The Refiner's Fire
Chapter 07 - Flight
By Abraxan
Soon after their day at the Weasleys, Harry and Casey made arrangements with Ron and Hermione to go to a film together. Harry was delighted at how well his friends were getting along now that they’d finally admitted to themselves that they fancied each other. Ron flooed to Hermione’s house and they rode the train over to the Little Whinging station, where Casey and Harry met them.
"This film looks like fun," Hermione enthused. Ron and Harry rolled their eyes at each other over the girls’ heads. They were going to see a romantic comedy that sounded pretty silly. Hermione had shown Ron the ad in a Muggle newspaper. Hermione thought that it would be a good film to see, so he agreed, since he didn’t know anything about films anyway.
Harry whispered to Ron, "It’s a ‘chick flick’ so the girls will have to agree to go to an adventure film to repay us." He winked at his best mate over the girls’ heads.
Ron grinned and winked back, but he honestly was mystified by all these terms and whatever it was Harry was talking about. However, if Hermione was going to hold his hand and lean on his shoulder as she had on the train to Little Whinging, he didn’t care if they were sitting on a street corner in the rain. He’d be happy. When they entered the cinema lobby and Ron saw the sweet stand, his eyes lit up.
"Wow, Hermione, you didn’t tell me they had sweets!" he said with his typical "trip to Honeydukes" sparkle in his eyes.
"I do like to keep some things as surprises," she said saucily. The four friends chose a variety of sweets but Ron was stumped at the list of drinks named on the menu board. "What are these?"
Harry answered, "They’re drinks — trust me, you’ll like them. Why don’t you try Coke? Most people really like that. Or if you prefer a lemon-lime flavour, they have Sprite, then there’s Tango, which is orange flavoured, but I think you’ll like the fizziness and flavour of Coke."
"OK, then, Coke it is!" Ron agreed. He looked puzzled when he was handed a tall paper cup with a plastic lid and a straw. He watched his friends and soon figured out how to use the straw. When he took his first big sip, he was snorting with laughter about something Harry had said, and the fizz went up his nose. "OOooo, it burns! Cool!"
The others were all laughing. "It’s not supposed to burn — it only does that if it goes up your nose. Be more careful," Hermione advised kindly, trying hard to stifle her giggles.
"Oh! I like it even better when it isn’t burning my nose! Wicked!" Ron said with a grin. "Thanks for recommending this stuff, Harry!"
As they left the cinema, the two couples made plans to see a film of Casey’s choice on her birthday. "Another chick flick, no doubt," Harry said to Ron over Casey’s head, pretending to be long-suffering about it. Casey playfully smacked his arm and Harry acted as if he was mortally wounded, which lead to much laughter and several hugs.
On the way to a sweet shop to buy ices, Ron asked, "Anyone want a chocolate frog? Fred and George just brought me some from Honeydukes."
"Chocolate frog?" Casey said, her eyebrows raised. "Please tell me it’s not a real frog covered in chocolate!"
The other three laughed. "No, it’s just a spell," Harry explained. He led the way to a picnic table in the park they were passing. "They’re good, and the cards are collectible."
Ron passed frogs to each of them and Harry showed Casey how to open the package carefully so the frog wouldn’t get away. She laughed at the animated confection, amazed that it tasted like normal, rich milk chocolate when it acted like a live frog. Then she looked at her "Famous Wizard" card as she’d been told.
"Who’d you get?" Ron asked, leaning over to look, his mouth full of chocolate. "I got Merlin again."
Casey turned her card over, and squealed. "It’s moving! How did they do that? And. . .oh, Harry! It’s you!"
"Wizard pictures move," Harry began, then the rest of what she said sank in. "No, it can’t be me." He looked at the card and said, "What the. . .?" There was simply nothing to say that would adequately express his amazement.
