'm fine. So is Mr. Weasley. He'll be along soon," she assured him. "I don't want to tire you, dear. I just wanted to see how you and Ginny are. Mr. Weasley and I are both helping out here. I'm working with the healers, and Mr. Weasley is helping deal with the prisoners, the paperwork, the bureaucracy - you know." Harry smiled a bit. They could see he was fighting to keep his eyes open. "I won't keep you, dear. I'll come back and check on you later, how's that?" Molly offered.

"That would be great, Mum," Ginny said. "Bring Dad, too, and the boys - but not all at once. I know Harry wants to see them," she added, looking at him. He caught her eye and smiled for just a moment before his eyes drifted closed. She carefully removed his glasses and sat back down in the chair by the side of his bed, where she'd already spent so much time. She looked exhausted.

"Do you need a break, dear? I could watch him for you," her mother offered.


Ginny looked at Harry, not wanting to leave him even for a moment. But life sometimes got in the way of what she wanted. "A quick trip to the loo would be nice. Thanks, Mum. Don't let anyone in who doesn't give a password you recognize, all right? Madam Pomfrey's is 'scar on bum' - that's in reference to a scar Harry has - and Healer Pomfrey's is 'scar on elbow' - he dropped Madam Pomfrey when they were children and she has a scar above her elbow to show for it," Ginny explained, seeing her mother's confusion. "I'll be right back. Thanks," she added, leaning down to give Molly a quick kiss on the cheek and a hug around her neck. "I'm so glad you and Dad are all right." With that, she dashed through the curtains and off to the loo.

Molly sat by Harry's bed watching him sleep, twisting her fingers anxiously as she tried to think of something to do to help him. Finally, she conjured up a basin with warm water and a flannel and began dabbing at the blood in his hair and on his face ever so gently, trying not to wake him, but certain the dried blood must feel uncomfortable to him. She jumped back, startled, when he murmured, "Umm, feels good. Thanks." He opened his eyes briefly and saw a fuzzy image of someone with red hair, but the hair was too short and the face too round to be Ginny's. "Mrs. Weasley?"

"Yes, dear. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you, but I simply can't believe they didn't wash you yet."

"They've been . . . pretty busy, I think," he murmured sleepily. "Where's Ginny?"

"She went to the loo," Molly said with a smile. "Do you want me to continue, or am I hurting you?"

"They have me so full of potion, you could probably rip my arm off and I wouldn't notice," he mumbled slowly, then stifled a yawn. "Have fun," he added, looking up at her and smiling again, a brief twinkle in his eye. "I know how you hate to see boys with dirty faces." A soft laugh rumbled through him as he remembered when he first met Ron, and how Molly had tried unsuccessfully to get the black smudge off of Ron's nose before he got on the train. "Don't tell Ron," he added drowsily, "but I like it when you fuss over me." He chuckled softly, then yawned hugely. "'Scuse me."

Molly went back to work washing the blood off of his face. "You go right back to sleep then, dear, and I'll fuss over you all you want." As she worked, she unconsciously hummed a lullaby she used to sing to her own children when they were small. Harry smiled, truly enjoying the attention and sorry he was falling asleep in the middle of it, but fall asleep he did.

Ginny had returned and caught part of this conversation. She stood quietly watching her mother treat Harry like one of her own children. When Molly stood up and stepped away from him, finally satisfied that she'd got Harry's face and hair as clean as she could manage, Ginny moved to stand behind her mother and hugged her. "Thanks, Mum."

"Oh, you're welcome. I'm sure you needed a break," Molly said, patting Ginny's arms wrapped around her middle.

"No. I mean, thanks for that, yeah, but thanks for caring for Harry so much. It means a lot to him, you know?" Ginny moved in front of her mother and hugged her again, resting her cheek on Molly's shoulder. "It means a lot to me too."

"He's a dear sweet boy. Any mother would be proud to have him as a son," Molly said, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "I just hate to see him like this."

"Me too." The two women held onto each other and watched Harry sleep for quite a while.

* * * * *

Ginny had fallen asleep in the chair by Harry's bed. She was awakened by a sound that hadn't been there before. When she opened her eyes, she saw a phoenix curled up against Harry's abdomen. "Fawkes? He's not worse, is he?" She looked at Harry and saw he looked no worse than before, even a little bit better, with a tiny bit of lifelike colour beginning to bloom in his stark white cheeks, thanks to the Blood Restorative Potion. She turned her eyes back at the phoenix. The magnificent bird looked at her steadily. It had a small blue feather over each eye, the two feathers pointing toward each other as they ran toward the back of his head. They would outline his crest when he raised his feathers in warning. "You're a different phoenix, aren't you? Whose are you?" she wondered. She stroked the beautiful bird, and felt a soothing peacefulness steal over her body from his gentle crooning. "Mmm, I see why Harry likes phoenixes so much. You're lovely," she murmured. She pulled the side of her chair up against the bed next to the phoenix and facing Harry, took Harry's hand in hers again and rested her other hand on the phoenix. Leaning her head against the back of her chair, she fell asleep again. The phoenix continued his comforting song as the two warriors slept.

* * * * *

"I can't do this anymore, 'Mione," Ron complained, rubbing his eyes, which were burning with exhaustion. "It's too hard."

"Ron, we must. There aren't that many left to do," she said, trying to think how she could console him. "Tell you what. Let's do these, then we'll go to see Harry. We can do the others later."

Ron slumped in his chair. "OK." For hours, they'd been writing letters to the parents of those who had died in battle. They'd been careful to include some heroic thing each student did in each letter, and praised every one of them to the skies. They knew all these students, and some were good friends. It was horrible work, but they both felt they needed to do it. Dumbledore would include their letters in with the official notification of death he'd be sending each family. Once they finished the letters for the D.A. members who had died, they were going to do the same for those who were wounded. Every one of them deserved the highest praise. They'd all fought with tremendous honour and bravery. Not one had turned and run, and only a few had frozen in fear for any length of time. Every single D.A. member had stood his or her ground, followed orders like a professional soldier, and remembered their training. Plenty of mistakes had been made, but those would not be pointed out to the grieving relatives of those who'd perished to protect the wizarding world from the depravity of the Death Eaters. And nobody would point out how many of the D.A. and even Order members were injured because they stopped in amazement to watch Harry and Voldemort during the fiercest parts of their fight. Ron and Hermione had needed to shriek orders to the squads to get them moving again when that kind of thing happened. No one but those closest to Harry had ever seen him do battle with Voldemort, and they were amazed to see that the stories they'd heard paled in comparison with reality. It had taken a lot of work to get the D.A. fighting again once they'd seen Harry in action, but when they were over their initial shock at the intensity of his battle, they were brilliant. Nobody could ask for more than they'd given, and this was the message Ron and Hermione were trying to share with the grieving families of these students. Piles of crumpled parchment were scattered all over the Common Room floor, a mute testimony to how much work had gone into each letter Ron and Hermione had written.

"We should find out how the ones in the hospital wing are," Ron said, looking for an excuse to at least stretch his legs.


"They put everyone in the Great Hall, did you forget?" Hermione said reasonably.


"Yeah. Slip of the tongue, I guess. Force of habit. I don't expect the Great Hall to be a hospital," he grumbled wearily. "Please, 'Mione, can we go for a walk? Can we go and check the others? I'm going crackers here not knowing how Harry and Seamus are. Seamus was in pretty bad shape. Colin, too. And poor Harry. . . ." He shook his head. The wounds he'd seen on his best mate were unbelievable. He could not imagine how Harry had stayed upright, much less fighting, after the punishment Voldemort had doled out with his whips and other spells.

Hermione sniffled, rubbing angrily at a tear that had escaped her control. "I just can't believe so many are gone. Katie Bell. Cho Chang. Roger Davies. Hannah Abbot. Terry Boot. Justin Finch-Fletchley. Michael Corner. And so many seriously injured. Seamus, Colin, Neville, Lavender, both Patil twins, Ernie McMillian, Susan Bones, Luna Lovegood. And Tonks and Remus. And your mum and dad. I'm glad they had only minor wounds. They're probably fine by now."

"Yeah, I imagine so, or someone would've told me. At least we know Remus will get well. He makes me think it isn't so bad to be a werewolf," Ron said with a sad chuckle. "At least there weren't many hurt here at Hogwarts."

"Yeah, just some minor spell burns and some cuts from flying stone when spells chipped the castle walls. Nothing life-changing there," Hermione said. She laughed suddenly. "I'll never forget seeing Ernie McMillan coming to the triage area. What a sight!" Since he had no bones in his legs, Ernie had levitated himself to the triage area, his swollen, useless legs dangling weirdly beneath him. The healing squad members had indulged in a welcome laugh from Ernie's attitude about his injury. "He was so funny. He said he'd never seen a Jelly Legs curse go so badly wrong," Hermione added, chuckling at the memory.

Ron walked behind her chair and bent over her, wrapping his long arms around her and resting his cheek on her hair. "It's nice we can find something to laugh about in all this. Ernie was hilarious. Did you see the puppet show he put on, levitating his legs as if he was a marionette? That was so weird."

"At least he only needs a dose of Skele-Gro to get better. Some of the others will take longer." Hermione wiped away a tear, then scratched her nose with the end of her quill, ready to get back to work. "Who's next?"

