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When Dark Falls by MithrilQuill

previous  CHAPTER 34: NO REST FOR HEROES   next

“Stop whining, Smith, or I’ll take back the offer to make you a partner in the Academy…” Theo had a firm grip on Zach’s knee as he pointed his wand at the infected injury just below it.

“You clearly don’t know what you’re doing, so just let me go do something useful!”

Theo sighed and switched on the wireless. Lee had been alternately reading out the list of the dead and passing messages along through his show, Potterwatch. He was reading out the list of the dead for the hundredth time, now on the letter G.

“Fine!” Zach huffed, picking up a newspaper. Theo wished he would shut up for one second. His wound was badly infected and treating it required concentration. If he hadn’t been so useful here at the Academy Theo would have sent him off to Madam Pomfrey just to get rid of his incessant whining.

“Listen to this!” Zach said in the voice he normally reserved for Harry Potter. He went on to read the headline in the Daily Prophet without bothering to find out if Theo wanted to hear it or not.

“No Rest for Heroes: The Boy Who Lived Kept Busy Long After the Fall of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.”

Theo could not help snorting with Zach at this ridiculous headline. “What’s he been doing?” he asked, siphoning off the puss that was now oozing out of Zach’s wound. “Photo-Ops?”



They had succeeded in cleaning up and repairing almost everything in the Hospital Wing, but Ernie was not sure what to do about the gaping hole in the wall. He turned to Susan. Sweat was running in rivers down her neck.

“…Jenkins, Gina…” Lee’s voice floated out from the wireless.

“I think I know a spell to fix it,” Susan said, “but I don’t know if it’ll be enough… we don’t want the wall collapsing on a patient!”

Ernie nodded. “Let’s use the spell and then go consult Professor Flitwick.”

“Alright,” Susan said, straightening her back and raising her wand. “It’s Murum Reparati Funamentum!”

Ernie raised an eyebrow, but he also raised his wand. “Bloody mouthful!” He watched Susan’s demonstration of the wand movements carefully, but he could not help his eye straying towards the still-dark window.



There are few who envy Harry Potter today, writes Rita Skeeter, special reporter. The young hero has not had a moment’s peace since his defeat of the Dark Wizard. Shortly after that climactic and legendary battle, The Boy Who Lived was seen comforting and visiting the injured fighters in Hogwarts’ Great Hall. Instead of resting and tending to his own wounds, he was forced to dredge up encouraging words and take the role of a motivating leader in the aftermath of the war. Not only that, but the young wizard has become the most sought after interviewee by Journalists both in this country and the rest of the Wizarding world. Some are worried for the boy’s health as he has been forced to sit through interview after interview with the press.

Mrs. Longbottom slammed the Daily Prophet down on her bedside table, itching to get up and go back to Hogwarts. Her grandson had made her proud these past few days and she longed to be by his side, helping to rebuild the castle, instead of having to read this nonsense about Harry Potter being in danger because of too many interviews.
She swung her feet over the side of the bed and took an experimental step. It was painful, but not unbearable. Grabbing her wand, she decided that she could at least visit Neville’s parents and tell them about his heroic actions.

“Madam!” a frantic Healer’s aide called to her. “You’re not supposed to be out of bed, Mrs. Longbottom, please!”



“Aguamenti!” Neville said loudly, pointing his wand at the small bed of glowing embers he had found. These hidden remains of fire had proven to be the most dangerous after-effects of the war. Many had accidentally stepped or fallen into them and sustained severe burns. Only moments ago one had erupted into flames, taking what was left of Greenhouse three with it.

“Hey, Neville!” Seamus called across the grounds. “Come help with this boulder, I think something’s underneath it!”
Neville went as quickly and carefully as he could. Seamus was standing over a large pile of rocks and boulders. Something alive was trapped underneath. Neville could see faint living movements through a small gap between the rocks.

“We’ll have to get them off without injuring whoever it is even more,” Seamus said. “Can you cast that protective spell you learned – and a suspension charm – while I lift the rocks?”

Neville nodded and pulled up his sleeves.