Ron and Hermione got up and stood behind Casey to see her card. "Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived" it said on the front, under a wizard photo of Harry flying on his Firebolt. When he caught the Snitch and waved it triumphantly over his head, a huge grin on his face, Casey grinned back at the picture, then turned the card over. The back read, "Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, is known for his defeat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named at the age of one. Since then, he saved the Sorcerer’s Stone from You-Know-Who, defeated Salazar Slytherin’s Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets while rescuing Ginny Weasley at tremendous risk to his own life, exonerated both Sirius Black and Rubeus Hagrid of serious criminal charges against them, rescued numerous people from Dementors on several occasions, won the Tri-Wizard Tournament and bested You-Know-Who in a duel. He is the youngest Seeker in a century at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he is beginning his sixth year of study. Potter is a flyer of astounding skill, organizer of Dumbledore’s Army (a Defence Against the Dark Arts club at Hogwarts), capable of a fully corporeal Patronus since the age of 13, and is recognizable by the lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead. Great things are expected of this young Wizard. His hobbies include Quidditch, chess and Exploding Snap, and we hear he’s quite fond of Chocolate Frogs."
"Whoa! Harry! That’s fantastic! I don’t think any student has ever had a Famous Wizard Card made of him before!" Ron was clearly impressed.
"This is amazing, Harry!" Hermione agreed.
Harry was frowning. "I wonder where they got all that information?"
"Every student at Hogwarts knows this stuff, Harry. That’s a Colin Creevey photo. I’m sure I’ve seen it before. Colin’s such a fan of yours, he probably provided all the information too," Hermione said reasonably. "As Dumbledore says, all those things were secret, so of course the whole school knew what happened very quickly. Funny they left out the story about Norbert."
"And they didn’t know about Buckbeak, either," Ron added.
"Norbert? Buckbeak?" Casey said, confused.
"A dragon and a hippogriff Harry rescued," Ron answered offhandedly. "I wonder if they’re going to start a series of student cards?"
Casey’s eyes widened. A dragon and a hippogriff? she thought. I’ll have to get Harry to tell me those stories! And what in the world is a hippogriff?
Hermione noticed Harry had been quiet too long. "Harry? What’s wrong?"
Harry was quiet a few moments more, but they could tell he was upset. "All I need is more people angry at me for being famous," he grumbled. "I’d like to be ‘just Harry,’ y’know?"
"But Harry," Casey said, a puzzled look in her eyes. "Isn’t this an honour? Won’t it be fun to open a Chocolate Frog and find your own card?"
He thought about it, took a deep breath and blew it out, then his frown turned into a crooked smile. "Well, I guess," he said reluctantly.
"This is so cool! I can’t wait to get one myself," Ron enthused.
"You’re not turning into a fan girl, are you?" Harry teased, snorting with suppressed laughter.
"Yeah, why not?" Ron said with a laugh. "OOOooo, there goes Harry Potter! I think he’s so hot! He’s on the Famous Wizard Cards, too!" he said in a girlish simpering voice.
Harry shoved Ron’s shoulder playfully and they all dissolved into laughter.
"I’ve got a few more," Ron offered. "Let’s see if any of them have Harry!" No other Harry Potter cards turned up.
Casey had held her card the whole time as if it were a cherished treasure. She took a deep breath and held it out to Harry. "This is so special, Harry. You should keep it," she offered.
Harry smiled and gently closed her hand over the card. "No. You found it, so it’s yours. Who knows, maybe it will be worth a lot of money someday. ‘The first Harry Potter Famous Wizard Card, found by his girlfriend Casey Asher.’ That could make it extra collectible, who knows?"
Casey smiled and put the card in her pocket. "I’ll keep my Famous Wizard card, then, thank you! I’ll also keep my Famous Wizard!" she laughed as she took his hand.
Harry smiled warmly at her and laced his fingers through hers. "You can keep both of us, then."
Ron laughed and said, "Oy! Get a room!" Hermione’s response was to grab his face with both hands and plant a big kiss on him, which effectively shut him up.
* * * * *
Three days before Casey’s birthday, Harry was running a board through the table saw to cut the base for a new mosaic when his scar exploded in pain. Fortunately, he was able to jump away from the saw before losing any fingers, but his board was ruined. Through the haze of pain, Harry could feel Voldemort laughing. Some plan was coming together, and Voldemort was delighted. When the pain passed, he looked around to see if anyone had noticed the incident. Uh-oh, here comes Doug, Harry thought. Now what do I do?