"I am," Ron said, putting his hands under her legs and lifting her from the chair from behind, making her giggle. "You needed a laugh. So did I. A good snog wouldn't hurt much either," he said seriously. "Come here, you." He set her back on the chair and leaned over to kiss her upside down, his long hair tickling her nose and making her laugh. Their upside-down kiss turned into a serious snog. Ron moved around and knelt beside her chair, so tall that he was at eye-level with her in her chair. He pushed her thick curly hair back off her shoulders tenderly and kissed her under her ear, nibbling down her neck the way he knew she liked it, his hands exploring freely. The Common Room, indeed all of Gryffindor Tower was empty. Everyone was in the Great Hall, either hurt or helping care for the injured, or visiting their wounded friends. "Come on, we do need a break," Ron said breathlessly, taking her hand and leading her up to his room. He picked her up and carried her to his bed, kissing her all the while, but when he sat up to take off his shirt, he saw Harry's empty bed next to his, Neville's next to Harry's, Seamus's and Dean's beds across the room. He froze in place, his eyes going from bed to bed, thinking of his missing mates, then put his face in his hands, overcome with emotion. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "I just can't do this here."

"I can't either," she said, sitting up and wrapping her arms around him.

Ron laughed sadly. "All the times I've wished I could get you alone up here, and now I have you here and . . . ."

"I know." She nuzzled her face into the wavy red hair on his neck, breathing in the scent of him. He was sweaty, dirty, exhausted, but she didn't care. He smelled warm and alive and completely Ron, and she loved it.

He pushed her away and looked at her, his aching heart in his eyes. "Please, 'Mione, can we go see how they are?"

Hermione relented. Those letters could wait a little while. "Yes, let's go. Maybe it will be easier to finish the job when we know how Harry and the others are."

* * * * *

Ginny awoke with a start, reaching for her wand so she could protect Harry, cursing herself for falling asleep, cursing the nurse guarding the door for allowing someone in, all this before she got her eyes opened properly. Someone had entered the curtained area and gasped. Ginny looked across Harry's bed and saw Ron and Hermione, both with tears streaming down their faces. The first thing they'd seen when they entered the enclosure was Harry's back, covered in whip cuts that were still red and raw-looking. His covers had slipped down to his waist and his entire back was exposed to view. It was still a bit bloody, quite a frightening sight. When the medical staff had tried to clean him up, it had caused him agonizing pain despite the initial potions he'd been given, so they'd just cleaned what they had to for treatment and left the rest for when he was feeling stronger, or knocked out with stronger potion. Everyone had been too busy to finish cleaning him up, and Ginny kept falling asleep whenever she sat down, so he remained blood-covered.

Ginny put her wand away, glad she didn't have to fight anyone in her exhausted state. "He's actually doing much better," she said encouragingly. "Come in. He'll want to see you when he wakes up."

Ron and Hermione moved around the bed and sat in the chairs Ginny conjured for them, Ron scrubbing madly at the tears on his face, Hermione wiping hers daintily away with one finger, hiccupping as she tried to stop crying.

"His face doesn't look much better than his back," Ron muttered in horror when he could finally speak.


"Shhh," Ginny snapped quietly. "Don't let him hear you say that. I haven't told him yet."

"Told me what?" Harry murmured sleepily. He opened his eyes and squinted at his friends, murmuring "Thanks," when Ginny handed him his glasses. "Hi! I'm so glad . . .to see . . . you two," he said, a tired but delighted grin spreading across his face. "I've been asking everyone . . . how you are, where you were . . . and all that. Are you OK?"

"Better now that we've seen you, mate," Ron said with a grin, reaching out one hesitant finger to gently poke Harry on an uninjured part of his shoulder.

Harry lay there beaming at them. He'd been so worried about them, despite all the assurances he'd been given that they were all right. "I heard you had spell burns. Where are they? Are they healed?"

"We've been too busy to come down here," Hermione said quietly. "And our injuries are very minor. We didn't want the healers to take time away from those who needed care more than we do."

"Show me," Harry said, reaching toward her.

"No, Harry, you're . . .," she protested. She stopped, not wanting to tell him how weak he looked, how badly injured, how scary it was to look at him with so much abuse all over his body.

"Show me," he insisted.

She held out her arm and pulled back the sleeve of her robe. Her left arm had a bright red spell burn that ran from shoulder to elbow.

Ron gasped. "You didn't tell me it was that bad," he scolded.

"You haven't told me how bad yours are either," she retorted.


"Please don't bicker," Harry chided them. "Lean over so I can reach it, Hermione. I think I can fix that." He rubbed his hand so gently over her arm that it barely brushed the hairs of her arm, but the burn faded away. Finally, there was Hermione's normal skin colour on her entire arm, with no sign she'd ever been burned.

"Oh, Harry, thank you! That feels so much better!" she said, leaning down to kiss his cheek.

"Are you kissing my boyfriend?" Ginny teased.

"Yes, I am," she replied playfully, leaning down to kiss his cheek again. Harry deliberately turned his face just in time to get a kiss on the lips from her, making her blush and him giggle mischievously.

"Hey!" Ron protested mildly. "Are you snogging my girl?"

"Yeah," Harry said, his eyes twinkling. "Not bad!"

"Not bad!" Hermione said huffily. "I'll show you not bad!" and she leaned down as if to kiss him again, but hesitated, waiting for Ron to grab her. He did just as she expected and pulled her onto his lap, then kissed her soundly. "Hmm, not bad," she commented, wrapping her arms around Ron's neck.

"Not bad," he sulked. "Not bad?"

Hermione twined her fingers in his hair and pulled him into a serious kiss. "Ummm, nope, not bad at all," she purred when she broke the kiss. Ron was blushing but grinning goofily.

"Oy, get a room," Harry teased.

"Thanks, I needed that," Ron said, hugging Hermione and winking at Harry.

"Yeah, I thought so," Harry replied, still grinning. What a joy to be able to be silly with his friends, even for a moment, in the midst of all this heartache. "Ron, where are you hurt?"

Ron lifted his shirt, showing a spell burn along his ribs, and another across his back. Harry quickly healed them both. "Thanks, mate," Ron said sincerely, stretching comfortably for the first time in many hours. "Why's Fawkes staying with you?"

"I have some internal injuries. He stayed with me a while to heal them, then left. I guess he decided to check on me again and thinks I still need him," Harry replied. He looked down at the phoenix, which had been sleeping with its head under its wing. At his movement, the bird lifted its head and gazed at Harry and each of his friends serenely. "Hang on - this isn't Fawkes. Where did you come from, mate?" he said in surprise.

"He was there the last time I woke up," Ginny said. "I noticed he has two blue feathers on his crest, so I knew he wasn't Fawkes. He must belong to one of the healers. Maybe they thought you needed more healing from a phoenix. The last I heard, Fawkes was still working on the other seriously wounded people."

The phoenix raised its head and looked deeply into Harry's eyes, making a series of low chirruping sounds as it did so. Harry stared at the bird for a long, quiet moment. His friends were perfectly still, not knowing what was going on, but certain there was some kind of communication happening between Harry and the magnificent bird. After several minutes, Harry looked up at his friends, his face glowing with amazement. "He's Merlin," he said simply.

"Merlin? That's a nice name for him, Harry," Hermione said, smiling at the bird as she reached out to touch its rich red plumage.

"It's his name. He told me," Harry said, his eyes still wide.

"What else did he tell you?" Ginny asked, tilting her head to look at the bird more closely. There was something about his eyes that was different to Fawkes's eyes, but she couldn't say what, exactly.

"You don't get it! He's Merlin! Great Merlin! The wizard? It's him!" Harry said breathlessly.

His friends looked at Harry sceptically, then at each other. Had he gone round the bend?

"I'm serious! He told me that, when he was old and weak, Nimue took pity on him and released him from the Crystal Cave where she'd imprisoned him. He could still do his Animagus transformations, so he decided to become a phoenix because it's reborn after it dies. He wanted to see how the world developed after his time, so he's been a phoenix ever since. He's never come to a wizard before, to be his phoenix, but Fawkes thought I needed more help than he could give me. Fawkes went wherever it is phoenixes go and brought Merlin back and he's been with me ever since. Isn't that amazing?"

"Merlin. King Arthur's mage?" Hermione said, still disbelieving.

"Yes!" Harry insisted.

"Is he going to stay with you once you're well? Be your phoenix like Fawkes is for Dumbledore?" Ron asked excitedly.

"Merlin?" Harry asked, gazing seriously at the bird. The bird crooned something sweet-sounding and Harry smiled. "Yes, he's going to stay with me. Isn't that brilliant?"

"Yeah!" Ron said, his animated face showing his delight. "How cool is that! D'you suppose he can help you with exams and stuff? Just think of the spells he knows! Wicked!"

"Won't it be wonderful to talk to him?" Ginny said, sharing Harry's and Ron's excitement. "Just think of the stories he can tell us! Ask him to turn into a person, Harry."

Harry looked at his friends. They were all exhausted, their minds not working properly -or else they really did not understand. "If he becomes a person, he'll die. His human body would have been dead over a thousand years if he'd left one behind. The only reason he's here is that he's a phoenix. He can't change into anything else ever again." He could see growing understanding on Ron's and Ginny's faces, but Hermione's mind was whirling with questions.

"I don't see how that could be the real Merlin," Hermione said sceptically. "I mean, he lived over a thousand years ago!"

"And phoenixes are reborn from the ashes whenever they die, or have you forgotten that part of Care of Magical Creatures?" Ron teased.

"I haven't forgotten, but that means - if Harry wants to, he can live. . .forever!" she said, amazed at her own conclusion.

"You just worked that out?" Ron teased. "And everyone thought you were the smartest witch in school!"

