Another Story

Chapter Twenty

In which Ginny learns more than a few things

The first thing that Ginny Weasley was aware of was something scratchy against her cheek, followed immediately by the realization that she had a throbbing headache and no idea why. She opened her eyes and realized that she was lying in some bushes near the lake and that it seemed to be only a few hours before dawn. The sky was beginning to change from an inky black to a softer shade of gray. The rain had ceased, but there were still thick clouds overhead. She shivered as she sat up and began disentangling herself from the bushes, snagging her robes and scratching her hands.

She looked across the school grounds and shuddered involuntarily at the sight of dozens of bodies strewn across the damp grass and the mud. The mildly acrid scent of smoke was in the air. It was faint, but it caught her attention. The magical torches that had lit the battlefield were slowly starting to gutter. But was that the source of the smoke? The battle was over, but she could not honestly say who had won. Looking toward the castle, she noted that the doors were closed and took it as a good sign. Would their enemies really have tried to keep the heat in? She didn't think so. But still, Ginny was not certain what had happened nor how long she had been out.

She glanced around and found her wand lying near the bushes. Her intentions were to return to the castle and discover the truth of the matter, to find out what had happened. She began walking toward the castle entrance, stepping around prone figures in dark robes upon the ground. Mostly Death Eaters, she realized.

She had almost reached the stairs when a soft voice caught her attention.

"Miss Weasley ...?" the growling voice questioned.

Ginny looked around quickly and spied a form in Auror's robes lying several meters to the right of the stone stairs, almost out of sight and out of mind. She hurried toward the figure, who was moving weakly.

"Mister Moody," she asked, kneeling in the mud and pulling away a bit of his cloak that had fallen over his face, "are you all right?"

"They got me, lass," he said, reaching a gnarled hand toward her. "But we got them too. Potter ... he killed the Dark Lord," Moody told her.

"We won?" she questioned in a whisper, taking his hand. He was trembling slightly.

"That's right," said Alastor.

"Then I guess I should help you inside. You need attention ..." she began to say, recovering her wits.

"I won't be needing anything soon," he said. "I'm afraid that I've been struck by a deadly curse."

"But surely something can be done," Ginny protested, lifting her wand and trying desperately to think of a good counter-curse or a healing spell that might help him.

"Don't fuss," said Moody, waving her wand away.

"But ..." she began.

"I got him too, you know," he said, nodding toward a form half leaning against the castle wall.

Ginny turned and bit back a gasp of surprising when she recognized Moody's assailant. The blond hair and sharp features could belong to no one else. It was Draco Malfoy. She was bewildered. Malfoy, the Slytherin prefect, was on the other side? Of course, she knew about his family ties, but she had never presumed to think that Draco was one of them.

"Not his fault really. I would bet my ... well, I would bet that Lucius had him under the Imperious curse for years. Didn't want to kill him. He was ... too young. But there was nothing to be done. We cursed each other at the same time, and that was that," the former Auror explained. "I just wish that he wasn't so young. I wish all of you weren't so young," he said, shaking his head.

"Yes, sir," she whispered, squeezing his hand.

"Tell Potter something for me, would you?" he questioned.

"What?"

"Thank him for me. When this all started up again almost four years ago ... I didn't think I would live to see the end of the war. It looks like I have after all," said Moody.

"I'll tell him," Ginny assured him. "Are you sure I can't do anything, sir?" she questioned.

"Yes, Miss Weasley, I'm certain," he said. "It won't be too long now."

Ginny glanced from Moody to the castle doors. If only someone would come, maybe they could do something. It wasn't fair, she decided. The war had been won. And Mister Moody was still going to die. They had won. That should be it. Tears began to fill her eyes as she looked at Moody, who had been a friend of parents, her father especially, and who had visited the Burrow at least once when she was very young.

Alastor shuddered and looked up at tearful Ginny, telling her, "Don't you be crying."

"I'll ... I'll try not to," she said, wiping her eyes with the back of one hand.

"That's a good lass," he said. "I saw your Professor Lupin a little while before the battle ended. He was limping a bit, but he seemed all right, so you don't have to worry too much about him," Alastor informed her.

"Thank you, sir," said Ginny.

Alastor closed his eyes and nodded slightly. Ginny could feel his grip upon her hand begin to loosen. He drew a deep breath and exhaled with a soft sigh. Then he was simply gone. Ginny felt his wrist with trembling fingers. Nothing. No gentle thud against the skin. Even the warmth seemed to be seeping away. She released his hand, placing it gently across his chest. She wiped her eyes again and clambered to her feet.

"M... Mob... Mobilicorpus," she spoke with a wave of her wand, the word nearly sticking in her throat. She simply could not leave him lying there among his enemies. It wouldn't be right.