"Harry? Are you all right?" Doug asked in concern, having seen the boy grab his forehead and let go of the board he was sawing without turning off the machine.
"I, erm, uh, I have a headache. The noise of the saw just got to me," Harry explained lamely, hoping that explanation was good enough. "I’m sorry I messed up the board."
"I’m just glad you weren’t injured," Doug replied, patting the boy on the shoulder in a fatherly way. "Casey would never forgive me if you got hurt in the workshop."
Harry grinned, knowing he was being teased. "Yeah, that’s probably true," he said with a chuckle. "I’m fine now. I’ll be more careful next time."
"If there’s going to be a next time for that kind of headache," Doug cautioned, "you might want to go to a doctor and see what’s causing it. Do you get those headaches often?"
"No, not really. I think it’s just that I’m tired or something," Harry said, then thought Oops, wrong answer — now he’ll say I shouldn’t be staying out so late with his daughter!
Doug surprised him by chuckling. "I remember being sixteen — you think you can get by on no sleep at all. There are just too many interesting things to do to waste time sleeping. Or else you’re growing so fast, all you can do is sleep. There doesn’t seem to be any middle ground."
Harry grinned. "Too right." Doug patted him on the shoulder again and went back into his office, and Harry got back to work. As soon as he was certain nobody was paying attention to him, he sent an Adfero message to Dumbledore and Remus, telling them about his vision of Voldemort. They sent no immediate reply, but he didn’t really expect one. They knew he’d be at work that time of day, and the sight of a small silvery object flying through the air and hitting him in the head might frighten his co-workers. If they needed to tell him anything, they would wait until he had gone home.
That evening, after yet another miserable dinner with the Dursleys, Harry went up to his room and got out his school books and parchment, intent on finishing the last of his required essays. Hours later, he screwed the cap back on his ink bottle, put his ink, quill, parchment and books back under the loose floorboard under his bed, put on the t-shirt and shorts he’d been sleeping in this summer, and went to bed, falling asleep almost immediately. It seemed he’d just closed his eyes when the hair on the back of his neck prickled stiffly, warning him to wake up. He grabbed his wand and slipped silently out of bed as he shoved his glasses on his face and warily moved toward his door. He heard the creaky stair squeak, and quiet movement in the hall. He cracked his door open and was surprised to see Remus approaching his door.
"Remus? What’s up?" whispered Harry, relieved, as he rubbed sleep out of his eyes. "No, wait. Who are you really?" he demanded as he pointed his wand at the wizard. His scar warning him about Voldemort having some new plan coming together worried him.
"Harry, it’s me," the man said impatiently. "You’re in great danger. Grab your Invisibility Cloak and broom and come with me right now," Remus breathed, trying to push past Harry into the room. "We have to leave right away. Hurry!"
Harry stood his ground, a dangerous glint in his eye. "You will not move until I know who you are. Tell me something only Remus knows."
"Damn it, Harry, not now!"
"Yes, now, or I won’t go!" Harry said stubbornly, his wand pointed at the other wizard’s heart.
"OK, something only you and I would know. . .I can’t think." The man scratched his head and looked confused.
"What happened the day of my class’s first Hogsmeade visit?" Harry prompted.
"Oh! You couldn’t go. I invited you into my office to see the grindylow I’d just received, and we had tea and talked about what shape your boggart would be."
"And what would it be?"
"A Dementor."
"Good enough. Let me get my things," Harry replied, crawling quickly under his bed.
"Well done making sure I was really who I was supposed to be," Remus complimented as he entered the room. "Tell me where to look for what you need."
"It’s all under here. Hang on." Harry was already wriggling out from under his bed, dragging out his broom and his cloak. He pulled on socks and his trainers and stood up, then opened Hedwig’s cage and set her free. "Wait — where are we going?" he asked Lupin.
"Grimmauld Place."
"Go to Grimmauld Place, Hedwig," he told her, then turned to Lupin. "OK, I’m ready, let’s go," he said grimly as he followed his godfather down the stairs and out into the front garden. "Do I need to wear my Invisibility Cloak?" he asked as he mounted his broom.
"No, it’s just not easily replaced, so I wanted you to have it with you."