"I don't want to live forever," Harry said seriously. "I just want to be allowed to live as long as my friends are alive. I'd hate to be the only one left. Merlin's made of stronger stuff than I am, to be willing to live forever." The bird chirruped again. Harry smiled at him sadly. "He says I'm the one made of stronger stuff - he was afraid of dying, so he chose not to." He stroked the bird's gorgeous plumage. "Well, I'm glad you're here, Merlin. I'll take good care of you. I hope you and my owl get along well. Her name's Hedwig. She's a snowy owl." The bird chirped again, then went back to its crooning song.


"What did he say?" Ginny asked.

"He said he's always liked snowy owls, and he'd be pleased to meet her. Now he's back to healing me again," Harry replied, his eyes still wide in wonder. "Wow. A phoenix chose me," he said softly.

"Ah, I see Fawkes was right, as usual," Dumbledore said as he entered the curtained area around Harry's bed. "You have been chosen by a phoenix. Well done, Harry!"

"I didn't do anything. . ." Harry began.

"Yes, of course, you did," Dumbledore contradicted him. "Phoenixes only come to the pure in heart. That's why so few wizards have them."

Harry snorted with laughter, then groaned. Laughing that hard was painful. When he caught his breath again, he said, "I'm not pure in heart. I'm always in some kind of trouble, and when I'm not in trouble, I'm thinking of ways to get around school rules. You know that."

"True, true, but still. . .your motives are pure. Your heart is filled with purity of purpose and courage. That's what draws phoenixes, that and great need. But even someone with tremendous need won't be able to call a phoenix to him unless his heart is pure. You always put other people first, Harry. You would never have called a phoenix for yourself. That's another reason this one chose you." Dumbledore admired the bird for a moment. "Ah. Those blue feathers are unusual. He's a remarkable bird."

"You don't know how remarkable," Harry said, his eyes dancing despite his grogginess.

"Oh? How remarkable is he?" Dumbledore said, going along with whatever game Harry was playing. As ill as he was, Harry's sense of fun was showing again, and that was an excellent sign. Dumbledore smiled fondly at the boy.

"He told me his name is Merlin," Harry said, watching Dumbledore carefully to see his reaction. He was rewarded with a puzzled expression followed by eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Merlin? He told you his name is Merlin?"

"Yes."

Dumbledore sat gently on the edge of the bed and looked steadily into the phoenix's eyes. After a moment, his eyebrows rose again. "Well, my word. How remarkable!" He looked at Harry with a very serious expression. "This is a secret you must keep. I'm sure you've already told your friends here, but to anyone you haven't felt safe telling your other secrets, he's just a phoenix named Merlin, not Great Merlin. All right?"

"Why?" Ginny asked.

"If dark wizards found out who he was, they might try to harm him in some way, or capture him. It's not easy to capture a phoenix, but there's no reason to take chances." He turned back to Harry. "Just say you chose his name out of a book as you did for Hedwig, all right? It's for your safety as well as his."

"OK," Harry replied.

Dumbledore looked around at Ron, Hermione and Ginny. "You must keep his secret as well."

"We will," Ron said, and the girls nodded in agreement.

"It's good to see you looking so much better, Harry," Dumbledore said, smiling at the boy. "Merlin is doing good work with you, helping you get well."

"Thanks for sending Fawkes to me during the battle, Professor," Harry said seriously. "I don't know how I would have managed without him, then and afterwards, too."

"Fawkes knew you needed help. He wanted to go to you. I suspect that's why he found you your own phoenix."

"Yes, that's what Merlin said," Harry replied, gently stroking the bird warming his abdomen.


"I'll leave you to your visit," Dumbledore said, getting to his feet. He looked at Ron, Hermione and Ginny. "I know you all care deeply about Harry. I'm so glad he has such wonderful friends. Do try not to tire him out too much, all right?" They all nodded.

Hermione rose and followed him out of the enclosure, gesturing to Ron to stay where he was. "Professor," she said when they were a short distance from Harry's area, "we've nearly finished the letters to the parents of those who died. We just had to take a break."

"I understand. I know you're putting a lot of effort into those letters, and that you're both exhausted from the battle. I am so grateful to you for what you're doing."

"Erm. . .are there . . . are there likely to be others? Should we wait a while to finish?"

Dumbledore's face saddened. "Yes, there are likely to be one or two other deaths. We have two students who are hovering very near the brink."

Tears filled Hermione's eyes. "Who?"

"Seamus Finnegan and Colin Creevey."

Hermione stifled a sob. Dumbledore laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, giving her what comfort he could as she tried to regain control of herself. "Don't give up on them yet. They're both fighters. But you did ask."

"Yes, I did. Thank you for being honest with me," she replied. She returned to Ron's side, unable to hide the sorrow in her face.

"'Mione, what's wrong?" Ron asked, rubbing her back gently.

She sniffed, trying to control herself. "I'll . . . I'll tell you later," she said, glancing quickly at Harry.

"All right," Harry said sternly. "When I woke up, I heard Ginny saying I didn't know something yet. What is it?"

His three friends looked at each other, uncertain what to say or where to start. Ginny cleared her throat. "Well. . .erm. . .what I was talking about was, um. . ."

"Spit it out, Ginny," he snapped, getting impatient. He knew they were keeping something important from him. Better to know the truth than to wonder and worry unnecessarily, he thought.

Ginny was wringing her hands anxiously. Harry reached out and covered her hands with his, trying to calm her. "I love you, Ginny. I won't get mad at you, if that's what you're worrying about, whatever it is. Tell me the truth. What's bothering you? What don't you want to tell me?"

"Well. . .there are several things I've been keeping from you, actually. I didn't think you were strong enough," she began. "I suppose you are strong enough now. What I was talking about when Ron and Hermione arrived was your face. Ron made some comment about it, and I told him you didn't know yet."

Harry's eyes widened. He reached up to touch his face, feeling scratches, cuts and other wounds all over his cheeks, chin and forehead. "I'm horrible," he said, feeling a bit sick. "I must look like Mad-Eye now."

"No, you're not horrible, and you don't look a bit like Mad-Eye!" Ginny cried. "That's why I've kept it from you. I was afraid it would upset you. You are badly cut up, but none of them will scar. The healer promised that. He said none of them are bad, and they should be gone in a few days."

"Oh, that's good," he said with obvious relief. "Am I scary looking?"

"You were when you were bleeding everywhere," she said with a sad smile. "Not that your face scared me - just that you were so badly hurt. That's what scared me." She touched his cheek tenderly, being careful to touch only the unbroken skin. "There is something else. Your scar? It has an extra zigzag now. It's longer and thicker, not a lot, but enough to be noticeable. The healer said he thought the swelling would go down eventually. It bled for quite a while, too. Even Fawkes couldn't stop it from bleeding."

"I guess I'll always have a fringe, then," Harry said philosophically. "I can't do anything about that scar." He could see from the sad faces around him that there was more bad news coming. "What else? Am I going to be crippled somehow, or scarred elsewhere, or what?"

"The whip cuts on your back - some of them will leave scars, but you shouldn't be handicapped in any way," Ginny replied.

"That's OK then," Harry said, his eyes still uncertain. What were they hiding? "Ginny? You said earlier that Fawkes was working on the other seriously wounded people. Now that my head isn't so muzzy, I remember seeing bodies lying outside the graveyard. Did we lose anybody? Or are they just hurt? Is anyone. . .dying?"

Hermione sat on the edge of Harry's bed and took his hand in hers. "We lost several, Harry, and there are others who are in bad shape. Dumbledore. . .Dumbledore just told me two boys might d-d-die." She sniffled. "That's why I was crying when I came in."

"Who?" Harry said, his stomach clenched in fear.

"S-s-seamus and C-c-colin," Hermione managed to say before being overwhelmed with sobs. Ron pulled her into his arms and rocked her, tears streaming down his face as well. Ginny pulled her legs up to her face and was sobbing into her knees. Harry's face was white with shock.

"Seamus? Colin? What happened? What's wrong with them?"

"Seamus got caught in crossfire between two Death Eaters and an Order member," Ron rumbled. "He never had a chance. He was shot off of his broom and landed right in the middle of their fight. And with all that, he was shooting spells at the Death Eaters while he was lying there bleeding. Colin. . .he kept pushing forward, you know how impetuous he is. He got too far ahead of his squad and was cornered with no backup for a while. The rest of the squad got those Death Eaters. Neville's hurt, but not too badly. Dean got off without a scratch. Lavender and the Patil twins are all injured, but not too badly, I think. Luna has some serious spell burns. That girl can fight once you get her aimed in the right direction," Ron added with a chuckle. "Um, who else is hurt, 'Mione? Ginny? I know I'm leaving some people out."

"Ernie McMillan was hurt, but he'll be fine tomorrow. Susan Bones got hit with just the edge of a nasty spell. . ." Hermione was saying when Harry interrupted.

"Yeah, I saw it coming at her and blocked it," he commented. "Is she going to be OK?"

"Yes," Hermione said. "It was that same purple spell that got me so badly in the Department of Mysteries, wasn't it?"

"Yes," Harry replied. "Who else?"

"Tonks and Remus got hit, but Remus is getting better quickly. Tonks will take a bit longer, but she should be fine," Hermione replied. "Ron's parents had minor injuries. They've already been taken care of, from what I've heard," she added.

"Nobody told me they were hurt!" Ginny said in shock. "Mum even came to visit us and didn't tell us!"

"I guess they thought you had enough to deal with here," Ron said, tilting his head toward Harry.

"Is that everyone?" Harry wanted to know.