“’It’s not easy doing interviews so soon after that tragic night’, says the Boy Who Lived!” Charlie read from a paper which was charmed to float near his head. His wand was raised high in the air and his silvery dragon Patronus danced protectively beside a much more solid dragon, keeping dozens of Dementors at bay. The Dementors had launched a sudden attack on the Academy, disrupting the carefully placed protective spells and endangering all the patients.

“Any luck, yet? I don’t think I can hold on for much longer.”
“You’d be fine if you didn’t insist on reading that rubbish!” Ginny said bad-temperedly, trying to concentrate on Blaise’s wand movements so she could mirror them.

“I think we should add a little swish right after that swirl,” Blaise said, thoughtfully. “Actually, Ginny, you do that anti-hex thing you just showed me and I’ll do the new spell. It might work if we cast them at the same time.”

“Sure,” Ginny said, and unable to resist, she asked Charlie: “Have they said anything about the Academy yet?”

Charlie began to flip through the Prophet, half an eye still on the dragon and the Patronus above. “Not in the first five pages…”

Ginny shook herself back into focus and met eyes with Blaise. They nodded at each other and cast the spells in one breath. Ginny could feel a shiver of power run through her. Blaise spun on the spot and began reciting various enchantments at top speed, some of them familiar to Ginny and some of them completely new. She looked up at the Dementors. They seemed a little more distant now, the clammy cold of their presence lifting slowly from her heart. It might be working.

Ginny leapt into action and followed Blaise’s example, casting every protective spell she knew at the top of her lungs. Her heart felt lighter and lighter as they worked together, their voices weaving together like a song. She was sure it was working now.

Charlie abandoned his Patronus and the Daily Prophet and joined them, shouting out enchantments he had no doubt leant in Romania. A smile crept up Blaise’s face as the Dementors disappeared from view completely. The Healing Academy was now once more safely encased in a stable and impenetrable magical shield.

“The transport tunnels are still open, too!” Charlie exclaimed. Ginny allowed herself to grin.



“Mistress!” Blinky the house elf came stumbling through the main doors dragging a bleeding figure behind her. It was very small.

“Mistress!” she said again. “Blinky found her friend injured near the gates. She tried to heal her, but she could not do it alone. Please let Blinky take her down to the kitchens Mistress…” the agitated house elf ran out of breath, giving Aveline time to intervene.

“Just a minute, Blinky!” she said firmly. “Let me see her.”
She stepped closer and examined the house-elf’s wounds. They were not too difficult to cure, but Blinky, powerful as she was, was quite ignorant of Dark Magic. Aveline pulled out her wand and set to work on the tiny creature’s wounds.

Ten minutes later she summoned a sleeping draught and helped Blinky drip it into the strange elf’s half-open mouth. “Take her to the best downstairs room, Blinky,” Aveline ordered. “And make her care your priority until she is fully healed.”

“Yes, Mistress!” Blinky sighed in relief. “Should Blinky bring her before the Mistress when she is healed?”

“Yes, I would like to hear her story.”

Aveline watched Blinky levitate the other elf out of the room, trying to bring her mind back to her plans. She could not sit here idly while everyone else played a part in rebuilding the Wizarding world. She wanted to show Blaise that she too could make bold decisions and build something worthwhile.

“Blinky!” Aveline called before the elf was out of earshot. “What do you think of turning this place into an Orphanage?”

Blinky paused and turned around to face her. “Mistress always has good ideas and a kind heart,” Blinky said in a voice that was difficult to read.

“I want your opinion, Blinky – the truth.”

“Blinky would be honored to help the Mistress with such a project.”

“Thank you…”



Harry Potter Reveals Shocking Truth about Severus Snape
In a shocking testimony Harry Potter has revealed that Severus Snape, who headed Hogwarts for the Death Eaters, was actually working to help him all along. “And it was all under Professor Dumbledore’s orders,” said the Boy-Who-Lived. “Dumbledore and Snape did the impossible to make sure that Voldemort still trusted Snape. They did not want Hogwarts to fall completely under the Death Eaters’ control. This trust also allowed Snape to pass something onto me without which I could not have defeated Voldemort.”

We asked Harry Potter how it could be that no one else knew of this secret loyalty to Dumbledore. “He was fooling the best Legillimens in the world, so of course he fooled the rest of us. I will always remember him as the bravest man I ever knew. He was willing to allow everyone, all his colleagues at Hogwarts and all the students, to think badly of him, to despise him, all for the sake of doing his part to defeat Voldemort.”