Harry was shocked. "Not easily. . .? What? Is something going to happen to the Dursleys?"
"Not necessarily them, but Death Eaters are attacking nearby, so you have to come with me," Remus said. "There are scary things going on tonight, Harry. No matter what you see or hear, you have to come with me. You can’t do anything to help."
"In Little Whinging?" Harry was appalled.
"There are Aurors and Order members out trying to stop them now. Your warning was a big help."
"And what do you mean, no matter. . ."
"That’s enough for now. Let’s go!" Remus cried, kicking off from the ground. The boy followed him and they soared over Privet Drive and off towards London and Grimmauld Place.
"Remus! Look!" Harry called, pointing to houses just a few streets over from his. "Dark Marks!"
"Yes, I know. Come on, lad, let’s see that Firebolt’s speed!"
Harry bent low over his broom, starting to fly faster as they headed toward London, but his eyes were scanning the ground, watching as the Dark Marks spread across Little Whinging, growing more uneasy by the moment. He suddenly screamed, "CASEY!" and turned his broom toward Casey’s house, where a Dark Mark had just appeared.
"Harry, stop!" Remus tore after his godson with all the speed his old Shooting Star could muster, but it was no Firebolt. "Stop! Harry! No!"
Harry was racing to Casey’s house as fast as the Firebolt could carry him. He was nearly unseated when he was hit from behind by both a Stunning spell and a set of ropes that tied him to his broom. Remus carefully summoned the Firebolt to keep it under Harry as he reeled him in. "I’m sorry," he said, his voice breaking, as he tied the ropes to his own broom, then flew the two of them to London as quickly as he could manage.
When they got to Grimmauld Place, Remus landed his broom, keeping Harry’s hovering, then gently guided Harry’s broom inside the house before untying the stunned boy and laying him gently on the floor at the foot of the stairs. Molly, Ginny, Ron, Fred and George Weasley ran to the door when they heard it open.
"Did you get him?" "Is he all right?" "What happened?" the Weasleys asked all at once.
"He’s safe. There are Dark Marks popping up all over Little Whinging," Remus replied darkly as he stood their brooms in the corner. "I had to stun him." Tears were in Remus’s eyes. "He saw the Dark Mark over Casey’s house and tried to go there."
Gasps of disbelief and sympathy spilled from the Weasleys as they surrounded Harry’s inert form.
Remus kneeled next to his godson and gently smoothed the hair off his forehead. "I know you’re angry with me, and I don’t blame you. What I did, I did for your own safety. There was nothing you could do, Harry. Please believe me. If there had been any way to help, I would’ve fought right beside you. I hope you know that." He paused, took a shuddering breath, and then said, "Enervate."
With a gasp, Harry sat up and stared wildly around him. "Where. . .? What. . .?" His eyes settled on Remus. "I. . .I just had a. ..a very bad. . . dream."
Remus gazed wearily into Harry’s frightened eyes. "Do you want to tell me about it?"
"I dreamed . . .I dreamed you came and got me from the Dursleys, and we flew away and there were Dark Marks. . .and . . .and . . ."
"It wasn’t a dream, Harry. It really happened." Remus put his hands on the boy’s shoulders, hoping to offer support, compassion, whatever he needed.
"No. It was a dream. It had to be," Harry said flatly.
"I’m telling you the truth. It wasn’t a dream."
"Then. . .then. . . ." Harry was quiet for a moment. Dawning awareness crossed his face, and he raised stricken eyes to his godfather. "Not Casey’s house. Not Casey."
"I’m so sorry, Harry, but yes, Casey’s house. We have people there checking on the situation right now," Remus replied, hoping there would be some good news soon.
At that moment, Tonks came in the door, looked at Remus and shook her head, an uncharacteristically serious look on her face.
Remus swallowed hard a couple of times before asking, "All?"
"Even the dog," Tonks said bitterly. "Even the bloody dog." She stomped away toward the living room and sat miserably with her head in her hands.
Harry’s face was ashen. "The dog?" he asked in a small voice.
Remus swallowed hard, wishing he could say anything but what he was about to say. "Harry, Tonks just checked Casey’s family. They’re. . .they’re all gone, even their dog. That’s what she just reported." Remus was as pale as Harry. The Weasleys were a mass of silent shock.
