Lillian 'Anna' Potter || Goblet of Fire

Chapter Forty-Six: Shattered Emeralds

They arrived in a flash.

    The sunlight was far too bright compared to the dark graveyard she’d been forced to endure for the past few hours - and she couldn’t help her flinch as people began to crowd her, her vision going in and out of focus.

    “The Potter girl? What is she doing here?”

    “My god! Diggory! Dumbledore - he’s dead!”

    “What's going on?” Dumbledore’s face came into her vision - the only object she was capavle of honing in on through the chaos. His eyes shone with concern. “What happened?”

    “He’s back.” Anna could only whisper. Her mind seemed to still be overrun with shock, and it was impossible to think straight. “He’s back. He’s back. He’s back.”

    “Who’s back?” Dumbledore asked calmly - remarkably calm and patient for dealing with Anna’s burnt-out brain.

    “Voldemort. He’s back. He - he cut me. Blood - all over my clothes.” She kept babbling and babbling - her thoughts incoherent and disconnected. What’s wrong with you? Dumbledore can’t help unless you give him answers! Anna chastised herself internally, but her lips seemed to have a mind of their own - sputtering the events she had witnessed all out of order.

    “Miss. Potter - we...we need to get you to the hospital wing.” McGonagall said - placing a tentative hand on Anna’s back. Truthfully, Anna hadn’t even processed her presence at all. “Come now.”

    “Professor - but Cedric-” She choked.

    Cedric. Did she even care for him at all anymore? After all, he was the one who had betrayed her. He was the one who had dismissed her.

    Yet he was still the one unbreathing.

    “We’re taking care of him.” McGonagall reassured her, her feet moving automatically with her professor’s subtle pushes as she helped her to the medical wing.

    Robotically, she sat there as Madam Pomfrey cleaned and bandaged her wounds - placing some sort of ointment to help them heal underneath the fluffy gauze as she worked.

    “We’ll get you a new shirt, dear.” She comforted her as she cut away her bloodied blouse and tied a gown around her body. “Is there anything else you need?”

    All of a sudden, she realized that Harry was no longer beside her, and it was like a switch flipped as Anna’s head flicked up in alarm. “Harry - where is he?”

    Because the rest of her family was gone - gone in the world of death where she couldn’t yet follow. Harry was the only one left - what if while she was with Madam Pomfrey, he went away too?

    “I need my brother.” She said confidently, attempting to sit up and look for him herself, but Madam Pomfrey pushed her gently back down.

    “You have to lie down, Miss Potter!”

    “I need my family!” Anna protested - emerald eyes dilating and panicked as she broke out of Madam Pomfrey’s hold and dashed out of the Medical Wing.

    Ignoring the shouts for her return, she continued to run - only stopping when she found him.

    “Draco.” She whispered hoarsely. His silver eyes were wide as he gazed back at her.

    Anna was certain she wasn’t a sight for sore eyes. Her cloth gown was frumpy, and some blood from the wound across her shoulder blades had leached through the bandages and across the cream fabric. She was covered in bandages and her hair was a mess, but none of that seemed to matter as Draco crossed the space between them in two strides and collected her sickly form into his arms.

    “Anna.” He said quietly, voice low. From the way his heart was racing, she figured he had witnessed the scene of her and Harry’s return and had been looking for her ever since. “What happened to you?”

    “I’m so sorry, Draco.” She whispered into his sweater - breathing in the familiar scent of his cedar cologne as she clutched at the fabric. “I’m sorry I hurt you. I didn’t want to, but Cedric-”

    “I should apologize too. About Diggory.” Draco amended. “I shouldn’t have pushed so hard. I should’ve respected your feelings for him, but I...I couldn’t accept it.”

    Anna only shook her head into his shoulder. “Don’t be sorry about him.” She suddenly felt drained, and she held onto him tighter - as if by doing so, he could lend her some of his strength. “He cheated on me.”

    She felt him stiffen.

    “I found out right before I was taken.” Anna continued - finding herself unable to stop. “He was snogging Cho Chang, and I just...I-”

    “Don’t.” Draco said - his tone dark. “Don’t you dare defend that scoundrel. He might be dead, but that doesn’t mean he should get away with what he did to you.”

    She looked up at him - eyes desperate. “Please don’t tell anyone. I don’t want people to remember him like that when he’s dead.”

    Draco scoffed.

    “Please.” Anna pressed. “I don’t want people to pity me more than they already do.”

She'd already noticed the looks. Hell, since her second year Anna had seen more of those pitying stares than anyone needed in a lifetime. Cedric was already dead, but if people found out that he had been cheating on her...

Anna was no charity case.

    He swallowed. “I don’t pity you.” He finally said, after a long silence. “I just wish I could’ve killed that bloody bastard myself.”

    She only then relaxed against him in relief - finding comfort in not only his words but his arms. “Thank you.” Anna whispered. She couldn’t muster anything else at the moment.

If she was being honest with herself, she felt so broken and shattered - and seeing all of her dead loved ones had reopened a lot of wounds she thought had already closed. It would’ve been impossible to put the pain she felt into words, but just him being there, holding her together like he was, it was enough.