"Everyone from our battle. There were only minor injuries from the battle here at Hogwarts. No deaths," Ron answered, then stopped himself, a look of horror on his face when he realized what he'd said.

"Ron? Who died?" Harry asked carefully.


Ron gulped, then looked at Hermione and Ginny for help. He sighed. He'd gotten himself into this, he may as well see it through. "You sure you want to know?"

"Yes. Tell me."

Ron groaned, resigning himself to what he had to do. "OK. That's what Hermione and I have been doing, writing letters to the families of those who died. We got to a point where we just couldn't do any more, so we came to see how you were. And then Hermione asked Dumbledore if we should wait to do others - that's what you did, isn't it?" Ron asked, looking at her. She nodded, tears streaming down her face. "OK. So. Um."

"Just do it, Ron," Harry urged.

"Roger Davies. Terry Boot. Hannah Abbot. Justin Finch-Fletchley. Michael Corner." At this, Ginny sobbed.

"Oh, Ginny, I know," Hermione said, rubbing her back comfortingly. "I'm so sorry."

"No! It's my fault!" she cried.

"How can it be your fault?" Harry asked, aghast. "You were doing everything you could to take care of people! I saw you!"

"I was working on Michael when you and Fawkes attacked Voldemort," she explained through her sobs. "When Voldemort started shooting spells everywhere, after you blinded him, I levitated Michael to put him behind a gravestone for protection. Then the Killing Curse came at me and you knocked me down to save me and I dropped him!"

"Did he die from being dropped?" Harry asked in confusion, apologetically pushing Merlin aside and awkwardly pulling her into his arms. She lay on her back as close to him as she dared, trying not to touch his chest or arm - he had so many injuries and they were so raw. He just held her quietly for a moment, and then kissed her temple. When he kissed her, Ginny sobbed and turned toward him, tucking her head under his chin, still trying hard not to touch him, but relishing the warmth of his body and the fact he was alive. Her tears splashed onto his chest, their saltiness stinging his open wounds, but he forced himself not to flinch. She finally began to calm down a little.

"He didn't die from being dropped, Ginny," Hermione said when Ginny was quiet enough to listen. "He had serious spell damage when you got to him, right? That's what killed him. We just couldn't get him here in time to save him."

"It's not my fault?" she said in a small voice, turning to look at Hermione.

"Not at all. You were brilliant. I was keeping an eye on you and the other healers, to direct squads to protect you as needed. You were closer to Harry and Voldemort than any of the other healers, so I was watching you more than the others at that point, in case you needed protection," Hermione said. "You didn't do anything wrong. You were brilliant. And Harry protected you before a squad could even be told to get to you."

Ginny smiled gratefully, kissed Harry gently on the lips and moved away from him as carefully as she could, then reached out to hug Hermione. "Thanks, Hermione. I've been worried about Michael but haven't had the nerve to ask about him. I wish. . ." Her voice broke and she sniffled. "I wish I could've helped him."

"You did your best. Nobody could ask for more than that," Ron assured her.

Ginny nodded quietly. She stood by Harry a moment to rearrange his covers, then leaned down to whisper in his hear, "It was so good to be in your arms again, love."

He smiled at her and squeezed her hand as she settled back in her chair. "Same here," he murmured. He looked up at Ron and Hermione again. "Were those all? No Gryffindor dead?"

"No, that's not all," Ron said with a heavy sigh. "Cho Chang and Katie Bell also died."

Harry was aghast. "Cho and Katie? Oh, no. Oh, no." They were all silent for several moments, then Harry said, "Cho told me when she joined D.A. that she wanted to fight because of Cedric. I hope he was there to welcome her when she crossed over." Nobody said anything in reply to this. "And Katie. . .she just told me she was accepted as an intern at the Ministry. She was so excited about it. She would've started right after finishing Hogwarts." The room was quiet except for the sounds of sniffles and soft crying as they mourned their friends.

"I have to see the others," Harry said decisively a few minutes later. He gently moved Merlin aside, sat up suddenly and then blushed beet red, clutching his covers to himself. "Erm, Ginny? Could you get me some pyjamas? At least the bottoms. I suppose I can't wear the top yet." All three of his friends were startled into laughter, his flustered, blushing face in stark contrast with the serious wounds he bore, a reminder of the Harry they knew who wasn't a war hero but was still quite often a goofy, gawky teenager.

"Love, you're too weak. You can't go anywhere," Ginny protested through her laughter. "Lie down."

"I need to visit the others. I have to. Please understand," he said, his eyes pleading with his friends. When he got no response, he started to pull the covers around himself, trying to work out how to stand with blankets trailing all around his legs. "I'm going, so either help me or get out of the way," he said stubbornly.

"OK, OK," Ginny said. "Get back in bed before you hurt yourself!"

Harry snorted. "As if there's anything left to hurt!" but he obeyed her, looking exhausted when he sat back down and still struggling to stay decently covered. He was too stubborn to lie down, no matter what any of them said.

Ginny left to get him some pyjama bottoms and quickly returned, smiling at her still-blushing boyfriend. Harry threw the girls out so he and Ron could get him decently dressed. Before long, Harry and Ron emerged, Merlin hovering over Harry's right shoulder, trying to find an uninjured place to land.

"You can sit on my shoulder if you want, Merlin," Ron offered. The bird perched there for a moment, then hopped over to Harry's shoulder, having discovered a spot he found suitable. "I guess he likes you best," Ron said, shrugging. "Are his claws hurting your shoulder?"

"No, he's being very careful," Harry said quietly. "Thanks, Merlin." Harry was already gasping from the effort of walking, but he was determined to visit his injured troops. Merlin was doing what he could to strengthen Harry by sitting on his shoulder and crooning to him.

"Seamus is in here," Ginny said, and the four of them walked to a curtained area not far from Harry's. They parted the curtains, Harry going in first.

"Mrs. Finnegan? Mr. Finnegan?" he asked, seeing the grieving adults by Seamus's bed. "I'm Harry Potter. I wanted to see Seamus for a few minutes. Is it all right with you?"

The Finnegans looked up and saw a tall, handsome boy horribly disfigured by cuts, open sores and various wounds and bruises all over his face and torso, with a huge scarlet bird on his shoulder. He was so weak, he was leaning heavily on his tall redheaded friend. He'd been violently abused by Voldemort. They'd heard snatches of the story, but would never have believed someone could survive what Harry had apparently gone through. Mrs. Finnegan nodded, her eyes wide, while her Muggle husband sat still, shocked into immobility.

Harry moved carefully into the room, then sat gingerly on the bed by his friend. "Seamus? It's Harry. Can you hear me?" he said quietly. "Seamus?" When he got no response from the boy, he unbuttoned Seamus's shirt to look for wounds. Merlin dropped off of Harry's shoulder onto the bed beside Seamus and began inspecting the boy himself.

"What do you think you're doing?" Mrs. Finnegan snapped, instantly defensive of her child.

"I know some healing spells," Harry said simply. "I'd just like to see if I can help him."

"You're no healer," she snarled suddenly, flying into a rage. "You're just a trouble maker. Leading my boy into danger like that. How dare you?"

Ron and the girls stood quietly by the curtained wall. Now Ron stretched to his full height, his face serious and mature, his voice low and forceful. "Mrs. Finnegan, I'm Ron Weasley. Harry and I have shared a dormitory with Seamus since First Year. He's a good friend of ours. Harry wouldn't do anything to hurt him. He isn't a trouble maker, nor did he lead Seamus into danger. I led the troops, not Harry. Seamus volunteered to go. I gave everyone the opportunity to stay behind. Nobody had to go. Seamus fought valiantly. He's a hero. So is Harry. Harry also has a talent for healing. He just healed the spell burns Hermione and I had, and he healed Ginny's earlier." He indicated the girls as he spoke. "If he sees something he thinks he can heal, you should let him. We don't want to hurt Seamus - he's our friend. Please let Harry help him."

Harry, in the meantime, had used Ron's distraction to start working on Seamus. He ran his hands over the boy's torso, sensing for wrongness within him. What he found horrified him. Seamus's internal organs were nearly all horribly damaged. Organs that should have had definite shapes were spongy masses. He was barely hanging on to life. Harry did his best to heal his friend, feeling frantic inside, but to the outside world, working calmly, the picture of intense concentration. Merlin lay on Seamus's stomach, doing what he could to help too.

"What's that dirty great bird doing on our boy? He'll hurt him!" Mr. Finnegan cried when he saw Merlin there.

"That's a phoenix, Mr. Finnegan," Hermione explained. She went on to tell him about the healing powers of phoenixes, including every detail she could think of to keep the Finnegans from noticing Harry working on their son.

"H-h-harry?" Seamus said, finally waking up. His voice caught his parents' ears, and they leaned forward to catch every word he said.

"Hey, mate! Good to see you," Harry said brightly. "C'mon, you need to get well. We have a Quidditch Cup party to throw!"

"We did win the Cup, didn't we?" Seamus said, smiling weakly.

"Yeah. You were brilliant, Seamus. You scored some great goals. The way our team is working together now, next year we'll be miles ahead of everybody!" Harry forced himself to think of Katie Bell as still being alive. He couldn't think about the dead students, not right now. "D'you want cauldron cakes or pumpkin pasties at the party? Ron and I will raid the kitchens."

"Cauldron cakes," Seamus answered with a weary smile. "We won, didn't we? Cool."

"Yeah, we won," Harry said. He could see Seamus was fading. "Seamus, stay with me. I need to talk to you."

Seamus pulled himself back to reality with great effort, squinting to focus on Harry's face. "What is it? What happened to your face?"