"Gone?" the boy asked in a small, shaky voice.
Remus’s eyes filled with tears as he said, "They’ve all been killed, Harry. I’m so sorry."
Harry looked around at his friends, studying one well-known face then the next, hoping to see a glimmer of hope somewhere. Every single person there was staring in anguish at Harry, Molly and Ginny, like Tonks, in tears. He went very still for a few moments, digesting what he’d been told, then a horrible scream tore out of his throat. "NOOOOOOO!" With his scream, a massive burst of magic came out of him that shattered every piece of glass in the entire house, every mirror, every dish, and all the crockery in the kitchen. Shards of glass flew everywhere in a whirlwind caused by Harry’s agony. Molly Weasley threw Ginny to the floor and covered her with her body, protecting her youngest child as best she could. Remus ripped Harry’s glasses off and chucked them as far away as possible, then threw himself over his godson to protect him. The boys and Tonks cowered under furniture or wherever they could shelter until Harry’s screaming stopped and the glass fell tinkling to the floor.
"Is everyone OK?" Tonks asked moments later as she crawled out from under a table in the living room. "SHUT UP YOU STUPID WITCH!" she cried, pulling the shredded curtains back over Mrs. Black’s screaming portrait.
Ron, Fred and George were cautiously emerging from various hiding places, gingerly shaking glass chips off their clothes, hair and skin. They were covered in scratches and cuts, some of them bleeding freely. The boys moved hesitantly to where their mother lay still over Ginny. "Mum? Mum? Are you ok? Mum?" They saw she had cuts on her back, arms and legs, but when Fred turned Molly over, they discovered the most serious injury, which was on the side of her neck.
"MUM!" Fred screamed as he and George tried to staunch the flow of blood. Ron moved frantically to Ginny. "Ginny? Ginny?" he said, his voice breaking as he turned his blood-drenched sister over.
"Ron!" Ginny cried as she threw her arms around her brother’s neck. "Are you. . .? Fred and George?"
"We’re fine. Mum’s hurt," Ron said, tears in his eyes. "Are you all right?"
"Yes, I’m fine. Just a few scratches," Ginny replied as she examined herself. "Where did all this blood come from?" With a start, she looked at her mother and burst into tears. "Mum? Mummy? No!"
Tonks was bent over Molly, her Auror’s First Aid Kit spread out beside her, putting a bandage on Molly’s neck wound. "I’ll have her right as rain in a few minutes, no worries," she asked the boys and Ginny. "Somebody look at Remus and Harry, OK?"
Ron moved to Remus and found the man covered in serious cuts, bleeding profusely. "Remus! Remus, can you hear me?" He got no response at first, then he saw the man stir. "Remus?"
"Aaah," Remus moaned as he moved a little. "There’s something in my back, isn’t there?"
"Yes, a nasty big bit of glass. Shall I pull it out?" asked Ron.
"Yes, do it quickly. Maybe it won’t hurt as much then," Remus agreed.
Ron grabbed a cloak off the hooks by the door and wrapped his hand in it before taking hold of the glass. He got the long, knife-like shard out and saw it was thickly covered in blood. "We need to get you to St. Mungo’s," Ron began, but Remus interrupted him.
"There are a few good things about being a werewolf," Remus said with a grim smile but panting with pain. "Those wounds will be healing in a few moments." He groaned as he got off of Harry. He was horrified to see his godson was unconscious. "Harry! Harry, can you hear me?" Nothing he did could rouse the boy. In tears, Remus picked him up in his arms and hugged him tightly, glass crunching under his knees as he moved. "Ah, Harry, I’m so sorry! Please wake up!"
"What’s wrong with him, Remus?" Ginny asked, torn between her concern for her mother and for Harry.
"I don’t know exactly. Shock at the very least. Maybe something worse. Maybe I hurt him when I threw him down." The man sobbed, an agonized expression on his face. "I was trying to protect him. . .it was so sudden, I was so scared, I wasn’t careful about how much strength I used. What if I hurt him?" He took a deep breath and tried to control himself. "We need to get Dumbledore here, and Madam Pomfrey. I don’t want to get St. Mungo’s involved in this. I don’t trust them to protect him properly." He looked over to where Tonks was caring for Molly. "Is she going to be all right?"