A few meters from him the house elves of Hogwarts were burying their dead. George put the final touches on Remus Lupin’s grave. He conjured a flower from the tip of his wand and placed it gently on top. Tonks’ mother had not stayed around to see Remus buried properly. She had buried her own daughter and cried over her and then, taking her newborn grandson with her, she had gone back home.

Professor Flitwick squeezed George’s arm and walked back up to the Castle and Professor McGonagall and Hagrid spoke to him before leaving, but he wasn’t sure what it was that either of them said. His Mum and Celeste hung around for a little longer, whispering to each other gently in the night. Remus had helped the girl learn her first defensive spells and she had been devastated to hear of his death.

George left the two women standing by the grave and moved away. He had taken it upon himself to make sure that every one of Hogwarts’ fallen would get a decent burial. He was on his way up to the Great Hall when something pulled at his sleeve.

“Mister Weasley,” it was the squeaky voice of a tired house-elf. “We finds a dead body in the boat-house, sir, and we isn’t sure what to do with it.”

George turned and followed the house-elf. He wondered if it was the body of a Death Eater. The House-Elves had been burying the dead for hours now; that they should hesitate meant that something different had happened.

The House-Elf stopped at the door and George ducked and stepped in through the rubble. Two more of the Hogwarts elves were in there. They were looking down at Severus Snape’s dead body. George had been hearing hundreds of interviews about Snape over the wireless. Harry had given a dozen statements to the papers about how brave he had been and how much he respected him. And yet, no one had come looking for him.

“We’ll bury him near the lake,” George said. Even the greasy git Snape deserved a proper burial, and if his biggest admirer Harry Potter wasn’t going to do it then George would.



Harry Potter Visits the Injured At St. Mungos

Late last night Harry Potter visited the injured at St. Mungos. He spoke to healers and spent extra time with the victims of You-Know-Who and his most dangerous Death Eater, Bellatrix Lestrange. The families of these victims were grateful for the hero’s gesture. They spoke to Daily Prophet reporters about this visit and answered questions about the care their loved ones are receiving at the Wizarding Hospital.

“It was a great honor for Harry Potter to visit my injured son and speak to him in person,” said Willy Widdershins, whose son sustained severe injuries during the Battle of Hogwarts.

When asked whether he was happy with the care his son was receiving Mr. Widdershins admitted that he could not have wished for better and that his son is improving by the hour. St. Mungo’s healers say that the hospital has received some sizable – and anonymous – donations that helped them save many lives. Many speculate that Harry Potter himself may be behind some of these anonymous donations, especially after the great sympathy and concern he has shown for the patients.



“Theo!” Mr. Weasley called, “Neville’s just brought in a house-elf they dug out from under the rubble.”

Theo hurriedly re-bandaged the patients’ wound and gave him an encouraging smile. “It’s healing very nicely, sir, you’ll be able to go home in no time at all.”

He stood and took a few quick strides out of the ward, breaking into a run as soon as he was in the corridor. “Bring him in here!” he led Neville and Mr. Weasley towards one of the private extra-care wards.

They deposited the injured elf gently on the bed. Theo healed up the scratches and summoned a bowl of water and a towel. He wiped away the worst of the dirt and blood. One of the elf’s legs was clearly broken. There were many large bruises all over his arms and abdomen and Theo feared broken ribs. The most worrying, however, was a strange deadness in his shoulder. It was spreading.

“Dark Magic,” Blaise said coming up behind him. “I’ll heal the broken leg and the bruises while you figure out what to do with that.”

Theo nodded and allowed Blaise to take over. “I’ll need to get some potions to stop the spread before we can heal it. Be careful, Blaise, I think there’s a broken rib.”

“Three,” Blaise replied, his wand already at work. “Lend a hand, will you, Longbottom.”

Theo rushed out into the corridor, followed by Mr. Weasley.

“Anything I can do to help, son?”

“Actually,” Theo said. “I was wondering if you could charm the windows in the children’s ward like they do at the Ministry… a little sunlight, even if it isn’t real-”

Mr. Weasley had rushed off even before Theo finished his sentence. Theo found Zach looking through the potions cabinet with a frown on his face.