The body of Alastor Moody rose from the muddy ground and floated gently behind her as she strode toward the stairs leading up to the castle doors. Ginny turned and looked out at the wasteland and wondered how many others had died that day, how many of her classmates, how many of her professors, and ... how many of her own family. It was too terrible to contemplate as she entered Hogwarts.

~

Minerva had just left the hospital wing after what many people would have called a protracted argument with Hufflepuff seventh year Justin Finch-Fletchley, who had been conscripted by Madam Pomfrey to help attend the injured. The young man, who had grown from a muggle-born petrified by the Basilisk to a stubborn and confident Badger and credit to his house, had been rather adamant that the professor should not leave until someone mended her broken arm, for which he had transfigured a muggle sling from a pillow case. The feat would normally have earned him house points, but Minerva was more than a little irritated by the delay. There were still students unaccounted for, including Ginny Weasley. It was Minerva's intention to locate her.

Fortunately for her, Minerva did not need to go far to find the object of her search. She paused just outside the hospital wing and watched as Ginny calmly and efficiently laid Alastor Moody down on one of the benches that lined the hallway immediately outside the infirmary. Ginny, in her opinion, looked rather pale and the girl's face had been scratched, though not very deeply.

Ginny swayed a bit dizzily as she crossed Alastor's arms over his chest before sitting down heavily on the floor next to the bench. It had taken too much of her strength to transport him from the field of battle. Ginny drew up her knees and buried her face in her arms.

Minerva looked at Alastor and felt a pang of sorrow.

"He must be dead," she thought, walking down the hall to see about Ginny.

The sound of approaching footsteps caused Ginny to look up again. She was trying desperately not to cry, but she was so tired and so dizzy and everything seemed so terrible. She looked up saw Professor McGonagall standing there with her arm in a sling and a worried expression on her face.

"It was a killing curse," she said softly, watching Minerva's eyes drift to where she had deposited Moody. The hospital wing had seemed too far away. And what good would that have done?

"I see," said Minerva. "Are you all right, Ginny?" she questioned.

"I'm not sure."

"Can you get up?" McGonagall questioned.

"Maybe," replied Ginny before posing her own question. "Have you seen ... Remus?"

"Yes, he's with Harry and Professor Dumbledore right now. You can see him later, I'm sure," said Minerva, reaching down to give her a hand up.

"And ... my parents? My brothers?" she asked, allowing her head of house to pull her to her feet.

Minerva didn't know quite what to tell her. The poor girl, she thought, had been through enough. She put an arm around her shoulders before speaking.

"Follow me," she said. "They are in the hospital wing," she added for clarification.

"All right, professor," said Ginny, sensing immediately that something was wrong.

They were all crowded around a bed, or so Ginny thought at first, before she realized that there were two beds, surrounded by a number of red-heads: her family.

Bill was standing to one side. His long hair was a mess, and there was a bandage or perhaps a poultice on one of his ears, the one in which he had worn a dragon fang earring. She winced as she figured out what had possibly happened. The piece of jewelry had been torn from his ear in the heat of battle.

Charlie was standing opposite him, but between the beds, turning from one to the other. He no longer looked so ruddy nor freckled. He had become very pale. In fact, she had never seen Charlie looking so pale in her entire life.

Ron was standing the foot of the bed that Bill was standing next to. She couldn't see his face, but his shoulders were slumped and that was not a good sign.

Her mother, standing at the foot of the beds too, had a hand on her youngest son's shoulder. Her other arm was around Fred. Or was it George? No, Ginny decided, definitely Fred. George was standing on the other side of the second bed. His face was bruised, but pale beneath the purple splotches. Ginny wondered momentarily how they had escaped Hogsmeade and what they were doing at the school.

She looked at the group again and realized something. Percy and their father were missing. For a brief moment realization was slow to come to her. Then Ginny comprehended that they were the two figures in the hospital beds. Though she could not see their faces as she lingered a few paces away, Ginny was certain that was the case.

"Mum?" she asked quietly as she approached them.

Molly turned and managed something of a smile as she reached out her arms for her only daughter.

"Thank heavens! I was about to send Charlie and George to look for you," said Mrs. Weasley as she hugged Ginny tightly.

When her mother finally released her, Ron and Fred grabbed her at once and in instant she was surrounded by her brothers.

"We were so worried, Ginny!" said George, tousling her already messy hair.

"Yeah!" agreed Fred, playfully punching her in the shoulder.

Charlie and Bill both nearly lifted her from her feet in their exuberance.

"All right, Ginny?" asked Bill as he let go of her.

"I ... I think so," she told him, which was not quite truth. She felt out of sorts and a bit dizzy, especially after one of Charlie's bone-crushing hugs. And as her eyes drifted to Percy and her father, she felt very frightened. "They aren't ... Are they ...?" she tried to ask, but couldn't finish either question.

"Of course not, dear," said Molly, taking her by the arm and leading her between the beds. "Your father is just sleeping right now. Madam Pomfrey expects him to pull through just fine," she explained.