"She’s lost a bit of blood, but it doesn’t look like anything serious has been severed. I think St. Mungo’s can fix her up pretty quickly," Tonks replied. "Fred, would you contact your dad and get him to come here and bring some kind of transport for her? George, get your mother’s bag and cloak. No woman wants to go anywhere without her bag and cloak. Ron, you contact Professor Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey and tell them what’s happened. Madam Pomfrey will need to get here as soon as possible to take care of Harry. Oh, and Fred, I need you to stay here and guard the place — we need an adult Wizard here, and Remus is going to be busy with Harry, so you’re what we’ve got. George can help me get your mum to St. Mungo’s. All right?" she finished brightly.
"What about me?" Ginny asked as she sat holding her mother’s bloody hand.
"You told me you wanted to be a healer, didn’t you?" said Tonks kindly.
"Yes," Ginny replied in a small voice.
"Then I need you to go and help Remus with Harry. Remus doesn’t know a lot about medicine and it will be a while before Madam Pomfrey can get here. I know he will appreciate your help. Harry will need to be checked for injuries. He and Remus will both need their wounds cleaned and bandaged. Taking care of them is your job. OK?"
Ginny looked down at her mother, who’d sacrificed herself for her daughter. She should go with her mum, shouldn’t she?
Tonks recognized the girl’s indecision. "Ginny, if your mum was in your place, what would she do?"
"She’d take care of her family," Ginny said with no hesitation.
Tonks squatted in front of the grieving girl and looked her in the eye. "We have plenty of Weasleys to go around, don’t we? So while your brothers are helping me with your mum, you can take care of the rest of your family — which is Harry, right? Your mum would want you to take care of him, wouldn’t she? She wouldn’t blame him for what happened, would she?"
"No, of course not!"
"So given the choice of you or Ron to take care of Harry when he’s injured. . .?"
"Mum would choose me. I’m the one who helps her take care of the others when they’re sick. Ron’s hopelessly squeamish," Ginny replied in a subdued voice.
"Am not," protested Ron, but quietly. He seemed to be lost between staring at Harry’s still form and his mother’s blood-soaked body.
Ginny almost smiled at her brother’s response. "OK, I’ll stay with Harry and Remus."
"Good girl. I’ll send word as soon as I know something about your mum, all right?" Tonks assured her.
"Thanks," Ginny replied.
Remus stopped rocking Harry and cleaned the glass off himself and Harry as best he could, then shook out a cloak and covered Harry to try to keep him warm in case shock was part of what was wrong with him. He stood up resolutely with the motionless boy in his arms and carried him tenderly upstairs to his room. As Ginny followed them up the stairs, Fred returned. "Got hold of Dad, he’s on the way here now."
"Good. Let’s go," Tonks said to George.
"Fred can go, too. I can guard the place," Ron offered.
"You have a job to do, go and get it done, and then you can help Fred — or better yet, both of you do the contacting — there’s more than one fireplace in this house, after all — and then it will be done more quickly. Off with you, we need to get your mum to hospital," Tonks said, shooing the boys away. She conjured up a stretcher then levitated Molly onto it and sent her toward the door. The door opened quickly, with Arthur Weasley racing through it.
"Molly! Molly, darling, Molly!" he cried as he bent over his unconscious wife. He looked up at Tonks. "Is she. . .?"
"She’ll be fine. We need to go," Tonks replied.
"And the children, are they all right?" Arthur persisted, looking around for his children, and seeing the still form of Harry in Remus’s arms, near the top of the stairs, with Ginny close behind them. "What happened to Harry?"
"I’ll tell you about it on the way. Your children are fine. Harry. . .we’ll talk about it on the way," Tonks said and she, Arthur and George all left with Molly floating on the stretcher in front of them.
Ginny called down the stairs. "Ron!"
"Yeah?"
"When you’ve finished the job Tonks gave you, could you and Fred clear the glass up so it’s safe to walk around the house? And we’ll need a jug of cool water and something to drink out of up here, too."