“What do you need, Smith?” Theo asked, pushing him aside and sorting through the phials.

“A calming draught and something for an idiot that just splinched himself and his injured brother,” Zach replied.

Theo handed him the potions he needed and gave him instructions on how much of the ointment to apply to the splinched wounds. “We might need you in a few minutes to help with a dark curse…”

Zach nodded.



Ernie was pacing up and down the Knight Bus. “I need to get back to Hogwarts,” he said for the hundredth time. Susan sighed and picked up a copy of the daily prophet. She flipped through the first few pages, knowing that there wouldn’t be anything worth reading in the headlines. Something caught her eye on page ten.

“Listen to this,” she said, pulling Ernie into the seat beside her. “Hannah Abbott, a Hufflepuff who possessed great power that many thought capable of defeating he who must not be named, has abandoned the Wizarding World once and for all.”

“Bloody idiots,” Ernie said angrily, he pulled the paper between them so they could read it together.

“Instead of coming back to the Wizarding World where she belongs and helping to rebuild with her friends Hannah Abbott has chosen to stay in the Muggle world. Rumor has it that she is engaged to a Muggle boy and will be married to him within days.”

“Hours more like,” Susan said. “Do you know if any of the others are coming?”

“Neville will if they can spare him for a few minutes,” Ernie replied. “I think she wanted Zabini there, too, but they’re really short-handed at th-”

“Cambridge Hospital!” the conductor announced as the bus came to a screeching halt. Ernie and Susan rushed off.
Although it was still very dark the Muggles had lit it up beautifully with electric lights and candles and some ornamental lanterns. It was the smiles, more than anything that lit up the darkness. All around people were grinning and even laughing.

“They’ve done a great job on the hospital!” Ernie said. He had been here before to help take patients with magical injuries to the Academy and the change was astounding.

“There she is!” Susan yelled and broke into a run. Ernie looked around to see her hugging Hannah, who was looking beautiful in her wedding dress. It was a simple thing, she had probably sewn it herself, but it was gorgeous.

He walked up to them slowly and, despite his best efforts, a grin spread across his face. They were all led into a large room where soft music was playing. A tall black nurse began the introductory speech, telling them all that they were here today to celebrate new beginnings.

Ernie found it difficult to concentrate on her speech. He had just spotted Ginny, Neville, and Zabini coming in. Ginny led them over to the table where Ernie and Susan were sitting, although Zabini seemed to have serious doubts about the advisability of this. “Smith’s coming in a few minutes, he’s just helping Theo with a patient,” Ginny said.

“Good,” Susan said firmly. “I’m glad everyone could be here for Hannah!”

“They look beautiful together,” Neville said, looking up at the bride and groom.

“We’re here today to celebrate two people without whose efforts so many in this city would now be dead. They helped bring hope and light to Cambridge in its hour of need and now, together, let us wish them a future filled with happiness.”



“Here,” Charlie shoved the post-war issue of the Quibbler into Draco Malfoy’s good arm. “Do something useful and read that for me.”

Draco snorted, but he picked up the paper anyway. Charlie was examining Draco’s still-scaly arm, trying to find a way to bring it back to normal, so Draco used his other arm to hold up the magazine.

“Is loon- his daughter still missing?” Draco asked.

“Yeah,” Charlie said, “No one’s seen Luna Lovegood or Dean Thomas for days. Lee’s been calling out to them through the wireless, but no response so far. Did this happen the first time you transformed?”

“No,” Draco replied, “But I only tried it once before I went to protect the orphanage and only for a few seconds.”

“And then you spent hours as a dragon,” Charlie said shaking his head.

“Listen to this!” Draco said, “Experts agree that the Department of Mysteries has had a cure for the Dementor mist for weeks now. They’re not using it because they want to keep the Wizarding World on its knees after Voldemorts death and maintain their control.”



Luna suddenly jumped up, a huge grin on her face. Dean stood too and stepped closer to examine the completed potion. It was a dry, purple powder.

“It’s ready!” Luna said.

“What do we do with it?” Dean’s heart was racing.