"Ah, you know how clumsy I am. Fell over a few times too many, that's all," Harry said, laughing off his injuries before getting serious. "Seamus, do you remember what happened this evening?"

"This evening - after the game?"

"Yeah."

"You disappeared. The Snitch. . ."

"Was a Portkey, yeah. Do you remember what happened after that?" Harry asked, still anxiously using his hands to heal as much damage as he could.

"We. . .there was a battle. Graveyard. You fought . . .You-Know-Who. You were amazing! The stories about you . . . aren't good enough. They don't . . .tell it like it really is."

"Then you can write new ones when you get well, OK?" Harry grinned at him, willing him to get stronger, to heal, to come back to his friends and family.

Seamus laughed weakly. "Me write your stories. That's rich. Dean can illustrate them. Hermione should write them."

"You were there. You can help," Harry insisted. "Seamus, I want to tell you something."

"What?"

Harry's face grew serious. "You were absolutely brilliant out there," he said earnestly. "You showed remarkable courage, and kept fighting even after you were down. I was outnumbered and overwhelmed and losing horribly before the D.A. showed up. I cannot thank you enough for coming to save me, Seamus." By this time, tears were running down Harry's cheeks. Seamus had an otherworldly glow to his face, his eyes fixed on Harry's but losing focus. "Seamus, stay with me! I need you, mate!" Harry cried. "Please! Seamus. . ."

"Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"Does it hurt to die? You've. . .died a couple of times at least. Did it hurt?" Seamus was focused on him again, concentrating on Harry's expression and words.

"No, Seamus, it doesn't hurt to die. The one time I remember well, it felt as if I was in a deep dark lake. I was relaxing into it, comfortable with it, when I heard people calling to me. I was getting annoyed that they were calling me, I wanted to relax, but when Ron said he was going to take my Firebolt to Quidditch practice and I'd better hurry up or he'd ride it, I came back. I don't know why. I honestly don't mind Ron riding my Firebolt. Silly, but there it is."

"It didn't hurt?"

"No, it didn't. I'm not afraid of dying, Seamus, but what does scare me is what will happen to those I leave behind. I'm not ready to let go of them yet. You shouldn't be either. You have so many things to do yet in your life, so many people who care about you. . . ."

"How's . . . Lavender?" Seamus asked suddenly.

"I don't know. Ginny?"

"She's getting better, Seamus. She got hit but it wasn't a bad injury. She'll be fine in a few days," Ginny assured him, hoping she was right.

"Tell her. . .tell her. . ." Seamus whispered so softly that Harry had to lean forward to hear him. "Tell her I think she's beautiful. I don't remember ever saying that to her."

"So get well and tell her yourself," Harry said fiercely, feeling his friend slipping away from him. "You're a fighter, Seamus! You're a Gryffindor! Fight!"

"I'm tired, Harry. I'm sorry I ever doubted you. I'm glad I got to be in D.A. I'm glad I could help you fight the bad guys," Seamus said with a shadow of his cocky grin. "Tell Lavender. . . ." And he was gone.

Harry collapsed in grief, his hands over his face as he cried. "No, Seamus. No!" Ginny came and stood in front of him, wrapping her arms around his neck. He buried his face in her shoulder and sobbed brokenheartedly for a few moments, then managed to master himself and straighten up. He turned to Seamus's parents, who sat weeping quietly, their eyes shocked but accepting the inevitable. "I'm so sorry. He was a wonderful friend."

"We all loved him," Ginny added. "He was so funny, so sweet, always ready to laugh." She sniffled, wiping her streaming eyes on her sleeve.

Ron and Hermione expressed their sympathy too, then Harry's friends drew him away from Seamus's bed. "C'mon, mate. You did your best," Ron said, helping him to his feet.

"Harry?" Mrs. Finnegan said quietly.

Harry turned heartbroken eyes her way. "Yes?"

The woman, who'd seemed so formidable earlier, now spoke very kindly to Harry. "You did do your best. I'm sure of it. I could see your heart in everything you did. You're seriously injured yourself, yet you got up to try to help Seamus. That means a lot to us. He spoke very highly of you, Harry, and you, Ron. You must be Hermione, right? He told us often how helpful you were with school work. And you're Ginny?" Ginny nodded, tears streaming down her face. "He told us he liked you a lot, but he knew you had always cared for Harry. He said he knew he had no chance with you, with Harry around, but that was OK. He was just glad he was able to be friends with you, and to be on the Quidditch team with you, Harry and Ron, as well. Thank you all for being such good friends to him." She sat there wreathed in dignity, the very picture of suffering motherhood. "I'm sorry I was rude to you before, Harry. Please forgive me." Her generosity surprised them. Seamus had always made her sound rather harsh. They thanked her and left, buoyed by her kindness.

As they walked away, their hearts were heavy with the loss of their friend. Harry was tired and leaning heavily on Ron. His head came up suddenly. "Where's Colin?"

"Over there," Ginny said, pointing at a curtained area not far away.

"Let's go," Harry said, turning that way.


"Mate, you need to rest," Ron said, trying to haul Harry bodily back to bed.

"No! These people got hurt trying to help me. I will go and see them, all of them, and help whoever I can," Harry said stubbornly, his eyes flashing dangerously. He pushed away from Ron and started tottering toward Colin's bed on his own. Ron caught up with him in one long stride and grabbed Harry's right arm to help him.

"I'm going where you're going," Ron said determinedly. "I can be just as mulish as you."

Harry smiled at Ron. "Yeah, I know," he said, chuckling softly.

The Creevey family was gathered around Colin's bed. Colin was awake. His face lit up when he saw Harry come in. "Harry! How are you? You were brilliant! I saw. . . ." He had to stop his animated monologue to cough. "I saw. . .I saw your fight with Voldemort! It was amazing!"

Dennis shook his head. He was nearly as excitable as his brother, but he seemed to have a little more sense. "Yeah, he saw it. He stopped and watched, the great git."

"Well, it was pretty amazing," Ron conceded, "but hopefully next time, you'll remember to watch your own back!" He smiled at Colin, pretending to punch him in the arm. "You did well when you were paying attention to your job, Colin."

Colin glowed under Ron's praise. "Thanks, Ron!" He turned to his parents. "Ron's our general. He planned all the tactics and strategies. He's a chess master. He's brilliant!"

Ron's ears were red by this time. He couldn't think of anything to say so he just stood there blushing as he gazed at Colin, his eyes full of unshed tears.

Hermione squeezed his arm. She knew how upset he was to have even one of the D.A. members, who he felt so responsible for, injured, and here he was facing one who was dying, and had just left the bedside of another who'd died. She didn't know how he was managing to be so strong.

"I saw you fighting, Colin," Harry said as he sat on the edge of the bed. "You were brilliant." He turned to the Creeveys. "I have some healing skills. May I try to help Colin?" They nodded mutely.

"Is that Fawkes?" Colin asked, seeing Merlin sitting on the rail at the foot of his bed.

"No, that's Merlin. He just came to me," Harry said, glancing up at the phoenix. "Merlin?" The bird hopped lightly onto the bed and walked around Colin's body, apparently deciding where his healing services were needed the most. "He has healing powers too," Harry said, glancing up at the Creeveys. "If he decides to sit on Colin, don't worry about it. That's what he does to heal injuries. Phoenix tears have healing powers, as well, so if he finds an open wound, he may cry in it. He's done wonders for me already." All this time, Harry was working on Colin, moving his hands different places and sensing for injuries. "Ah. There it is," he muttered, and pressed his hands on either side of the younger boy's chest. He became very still, concentrating with every ounce of energy he had, trying to repair an injury he'd found on Colin's heart. Merlin chirruped and Harry glanced at him, then smiled. "Merlin thinks you're going to be fine," Harry said, "and I have to agree with him. Do you feel any better?"

Colin looked thoughtful for a few moments, then his face lit up. "Yeah! What did you do?"

"I found some damage inside you and fixed it. Merlin's doing the same kind of thing, but his powers are different than mine. Between the two of us, we make about half a healer," Harry joked. He watched the boy closely. Colin had lost a lot of blood and there was damage inside him that Harry had no idea how to fix, but none of it seemed as dangerous as the damage to his heart. He turned to look at his other friends. "Ginny?"

"Yes?"

"Would you go find Healer Pomfrey for me? I think Colin needs to be looked over again."

"OK," she said, and dashed out to find the healer. She returned quickly, Marcus Pomfrey right behind her.

Harry looked at the man seriously, then tried to stand. Ron helped him up, and the two of them led the healer outside the curtained area. "Be right back, Colin!" he called as they left. He turned to Marcus and said, "I found and repaired an injury to his heart. He's lost a lot of blood. He has damage to other organs I don't know how to fix, but Merlin is working on them. Would you mind looking him over again to see what else should be done for him? I just lost a good friend. I won't lose this one," he concluded fiercely.

"Let's see, then," Marcus said, going back to Colin's bedside. He spent a number of minutes examining the boy, during which time he had to move the phoenix several times. Merlin insisted on staying by Colin's hip for some reason. "What are you worrying about?" Marcus asked the bird. "Can he tell you what he's working on, Harry?"

Harry looked at Merlin a moment and listened to his vocalizations. "Something's wrong with a bone. I don't understand more than that."

