Written In The Stars VI -[Harry Potter xF!Oc]

Chapter Twenty-Seven: A Silent Night.

Something was warm and heavy on the right side of her neck, her hand went up to push it away, but someone stopped her. 

Erick was sitting on the left side of her bed, over his shoulder, she heard Ron's voice.

"...Bill fought those maniacs on Dumbledore's orders, Dumbledore owes him, he can't leave him in this state—"

"Ron — Dumbledore's dead," Ginny replied.

Mel stared up at the ceiling. All that work to keep the school safe, and now it would be more at risk than ever, the school was helpless, Dumbledore was dead.

"How did he die?" asked Tonks. "How did it happen?"

"Snape killed him," Harry's voice filled her with immense relief, even if the news he was giving was far from happy. "I was there, I saw it. We arrived back at the Astronomy Tower because that's where the Mark was... Dumbledore was ill, he was weak, but I think he realized it was a trap when we heard footsteps running up the stairs. He immobilized me, I couldn't do anything, I was under the Invisibility Cloak — and then Malfoy came through the door and disarmed him — more Death Eaters arrived — and then Snape — and Snape did it. The Avada Kedavra."

Mel gained a bit of strength out of pure spite, she attempted to sit up but Madam Pomfrey's yelling stopped her.

"Don't even think about it!"

Everyone looked at her, Lupin approached and sat at the edge of her bed, Hermione, Ron, and a hesitant Harry followed, he was extremely pale.

"You are in a very delicate state!" Pomfrey continued. "You got broken ribs and a punctured lung... it was tough work—"

Mel opened her mouth to speak but Madam Pomfrey scolded her again.

"Don't try to talk! They cut your throat, it'll be a while before you can speak— if I manage to heal you completely, that is..."

The girl tried to touch her neck again, this time it was Ron who stopped her. 

"It's dittany," He explained. "If you take it off your cuts won't seal."

"Mel... did you hear..." Hermione started gently. "Did you hear what happened? About... about Dumbledore?"

Harry looked down in shame, Mel didn't want him to feel that way, it hadn't been his fault, it was all Snape's... She looked down and noticed her right arm was also covered in the greenish stuff, her thigh as well, if the curse hadn't struck her sideways she would've died, no amount of vital energy coming from Harry would've kept her conscious.

She could hear Fawkes' distant cries, his song echoing through her. She was so thankful for the lack of casualties...  But what about later? Without Dumbledore, without a leader, his plans, did they really stand a chance against Voldemort?

Mel looked back at Harry: there was a vibrant red mark crossing the side of his neck all the way up to his jaw, it looked as if he'd been burned. Those marks had to be the remnants of her own injuries, she assumed that his arm, thorax and leg were probably looking like that too, but they would go away, just like the bruises she'd gotten after helping him survive Voldemort when they were fourteen.

Perhaps she was staring at him too much, Harry quickly tried to make her feel better.

"It doesn't hurt," He assured her. "I fainted as soon as we got here but I'm good now, Madame Pomfrey gave me a potion. I'm fine."

She shook her head with tears threatening to wash away the dittany. He wasn't fine, everyone could see that, she finally understood how he must've felt when looking at her bruises two years ago, she'd been too harsh when she judged him for the way he'd reacted.