Luna had already begun to summon large pieces of wood from the rubble. She made a pile of wood in the center of the roof and lit it on fire with her wand. “We make fires,” she said, scooping some of the powder out of the cauldron. “And spray a little bit of the powder onto it.”

It smelled amazing when it was sprinkled onto the fire and it made funny firework-like sparks.

“Quick, Dean!” She said. “We need to make hundreds of fires like this or it won’t work!”

Dean was glad for a chance to do something. He leapt into action, grabbing the cauldron in one hand and letting Luna take his other hand he Apparated to another rooftop a few blocks away from the first. And so they spent the next two hours blinking in and out of existence on rooftops all over the country and lighting their magical fires.

Dean did not have any time to sit back and wonder whether it was going to work. He had no time to worry about how these fires were supposed to kill the Dementors. He was too busy acting on Luna’s plan. He trusted her conviction, because there was nothing else left to rely on.



Together, Mrs. Weasley and Celeste put up the pictures of Hannah and Mahmoud’s wedding all over the comfortable sitting room at the Academy. Celeste suspected that Ginny, at least, would be less than happy about the way they had just taken the decision by themselves, but she did not want to voice this concern to the Weasley matriarch.

“Thank you for helping control my calming spell, Mrs. Weasley.”

“Call me Molly, dear!” Mrs. Weasley said kindly. “What do you say we cook them up a nice-”

“Theo!” Draco’s shouting interrupted her. “Clear a bed and call all your healers!”

Celeste and Mrs. Weasley rushed out into the hall. Draco, his arms both perfectly human now, was running through the corridors with an unconscious young man. Theo came running out into the corridor. He had bags under his eyes and a twitch in his left eye, but he was still forcing himself forward.

“Into the sitting room!” Theo ordered. “Take him into the sitting room, there’s a spare bed in the storage closet, someone get it.”

They rushed the injured man into the sitting room and, together, they located the extra bed and pulled it into the center of the room. Theo was still running up and down the corridor and shouting. “Blaise, Zach, Ginny! Where’s Neville?”

The patient was shaking in a jerky manner although he was still unconscious. “What’s wrong with him?” Celeste asked as Theo rushed into the room.

“He went after four Death Eaters by himself,” Draco said. “I’ve got two of their wands, here, Theo, if you need to find out what spells they used on him.”

“Good,” Theo said, “Draco, go and get Madame Pomfrey and Ernie for me and tell Neville we need him to find us some herbs and roots.”

Draco nodded. “What herbs?”

Theo waved his wand absently and scrawled a list of ingredients onto a spare bit of parchment. Draco flew out of the room, his robes billowing behind him. Celeste watched in fascination as Theo examined the patient, administering basic healing spells and rubbing ointments into some of his wounds and bruises.

“Priori Incantatem!” he said, pointing his wand at one of the Death Eaters’ wands that Draco had brought. She watched as silvery shapes issued from the tip of the wand.

Blaise and Zach arrived moments later and then Ginny and Ernie. Together they began operating on the patient, with Theo giving orders and asking for advice every once in a while. Celeste and Mrs. Weasley helped where they could, passing potions and towels to the Healers as they worked.

Celeste was fascinated at the teamwork that existed between them. Theo was the best healer, and he was taking charge, but each one of the others had a strength that they needed to save this man’s life. Ginny, well known for her powerful spells, was the only one who could cast a spell strong enough to extract the poison that Theo identified in the man’s wounded arm. Zach had a handy spell that kept the man’s breathing and heartbeat stable while they worked and Ernie’s sharp eyes caught the tiniest little changes and filled in the small gasps in the others’ spellwork. The most impressive sight for Celeste to watch was her brother Blaise.

Blaise was inventing spells as they worked. He talked through his logic out loud, giving the others a chance to stop him if they didn’t believe in the idea, but no one tried to stop him. They all gave him looks of admiration and awe as he made up spell after spell to fit the man’s symptoms.

Suddenly, a ray of sunlight spilled in through the window. Mrs. Weasley charmed the curtains open to let as much sunlight in as possible. A grin spread across Theo’s face and he lifted his head and leaned back.

“I think we did it!” he said triumphantly.

The patient moaned and opened his eyes to the long-awaited sunrise.


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