Marcus examined Colin more thoroughly near his hip and found the boy's pelvis had a hairline fracture they'd missed on previous examinations. "Well done!" he said, patting the phoenix. "Right then," Marcus said to the Creeveys, "he has a broken pelvis, but we can fix that in a jiffy. He has damage to his liver and spleen, but they should heal in a few days with the proper potions. Harry healed a bruise on his heart that we didn't detect. Such injuries are often masked by symptoms from other injuries, so it's easy to miss. But Harry found it and fixed it, so now the most serious problem we face is keeping this energetic young man still long enough to get well." He smiled at the stunned family. Just a short time before, they'd been told there wasn't much hope for Colin, and now he was going to recover?

"You said he's going to get well? Are you certain? Will he be handicapped in any way? What aren't you telling us?" Mrs. Creevey asked anxiously.

"If he continues as he is right now, I expect him to make a full recovery, yes. And given the fact that he's a strong, healthy young man, he should be back on his feet and back to classes within, oh, say three to four days."

"Three to four. . .," Mrs. Creevey breathed.

"Days?" Mr. Creevey added.

"Yes."

"How is that possible? He was so ill, and it takes time to heal from broken bones," Mr. Creevey said.

"Broken bones can be healed in a few minutes. That's not the problem."

"Wait a second - you said a few minutes to heal a broken bone? Did I hear that correctly?" Mr. Creevey asked.

"Yes. Wizard medicine, as you've already seen, is much different than Muggle medicine. And wizards heal faster than Muggles, as well. He'll be on his feet very soon," Marcus said confidently. "In the meantime, Mr. Potter, you should be in bed."

"OK, I'm going," Harry said, standing up and wobbling a bit before Ron grabbed his arm to support him. "See you, Colin. Nice to meet you, Mrs. Creevey. Nice to see you, Mr. Creevey, Dennis." He waved and walked out of the curtained area, the girls following closely behind him and Ron. "Who's next?"

"What?" Hermione snapped. "You're not thinking of. . ."

"Yes, I am. Who's next? Who has the worst injuries other than Colin and. . .who's next?" He couldn't bring himself to say Seamus's name, but he thought he had enough energy to help at least one more person before he collapsed.

"Um. . ."Ginny said, thinking. "I think, um. . . ." Her thoughts were interrupted by Harry collapsing against Ron. She shuddered, her heart racing in terror, but managed to control her voice, giving him a slight scolding with an edge of humour. "Honestly? You need to heal yourself, Harry. You're the next worst injured person."

Harry was gasping in pain. "'K. Let's go." He grasped Ron's arm as strongly as he could, leaning most of his weight on his friend. Together, they managed to get him back to his bed, Ron and Hermione settling him in while Ginny ran after Healer Pomfrey. Merlin flew to Harry's side and nestled up against his belly again. Harry put his hands between his abdomen and the phoenix's warm body and concentrated. "Oh, bloody hell," he said with disgust, then moved his hands to various parts of his abdomen, getting that concentrated look as he worked on himself. He didn't have the stamina to work very long. In only a few minutes, his hands fell away and he groaned, panting in exhaustion.


"What did you find in there, mate?" Ron asked worriedly.

"Lots of gooshey stuff, you know, guts and things," Harry quipped, not wanting to tell them the truth.

"Out with it, Harry," Hermione insisted. "You need to tell the healer what you found."

Harry glanced up at them, then his eyes locked with Ginny's as she came in with Marcus Pomfrey. "I'm fine," he insisted.

"No, you're not," Marcus said. "You've exhausted yourself, for one thing. It's time for more Blood Restoring Potion, and I think some pain killer that will actually put you to sleep for a long time is in order, since you can't seem to stay in bed."

"He just saved Colin Creevey's life, didn't he?" Hermione snapped. "So don't give him such a hard time."

Marcus just smiled at her. "You have stroppy girlfriends, Mr. Potter," he said with a twinkle in his eye.

"She's not. . .Ginny's. . ." Harry muttered through his pain. Marcus was examining him and it was not exactly comfortable for Harry.

"I know, Ginny's your girl, but this one's just as stroppy as she is," Marcus said with a chuckle. "I like feisty girls myself. It seems we have similar taste in friends." He kept up the light-hearted banter as he examined his patient, getting most of his responses from Ron and Hermione. Harry was quiet except for an occasional groan.

Ginny was a silent bundle of nerves. She could see the gravity of Marcus's face in a way Ron and Hermione couldn't, since he had his back to them most of the time. Finally, Ginny could stand it no longer. "Did he make it worse by getting up?"

Marcus turned and looked at her seriously. "Actually, no. He's weak, but he's mending. He needs to rest now, although I do appreciate him catching and repairing that bruised heart on the Creevey boy. Harry?" he said, turning back to his patient. "Stay put! Take these potions. One's to rebuild your blood supply, the other will ease your pain and make you sleep. You'll be out a solid six hours. I'll come to give you more potion in a few hours, but you won't really wake up when I do that. Open your mouth, no arguments."

"Password?" Harry muttered.

"Scar on my sister's left elbow. Open!" Marcus said with a smile. Harry was feisty too, even deathly ill. "Harry, you're a very interesting person. I would love to get to know you better when you're healthy."

"D'you play Quidditch?" Harry said, struggling to stay awake another moment.


"Actually, I do. Shall we play once you're well?"

Harry nodded and smiled, then fell sound asleep.

* * * * *

"I will see him NOW," thundered an authoritative voice outside Harry's curtains. Remus and Ginny woke with a start, both looking at Harry to see if he'd been wakened. Ron and Hermione sat staring at the opening in the curtains with wide, frightened eyes. They knew Harry had broken a lot of laws of the wizarding world, and many students' parents would likely blame Harry for their children's injuries. Was someone coming to charge him with breaking the law, or to berate him for leading their children into danger? Merlin lay snuggled against Harry's back this time, apparently satisfied with what he'd healed in front. Harry was stirring, not quite awake yet.

"You are not on the list of approved visitors," the nurse outside the curtain snapped, but she sounded nervous. Who was trying to get in that could scare that very imposing St. Mungo's nurse?

"I am the Minister of Magic. I will see him. I will see him NOW!" Madam Bones cried, shoving the woman aside and trying to enter. She was repelled by a charm Dumbledore had put on the curtains so no unauthorized visitors could enter. "DUMBLEDORE!" she screamed. "Where are you?"

The headmaster strode down the length of the Great Hall, his eyes flashing in fury. "What is the meaning of this? How dare you disturb these patients!"

Healer Pomfrey was right behind him. "What the bloody hell do you think you're doing? I don't care who you are, you will not disturb that boy's rest!"

"Madam Bones," Dumbledore said when he reached her, "what could possibly be so important that you're screaming in a hospital?"

"I need to see Potter," she said sternly. "He's gone too far this time. Leading children into battle! My own niece was injured! She could've been killed!"

"Indeed, we did lose some students," Dumbledore said sadly. "Such are the costs of war."

"Children aren't supposed to fight wars!" she snarled.


"We sent for help from the Ministry," Dumbledore said in a dangerously quiet voice, "but none arrived."

"None? I ordered Aurors to go there when I got your message!" she said, absolutely shocked.

"To whom did you give the order to pass along to the Aurors?" Dumbledore said, his eyes intense.

"Dolores Umbridge."

"Ah. That explains it," Dumbledore replied. "She never passed on the message. I don't believe she's a Death Eater herself, but she is a very evil person. I thought you would have noticed by now."

"I have noticed, but her position is such that she's the one I give those orders to," Madam Bones replied uneasily.


"Then remove her from that position. And keep your voice down, I don't want my students and staff disturbed," Dumbledore said firmly. "Now, if you'd like to see Susan, I'll take you to her."

Their voices faded and Ron, Hermione, Remus and Ginny breathed easily again, glancing once more at Harry. To their great surprise, his eyes were open and his face was twisted in fury.

"Harry? What is it?" Remus asked.

"Umbridge," he spat out. "No wonder we had to fight alone."

"Go back to sleep," Remus said, rearranging Harry's covers and smoothing his hair back gently. "You've had a rough day, lad. You need your rest."

"Has it only been a day? How long has it been?" Harry asked. "And by the way, it's good to see you. Are you all right? And how's Tonks?"

"Yes, I'm fine, and Tonks is healing well. She wasn't hurt too badly, thank goodness. She's in St. Mungo's for another day or so. Let's see, how long has it been? You caught that Snitch in the late afternoon. The battles were over around one in the morning, I believe. It's now mid-afternoon of the next day, so it's been nearly twenty-four hours since you caught the Snitch."

"Bloody hell. What a day," Harry said wearily.

"How are you feeling? You've slept a long time. Are you hungry? Do you need anything?" Ginny asked.

"How are you, baby?" he replied, smiling at her warmly.

"I'm fine. Answer my questions," she prodded.

"I feel better. I'm a bit hungry and thirsty."

"Those are things we can take care of," Ginny said with a warm smile. "I'll get you some food, OK? I think you can only have liquids for now."

"I'd love some of Dobby's pumpkin soup," Harry said wistfully.

"I'll see what the healer says," Ginny said, blowing him a kiss as she left.

"How are you two?" Harry asked, looking at his best friends.

"We're fine, mate," Ron said bracingly. "A bit tired, that's all. You did a good job of healing us. Thanks for that."

"My pleasure," Harry said, smiling at him. "You don't all have to sit with me, you know. That nurse out there sounds like quite a good guard. We have exams coming up soon. Why aren't you studying?"

"We've been so worried about you," Hermione said quietly. "We didn't want to leave you. We've been studying while you slept."

Harry smiled at her, warmed by their concern. "If I check myself out and tell you how I am, will you go study? And take Ginny with you - she has O.W.L.s coming up."

"She won't leave," Ron said. "Everyone's tried to get her to leave. The only time she leaves is like now, when you want something, and somebody she trusts is here to watch over you."

