Allies and Enemies

Chapter Thirty-Three: Brought Back

As I dragged the body of my unconscious brother to the cliff to teleport him off, we were being chased. I shot a few spells behind my shoulder, hearing with satisfaction the sound of droids buzzing and dying. I gathered my strength and hurled myself off the cliff, keeping a tight grip on my brother. I teleported and landed hard on my back on the cold floor of the Portal Room, knocking the wind out of myself. I waited until I regained my breath and then dragged Anakin to the hospital wing, panting all the way there. With a bit of my strength, I lifted him onto a bed and then collapsed into a chair, exhausted. Rowan came running down the hall and burst into a room, a scratch bleeding on her forehead.

"You okay?" I asked, eyeing her scratch.

"Yeah," she replied. "It's not bad. Are you okay?" She eyed my bruises and minor cuts.

"Fine," I responded. "So my guess is brainwashing. You know, to cure everyone. So here's to hoping that maybe if we give them a good knock on the head perhaps it'll scramble the brain cells back to what they once were."

"Then again, it could be more than that," Rowan mused. "It could be due to the situation they were in when they exited the Underworld. In that case..."

"Could you do something?" I pleaded.

"If they were brainwashed from the start, they... err... might have to be killed to get them back to their mindset," Rowan muttered. My eyes widened.

"But we can't kill them!" I yelped. "Then... then..." I trailed off, not wanting to think about it.

"I know. Let's just hope it doesn't come to that," Rowan sighed. She tapped on a datapad. "I'm compiling a list of who's been... you know. Here." She handed it to me. "The names slowly coming into view are people who are dying. Bold names are already gone." I scrolled through, feeling a pang in my heart with every name. Then I stopped cold. Rose's name was appearing on the list. Rose Granger-Weasley.

"I'll be right back," I said over my shoulder, already darting out the door. I sprinted down the hallways to the mess hall, which was being used temporarily as a hospital wing until Rowan enlarged the actual hospital wing to accomodate evdryone. I scanned the mass of people until I found Rose. She was coughing and choking.

"New spell," McGonagall said hoarsely. "One that kills slowly. We found her like this. Seems to have been affecting her the entire time we were fighting." She shook her head sadly. I knelt by Rose's side. No. I thought. She's too young. No.

"Rose," I whispered. "Rose."

"Kianna," she mumbled, before convulsing yet again.

"Who?" I asked softly. "Who could have done this to you?" Rose's eyes filled with tears, from the pain of the spell or the true answer, I couldn't tell.

"Mother," she breathed. "Father." She went still. I stared at her cold, dead face for a little longer, remembering the vibrance that had filled it just moments ago, before her words sank in. No. I backed away in horror. No. Hermione. Ron. I backed out the door and found my way to Rowan.

"Hermione," I said, hugging myself. "Ron. Rose."

"What's happened? Did you figure out..." Rowan trailed off.

"A spell," I rasped. "Created by Hermione. She killed her own daughter." Tears flowed down my face. I didn't bother to stop them. Hermione was smart, clever, but she was kind, and caring. I hated what the evils of the world had done to her. She didn't deserve any of this. None of them do. I thought. I disappeared out the door and went back to the mess hall, looking at every dead face, remembering who they were. I comforted every injured individual, sometimes to their deathbed. Too much death occured today. Too much had happened. I asked every single person who their attacker had been, what had happened to them. I listened to every single story, let them be more motivation to fight. I turned every sharp pang of my heart, every feeling of anger and rage at our enemies, and turned it into energy. So when Rowan called me to the hospital wing, I was ready to fight, even though I probably wouldn't. But that all deflated out of me and was replaced with joy once I saw who was there. Anakin. Sitting up. Recognizing me. And grinning.