CONTROL(Harry Potter x MCU)

113.Inside My Head

Effy's POV

I numbly walked back to the castle leaning against Ron who had his arm wrapped against my waist. Everything was quiet, dust had settled, fires put out, piles of stone and rubble stained with blood, and broken wands scattered everywhere, it seemed like a miracle that the castle was even standing at all.

"Where is everyone?" Hermione whispered confused as we paused for a moment to look around then continued on with Ron an I leading the group. We arrived at the closed doors of the Great Hall and gently pushing them open.

The House tables had been pushed to the walls. The injured stand in groups, arms slung over one another, waiting to be treated by Pomfrey and the other healers who had volunteered to assist her.

The deceased lay in rows surrounded by their loved ones who were crying over them. At the head of the hall was a group of Gingers who stood with Sirius, Remus, and Tonks, all crying as we slowly made our way towards them.

"There they are!" Ginny gasped when she saw us but then she froze as we made eye contact.

"Persefoni?" She called out. Her voice carrying through the hall causing several heads to turn in our direction. Without any further hesitation she rushed forward hugging me as I wrapped my arms around her shoulders, sliding my left hand up to cradle the back of her head.

"You're alive. You're here." She cried softly as I felt her tears run down my bare shoulder.

"I'm here." I whispered while making eye contact with my family. Who all looked at me with shock and... love. It was nothing like what I was conditioned to believe at the Manor. This was real, this was what I wanted myself to believe through the torture, the love I tried so hard to hold onto. And here it was, waiting for me.

Without letting go of Ginny I reached out for Sirius and before I knew it, I was in the middle of a giant group hug. We stood there for a moment, content with the feeling of being together after months of being away from each other, then everyone started to back away as everyone turned their attention towards me. Even members of the DA had wandered over to see if it was really me standing here. I looked around at all of them in silence before Remus spoke up.

"Where, um...where have you been?" He asked an I sighed, mentally trying to figure out the right way to explain what happened.

"The night of the wedding, as all you know the Burrow was attacked." I paused to make sure everyone was on the same page an after a received a few nods in response I continued to speak as I fiddled with the wand in my hand.

"Well...I put the kids in there hiding place an I was getting ready to run back to the wedding when I was stopped by Fenrir Greyback an um...he took me to the um, the Malfoy Manor. From there I was given an offer to join the Death Eaters- Which I totally refused by the way. I would never do that, I swear." I muttered as my gaze shifted to a random stone on the floor as tears slowly filled my eyes but I refused to let them fall.

"But um they, Bellatrix kind of, well it's um hard to explain really but I was locked in the cellar there until late February? Maybe it was April, I'm not sure but um, I was to weak to heal myself. My powers couldn't fix my...injuries so they called Severus and he faked my death, and he brought me here. He put me to sleep and he healed me with Pomfrey's help of course. By the time I woke up...everyone thought I was dead so he told me I'd be safe. That they wouldn't come for me because no one hunts a ghost. Then when Harry was seen in Hogsmead I figured I'd been a ghost long enough." I explained in a wavering tone as my hands shook an I heard gasps around me as I tried to ignore it.

"Why didn't you-" Seamus started to ask an I sighed having an idea of what the rest of his question would be.

"Because you guys where here. They said if I fought it they'd hurt you. Sometimes if I got snappy they'd bring in Muggle-borns or just random Muggles that they disguised as you guys and they'd um... kill them in front of me. A person can only watch their family die so many times before they don't have any fight left." I mumbled bitterly. I hated them, I hated Bellatrix, I hated Greyback, I hated Scabior, I hated Voldemort, I hated this stupid war, I hated my stupid powers. I hated-