"OK," Ron agreed.
Fred looked at Ron as they entered the devastated kitchen. "I don’t know what she thinks we’ll put the water in," Fred mused. "Every single thing is shattered in here."
"Weren’t there silver or pewter goblets and jugs somewhere?" asked Ron.
"If Mundungus didn’t make off with them after Sirius died," Fred replied as they began searching the kitchen. "He wanted to sell them. They were solid silver."
"Remus can’t use silver, we’ll have to find something else for him," Ron reminded Fred.
* * * * *
Upstairs, Ginny took the covers off Harry’s bed and shook them out, then used a cleansing charm to remove all the shards of glass from the windows, mirrors and chandeliers that had shattered all over the beds, other furniture and the floor. She turned down the covers on Harry’s bed as Remus removed Harry’s shirt, shorts, shoes and socks near the doorway, shaking bits of glass out onto the floor so they wouldn’t end up in his bed. He ran his fingers through Harry’s untidy hair to shake out any glass that was there, then pulled Harry’s shorts on again, wrapped the cloak around the unconscious boy and carried him over to the bed.
"His wounds need to be cleaned and treated," said Remus. "If you can stay with him, I’ll put him into bed and find something to wash him with. There must be a metal basin or bucket around here somewhere."
"You get him settled, and I’ll go get the things to clean his wounds," Ginny offered. "I know where a metal pan and the other things are. I’ll need to look at your wounds too. You’ve got them everywhere — you won’t be able to clean the ones on your back very well." She was very matter-of-fact about dealing with both Remus’s and Harry’s wounds. Remus smiled in admiration. He didn’t know Ginny could be this level-headed in a crisis.
When she returned, Harry was in bed and Remus left to clean himself up as well as he could. Ginny wasn’t prepared for the sight of Harry covered in blood. Tears sprang to her eyes as she set to work. At least he’d been on the floor, so his back had no wounds, and Remus had protected him from the majority of the glass. Harry had cuts on his forehead and cheeks, his arms and hands and legs, with a few on his chest as well. She carefully removed shards of glass from the wounds and washed them gently, applying healing ointment to each one as she went. Thankfully, none of the cuts were deep. Most were just long and straight, as if he’d been raked with claws many times. She worked steadily, not allowing herself to think that it was Harry she was working on, Harry who she’d loved all her life, Harry who she was still too shy to talk to about anything but Quidditch or the D.A. most of the time, Harry who could make her blush by just glancing at her. Her attempt at keeping her emotional distance was failing spectacularly. Tears spilled down her face and she sobbed, pausing long enough to rub her streaming eyes before getting back to work on his numerous injuries. He was so still. He should be waking up if he’d just hit his head, shouldn’t he? Why wasn’t he waking up? "Mum, I need you!" she whispered. "I wish you were here. I don’t know what else to do." She covered Harry and straightened up just as Remus entered the room.
Remus saw her distress and gave her a moment to collect herself, busying himself with picking up Harry’s t-shirt, socks and trainers. "Ginny, you need to wash that blood off so we can see how you are," Remus said kindly. "Have you finished attending to Harry?"
"I’ve treated all the wounds I could find. Maybe you should look to see if I’ve missed anything. Let me look at your wounds. I think you got the worst of it."
"I suppose I was at the centre of that particular storm," he said with a rueful smile. "There are some places on my back, and the back of my legs, that I couldn’t see well enough to deal with properly."
Ginny picked glass out of his wounds and asked, "Should I put ointment or bandages on them? They seem to be healing already."
"One of the few benefits of being a werewolf," Remus commented dryly. "Just getting the glass out should be good enough, unless the big one on my back is still bleeding a lot. That might need a bandage just to keep me from dripping blood everywhere."
Ginny bandaged the largest wounds and left to clean her own injuries and check on her brothers. Remus sat beside Harry’s bed. "Harry, wake up," he said quietly. "Please wake up." He took the boy’s hand in his and sat quietly, not knowing what else to do to help him.
Author Notes:
Many thanks to my brilliant Brit-picker, Kelpie, and to my beta-readers Blakevich, Starfox and Pilar!