"We brought her books down," Hermione said, indicating a bag by Ginny's chair. "She's been studying when she hasn't been napping, but she's pretty tired too. We all are."

"I guess I'm going to fail all my exams this year," Harry said, suddenly glum. "I'm too tired to study, and my brain isn't working properly anyway. It's all muzzy."

"A lot of that is the potions you're on, lad," Remus said.


"We'll help you catch up as soon as you're strong enough, Harry," Hermione assured him.

"Ah, I see a lot of sleepless nights in my future," Harry said in a misty, Trelawney-type voice, making his friends laugh.

"I know one exam you won't have to take," Remus said, "but don't tell anyone else yet."

"What's that?" Harry said hopefully.


"Defence. You proved yourself out there. I'm talking to Albus about letting all the D.A. and those who fought here at Hogwarts skip my exam."

"That's brilliant!" Harry said with a grin. "Too bad it's my best subject. Defence is the easiest one for me to study."

"Don't complain, Harry, that's the best I can do," Remus said, smiling at his godson.

"Do you mean we don't have to take your exam either?" Hermione said in a small voice.


"No, Hermione, you don't have to take it," Remus replied with a chuckle. He knew what was coming, and right on cue. . .

"Oh, no. I already started revising!" she moaned.

Ron grabbed the end of her long curly hair and tickled her nose with it. "Look on the bright side, 'Mione. This gives you that much more time to study other stuff!" he said with a laugh.


"Well, come on, then, let's go to the library," Hermione said, "since Harry doesn't seem to think he needs all of us to watch him." She started to get up, then looked back at Harry. "You're sure you're OK?"

Harry put his hands on his abdomen and concentrated a moment, moving his hands to the various places that had been most damaged. "Yeah, it's not messy in there anymore. I'm loads better!" he said with a cocky grin. "I'll be able to dance again in a day or two."

Ron snorted. "That's pretty funny, since you couldn't dance before," he teased, and was rewarded by Harry chucking the soggy flannel from his bedside table at him. Ron caught it deftly and put it back in the bowl. "OK, let's go to the library," he said to Hermione, and they left.

Harry fell asleep again, but was soon awakened by the delicious smell of Dobby's pumpkin soup. Ginny had contacted Dobby and he had come to Hogwarts and prepared it himself. He was presently trying to get the St. Mungo's nurse to let him in to see Harry. Ginny went to rescue him.

"This is Harry's house elf, Dobby. Let him in," she told the nurse. "I forgot to put him on the list because he doesn't live here, but he's family too."

"This house elf is family?" the woman said sceptically.

"Yes. Let him in," Ginny insisted. "Harry has another house elf named Winky. If she turns up, let her in too."

Soon Dobby was happily making a mess of trying to feed Harry. He was too excited to be as careful as he should be. "Harry Potter sir wanted Dobby's special soup! Harry Potter sir needs to get his strength back! Harry Potter sir looks awful! Oh! Dobby is so sorry, Harry Potter sir! Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!" He started pulling on his ears, twisting them into painfully tight knots, but Harry stopped him.


"What did I say about punishing yourself? I know I look awful. You didn't say anything wrong, Dobby. And the soup is amazing. I was so hungry!" Harry said with a weary smile. "Can you leave some for later? I'm tired now."

"Of course, Harry Potter sir! Dobby will leave it for you with a Warming Charm on it and a Stirring Charm so it will be perfect whenever you want it!" The house elf was practically dancing in his excitement at pleasing Harry.

"Thanks, Dobby," Harry said, reaching out and patting the elf gratefully on the shoulder. "Thanks a lot." He yawned hugely and fell asleep again.

A short while later, Professor Dumbledore looked in to see how Harry was doing. "Any change?"

"He seems to be feeling a little better. He ate some soup a while ago, and Merlin has moved from his stomach to his back," Remus said with a tired smile.

"That's a good sign. Phoenixes are amazing birds." Dumbledore hesitated a moment, then asked Remus, "Would you mind if Madam Bones came in to see him? As his guardian, it's your right to refuse her visit."

"Is she coming in to cause him trouble?" Remus said warily.

"No. She has a much better understanding now of what happened. She'd like a word with him if he's awake, but since he's asleep, just sitting with him a few minutes will probably satisfy her. He will, at some point, need to tell her everything that happened, but that can wait until he's stronger."

"All right, then. But if she causes him any distress at all, I don't care who she is, I'll throw her out bodily," Remus warned.


Dumbledore chuckled. "And I'll help. I think she'll be fine." He turned back toward the opening in the curtains and made a small gesture with his hand that would allow Madam Bones to enter. She came in quietly, her fingers knotted in front of her, her monocle hanging by its ribbon. She looked strangely vulnerable without it.

"I'm so sorry for my outburst earlier," she whispered. "I hope I didn't disturb him."

Remus and Ginny were quiet, waiting to find out what she wanted.

Madam Bones approached Harry's bed and gasped in shock at his condition. "Oh, how awful! The poor boy," she murmured.


"You should've seen him before he was cleaned up and started healing," Ginny snapped, not at all pleased to have this woman saying anything less than the highest praise about her boyfriend.

"I can imagine." Madam Bones turned to Ginny. "You're Arthur Weasley's daughter, aren't you?" Ginny nodded. "I think very highly of your father. He's a fine man."

The girl's eyes widened in astonishment. She didn't think any of the upper level people in the Ministry paid any attention at all to her dad except to laugh at his affection for Muggles.

"I heard wonderful things about your Healer Squad, Miss Weasley," Madam Bones continued quietly. "Thank you for all you did."

Ginny still had no clue what to say, so she just nodded.

"Ginny?" Harry murmured drowsily. "Is someone here?"

"Yes, love. It's Madam Bones, the Minister of Magic," Ginny said carefully.

Harry opened his eyes and squinted around. Ginny helped him put his glasses on so he could see. "Thanks," he said.

"Hello, Mr. Potter," Madam Bones said. "I'm sorry to disturb you. I apologize for my outburst earlier. I hope it didn't wake you."

He shook his head, still half-asleep and not sure what she was talking about.

"I wanted to thank you for saving my niece's life. Several people told me what happened. It's unbelievable you could manage to block a spell coming at her while you were in the middle of your own fight."


Harry just shrugged a little. He had no idea what to say.

"I'll be nominating you and your group for several awards from the Ministry. And Dolores Umbridge will be fired as soon as I get back to my office. She won't block the lines of communication again. She will also be brought up on charges as soon as I sort out every law she's broken. The next time Hogwarts sends for help from us, you will actually get it," she said with determination.

Harry smiled. "Thanks. Make sure she doesn't get any jobs teaching, even as community service," he said, thinking of the punishment Rita Skeeter had been given. "She's an absolutely horrible teacher."

"I'll remember that!" Madam Bones promised. "When you're stronger, I'd like to hear everything that happened out there. I think it's important that the information get out to the public about exactly what's going on with the Death Eaters and what's being done to stop them."

"That won't look good for the Ministry," Dumbledore said with a wry smile.

"And believe me, heads are going to roll in the Ministry just as soon as I get back, starting with Umbridge," she replied sternly.

"Good!" Harry said with satisfaction, fully awake now.

"Mr. Potter," Madam Bones said hesitantly, "since you seem to be awake. . .could you tell me what happened? The sooner I have the facts, the sooner I can deal with things."

Remus started to object, but Harry touched him on the arm, stilling him. "OK," he said. "What do you want to know?"

"Just tell me what happened."

"That could take some time," he replied uneasily, "and there are parts you should hear from Ron, Hermione and Ginny."

"I'll send for Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger," Dumbledore said.

"They went to the library to study," Remus said.

"Thank you, Remus," Dumbledore replied. He looked at Harry, carefully searching the boy's face, trying to gauge the level of his exhaustion and pain. Harry's nearly a grown man. Best to let him decide for himself, he thought with a sigh. "Go ahead and start, if you feel up to it."

Harry nodded, and told Madam Bones about the horrible events following him winning the Quidditch Cup for Gryffindor. Ron and Hermione soon joined them and filled Madam Bones in on their part of the story. They had brought their Omnioculars with them, and showed them to the Minister.

"Oh my," she gasped as she watched the action in the Omnioculars. "That's. . .that's simply appalling!" She lowered the instrument and looked at Harry - she'd just seen him being whipped by Voldemort, yet getting up and fighting again and again. "I cannot tell you how sorry I am that the Ministry did not respond properly. I see there were a few adults on the battlefield. Two of them were redheads - your parents, Mr. Weasley?" Ron nodded. "Who were the others?"

Dumbledore spoke up. "Professor Lupin and I were there, as well as some friends of ours. We contacted them as soon as we could after the Snitch took Harry away. We knew that, if he was conscious, Harry would be able to tell us where he was, and we'd already agreed that the assaults Harry, in particular, has suffered this year had gone on far too long already. We would fight to defeat these people once we knew where to find them. And so we did. We left people here at Hogwarts to defend the castle, and it was a good thing we did, because it, too, was attacked, as you have probably learned by now."

"I would like to make copies of the recordings in all the Omnioculars," Madam Bones said briskly. "These pictures should persuade any who are still unconvinced, that Voldemort and his Death Eaters are a real danger that must be stopped. There will be no charges against any of you," she added, looking particularly at Harry. She'd seen him cast some Dark spells in the Omnioculars.


"That's a good thing, because I would personally fight any such charges against any of our people," Dumbledore said sternly.

"We'd like to keep our Omnioculars," Ron protested as the Minister started to pocket them.