"What happened?" asked Ginny, looking at Arthur, who was pale, but not so much as a few of his sons.

Molly turned toward Bill, expecting him to explain.

"A Death Eater - I don't know who, but they were rather large - caught him behind Hagrid's hut. Mrs. Figg and I had met up halfway between the forest, and she wanted me to go look for him since mum and dad had got separated when the giants rushed the Quidditch pitch. They had just managed to get them under control, thanks to those Aurors and all their training. Anyway, what a mess," said Bill before taking a deep breath.

"It was a good thing you showed up when you did," Molly interjected, looking a bit teary-eyed.

"Yeah," said Bill quietly, looking away for a moment and touching his injured ear, "he was using the Cruciatus curse on dad. But I put an end to that." There was a hard look on his face.

Ginny shivered and asked, "But he is going to be all right, isn't he?" She just needed to hear it one more time.

"Of course, Ginny," said her mother.

"And Percy?" she questioned after a pause, turning to look at her older brother.

She was very surprised when Percy opened his eyes just slightly and smiled faintly at her. Ginny reached down to squeeze his hand and gasped in astonishment.

"Mmm... I'm afraid that something seems to have happened to my arm," he said sleepily.

Ginny was rather certain that he had been given a potion, if not for the pain or loss of blood, then for the shock of losing a limb. Percy was missing, from what she could tell at any rate, his left arm from approximately the elbow downward.

"Oh, Percy, does it hurt?" she stammered.

"I do believe it did at the time," he said rather calmly. "Not so much now though," he added after a thoughtful pause.

"It was a Severing curse, Ginny," Molly explained, "just like the one that cost Mister Moody his leg and that bit of his nose."

She nodded that she understood and felt the back of her throat prickle at the thought of the ex-Auror who was lying dead in the outside hallway.

"But Percy nearly managed to dodge it. Good thing too," said Charlie, giving Percy a firm smile and patting his opposite shoulder.

"Yeah, and it was a stroke of luck that it wasn't his wand arm either," piped up Fred, obviously trying to cheer up his usually annoying older brother.

Percy smiled a little more and closed his eyes. Bill and Molly exchanged glances across the hospital bed.

"He's been doing that for a couple of hours now," Bill told Ginny.

"Hours? How long has it been since ... since the end?" she questioned in amazement. She wasn't certain precisely how long she had been unconscious.

"About three and half hours," replied Ron. "I was there when Harry beat him. After that, it was a lot easier for everyone," he added.

"And Harry...?"

"He did a job," said Ron proudly. "Then Harry, the headmaster, Professor Lupin, and I took care of what was left of him. I've never been so glad to see something burn up in my life," he admitted with a shrug and a half smile. "He ... Voldemort died like a muggle."

"Where are they now?" Ginny asked him.

Ron smiled a little wider despite the circumstances as he understood the meaning of her question.

"They're in Madam Pomfrey's office. From what I understand Dumbledore is getting in touch with the Minister of Magic. He wants some Aurors to come take care of ... to come clean up the mess. He wanted Harry and Lupin with him. Me too, but, well, there's dad and Percy," he said with a slight shrug.

"Of course," she agreed.

"Professor Lupin got his leg broken in the fighting, but he's still walking on it. If Madam Pomfrey had seen, she would have been livid," he chuckled before growing more somber again and looking toward a screened off portion of the ward.

Ginny followed his gaze and asked, "Where is Madam Pomfrey?"

"Looking after Hermione and Professor Snape," answered Molly.

"Hermione?" she questioned, remembering only then that she was supposed to have found help for Professor McGonagall and her. The professor had had an arm in a sling ... What had happened to them?

"They were in a fight with a giant. Professor McGonagall explained that she got off lightly, with only a broken arm and some bruised ribs, you see. But Hermione and Professor Snape were nearly crushed by some masonry that a giant knocked loose with its club," Molly told her gently.

"How bad is it?" Ginny asked her mother.

"Poppy ... Madam Pomfrey has been back there with them since they were brought in. It is too soon to say, but that cannot be a good sign," explained Molly.

"Oh," said Ginny before swaying with a renewed wave of dizziness.

"Get a chair for your sister," Molly said to Bill, who nodded and went to do just that.

"That looks like a nasty bump," commented Charlie, pointing to a tender spot above her left temple.

"I got caught too close to a blasting curse," she said rather sheepishly.

"I'll get Finch-Fletchley. He's sure to have a potion for that handy," said Ron before dashing away.

"You probably have a concussion, Ginny dear," said Molly quietly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"Yes, mum," she said softly.

"Don't worry. We'll look after you," said Bill as he slipped a chair behind her and helped her into it.

Ginny was beginning to feel rather exhausted as the fright began to wear off. She closed her eyes, listening to the sound of her brothers talking quietly around her.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------