"I will make copies of the images and return them by the end of the day tomorrow," she promised, "and I won't allow these images to be erased. I'll make extra copies for your records here, as well. Miss Weasley, may I have your Omnioculars?"

Ginny looked resentful, but, at a look from Dumbledore, she dug down into her bag and pulled them out.


"Why didn't you say you had them with you?" Ron asked.

"They're Harry's. I was keeping them for him," she said uneasily. Harry, who was truly exhausted now and had dozed off, opened his eyes and smiled at her when he heard her say his name, then drifted back to sleep.

"What did you record?" Madam Bones asked kindly. She could see something was bothering the girl greatly.

"I was keeping an eye on the action, and on my Healing Squad, sending them where they were needed the most, going down to help them when they had more to do than they could handle. And I recorded a lot of Harry's battle with Voldemort, too."

"May I look?" Madam Bones asked.

"Go ahead." Ginny crossed her arms and looked resigned.

Madam Bones lifted the Omnioculars and spun the "fast forward" dial, zipping through the action, just catching the highlights. When the golden sphere appeared, the Omnioculars locked on it for quite a while, then suddenly moved to a still form on the ground. The next frames showed only a broom handle and rapidly approaching ground, as Ginny dropped the Omnioculars to hang on their strap around her neck as she zoomed down to take care of Michael Corner, since no healers were near him. Once she landed, she had taken off the Omnioculars and propped them carefully on the ground, aiming them at Harry and Voldemort so the action would be recorded. The audio portion recorded her sobs as she watched the battle, and her doing her best to comfort Michael as she cared for him. Then the image was filled with a horrible green light and a flash of red as the phoenix flew across the lens' field of view to protect Ginny. The Omnioculars apparently were knocked over, because the lens simply showed the stormy sky after that, but Ginny's screams of "Harry! NOOOO!" echoed in the room from the audio portion of the recording. Madam Bones lowered the Omnioculars, her face white, her hands shaking.

"That was terrifying to watch," she said, leaning forward to squeeze Ginny's shoulder. "I can't imagine being there." Ginny was a bundle of tension, her knees pulled up to her chest, her face rigid as she tried to control her emotions. She simply nodded at the Minister's comment. "So when you said 'Harry' - where was he? I saw a phoenix coming toward the lens. I didn't see Mr. Potter at all after the golden sphere disappeared."

"Harry is an Animagus. His registered form is a cat. He can also become a phoenix," Dumbledore said simply. "This is something we are trying to keep secret, but a good many people saw him transform during the battle. The longer it can remain a secret, the better. Harry plans to become an Auror, and thinks his alternate Animagus form will be helpful there."

"An Auror?" Madam Bones looked at Harry, who had awakened again when he heard Ginny's screams coming from the Omnioculars. He looked nearly as tense as Ginny. It was wizarding law that all Animagus forms needed to be registered. The Minister of Magic herself had just learned that he'd broken a rather serious law, not to mention all the Unforgiveable and Dark curses he'd used in battle.

"Mr. Potter, I think you will make a wonderful Auror. I will do all I can to help you get through the programme successfully. And I will do all I can to keep your extra Animagus form a secret. I never heard of anyone doing a magical creature before. Well done!"

"Erm. . .thanks," he said quietly, not believing his good luck. He could've spent the rest of his life in Azkaban for many of the things he'd done, but he was being rewarded instead. He breathed a sigh of relief, and reached out to touch Ginny gently on the leg. She, too, had relaxed and smiled at him, taking his hand in hers.

"I've taken enough of your time. I'll let you get back to sleep," Madam Bones said with a kind smile.

"If you need more information, Hermione and I will help you," Ron offered. "Harry's going to be out of it for a while."

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley. I'll be in touch," she said, and left.

* * * * *

The House tables were set up at the front of the Great Hall, leaving the back of the Hall, protected by a Quieting Charm, as a hospital ward for Harry and Colin, the only patients remaining there. Three of the tables were relatively full of students, many of whom still sported bandages. The Slytherin table was much emptier than usual. Draco Malfoy's white-blond hair was noticeably absent, as were the massive lumps of Crabbe and Goyle. The Quieting Charm wasn't really needed around the hospital beds. Most of the students were strangely silent as they sat waiting for the feast to begin. Many were in tears. This was the first time the entire remaining student body had been called together for a meal since the battles. Food had been sent up to the House Common Rooms until there were few enough patients left in the Great Hall to make it possible for everyone to eat together again. Now that they were together, the number of missing and injured members of each house was far more obvious. Now, three days after the battles, Dumbledore had decided a feast was needed. He stood up at the Head Table, and an instant silence fell over the room.

"Hogwarts has suffered terrible losses," he began gravely. "We must honour those who have fallen in battle, or as a result of their wounds. They didn't deserve to die. They didn't want to die. But they were willing to stand up for what they believed was right. Stand and lift your glasses in honour of these valiant warriors, who were also wonderful friends, students, loved ones." Everyone stood silently, goblets in hand. "Katie Bell, Seventh Year Gryffindor."

The students and staff lifted their glasses and intoned, "Katie Bell," then sipped solemnly from their goblets. Sniffles and sobs came from the Gryffindor table.

"Terry Boot, Sixth Year Ravenclaw," Dumbledore said.

"Terry Boot." Weeping and many voices cracking as they spoke through tears came from the Ravenclaw table, sounds which doubled after the next name was read.

"Cho Chang, Seventh Year Ravenclaw."

"Cho Chang."

On and on it went, listing all the dead in alphabetical order. Then Dumbledore went through the list of the wounded. Each time, the gathered people raised their goblets and drank a solemn toast honouring the ones named. Murmured words of comfort from one friend to another made a softly rumbling background to the solemn ceremony.

"It is our choices that make us who we are," Dumbledore said as the staff and students resumed their seats. "Some of our number," he said, glancing at the Slytherin table, "have chosen an unwise path. They are now in Azkaban as punishment for their crimes." A gasp went through the Hall. Many had wondered what had happened to the missing Slytherins, but those who actually knew, such as Ron, Hermione and Ginny, didn't share the information. That was Dumbledore's task, not theirs. "Some of you may not know what happened, so I will tell you. These missing students from Slytherin House chose to become Death Eaters. They led an attack on Hogwarts from within, and did their best to make it easier for our enemies to attack us from outside the castle walls. Fortunately, we were able to round these students up and put them in the dungeons before they caused too much damage. They and the Death Eaters who attacked us have all been charged and found guilty, and are serving sentences of varying lengths in Azkaban. They chose to do what they did. Nobody made them. They chose that path of their own free will. Many of you chose to fight to defend Hogwarts and your friends. For that, I highly commend you." He lifted his glass and toasted them. "I cannot say how proud I am of you, and how it grieves me that these other students chose the Dark path. I cannot tell you how it grieved me to send students into battles that should have been fought by adults, but you acquitted yourself magnificently. I thank you, and honour you for your courage and dedication to the Light." He toasted them again, then sat down, looking old and worn. The wonderful feast was eaten in relative silence.

As they finished eating, Dumbledore rose from his seat again. "I know you're wondering about the beds in the back of the Hall. Those beds are occupied by Harry Potter and Colin Creevey. Both were in very serious condition, but Colin should be rejoining us tomorrow. Harry will need at least a few more days to get his strength back, I believe. When he does come among you again, please be kind to him. Don't pester him with questions, and certainly don't touch him - the injuries Lord Voldemort inflicted on him will take longer than a few days to heal completely, so he will be in pain for a while even after he rejoins you. He is heartsick about those who died and those who were injured. None of this is his fault. Remember that. An evil, Dark wizard is at fault, not Harry Potter. If I hear of anyone being unkind to Harry in any way, I will deal with that person most harshly." He glared at the students, leaving them no doubt they might wind up as earwigs or worse if they bothered Harry. Several who had enjoyed teasing him at times gulped, reminding themselves they'd better watch their behaviour. "Harry and Colin were still so ill when we moved the other patients out of the Great Hall, I saw no reason to put them through the stress of taking them up to the hospital wing. As some of you have noticed," he said, smiling around at many who wanted to visit both Harry and Colin, "I've put protections around their beds so they cannot be disturbed except by immediate family or very close friends, and even those visits should be minimal." He smiled at Ron and Hermione and the vacant spot next to them, knowing Ginny would not leave Harry's side, feeling he needed protection, and that Ron and Hermione were spending most of their free time with him as well.

"Classes will resume tomorrow. I hope you have made good use of the free time you've had the last several days. I do have some happier news to share. Those who are in the D.A. and those who helped fight the Battle of Hogwarts are all excused from Defence Against the Dark Arts exams. Professor Lupin, who also fought and was wounded in the Battle of Little Hangleton, believes your real-life experience with defensive spells was a perfectly useful examination, and I am inclined to agree." He smiled as a quiet cheer went through the Hall, as well as calls of "Thanks, Professor Lupin!" and "Hooray for Professor Lupin!" Remus smiled benignly at the students, blushing a bit at their praise. "Also, those who worked on the Healer Squad will be excused from both the Herbology and Potions examinations, since you had to use that knowledge in the field to tend the wounded." Another cheer went up. "And, since we've had such disruption in our schedule, we will push examinations back by a week to give you time to study, so you will be going home one week later than planned. I hope this doesn't interfere with anyone's holiday plans, but in all fairness, a lot of you have been busy recovering from injuries and unable to study. Owls have been sent to your parents informing them of this change in plans. Now, then, I believe I've covered everything. I bid you all good night. Sleep well."