Everlasting (H.P x fem.reader) YEARS 1-4

Year Three: Chapter Twenty-One

3rd person POV:

"Shocking business... shocking... miracle none of them died... never heard the like...pity about what happened with M/n, though...by thunder, it was lucky you were there, Snape..."

"Thank you, Minister."

"Order of Merlin, Second Class, I'd say. First Class, if I can wangle it!"

"Thank you very much indeed, Minister."

"Nasty cut you've got there... Black's work, I suppose?"

"As a matter of fact, it was Potter, L/n, Weasley, and Granger, Minister..."

"No!"

"Black had bewitched them, I saw it immediately. A Confundus Charm, to judge by their behavior. They seemed to think there was a possibility he was innocent. They weren't responsible for their actions. On the other hand, their interference might have permitted Black to escape... They obviously thought they were going to catch Black single-handed. They've got away with a great deal before now... I'm afraid it's given them a rather high opinion of themselves... and of course Potter and L/n has always been allowed an extraordinary amount of license by the headmaster --"

"Ah, well, Snape... Harry Potter, you know... we've all got a bit of a blind spot where he's concerned. And we've got give Y/n a break after what's happened with M/n."

"And yet -- is it good for them to be given so much special treatment? Personally, I try and treat them like any other student. And any other student would be suspended -- at the very least -- for leading their friends into such danger. Consider, Minister -- against all school rules -- after all the precautions put in place for their protection -- out-of-bounds, at night, consorting with a werewolf and a murderer -- and I have reason to believe the boy has been visiting Hogsmeade illegally too --"

"Well, well... we shall see, Snape, we shall see... The two of them have undoubtedly been foolish...."

Harry lay listening with his eyes tight shut. He felt very groggy. The words he was hearing seemed to be traveling very slowly from his ears to his brain, so that it was difficult to understand.... His limbs felt like lead; his eyelids too heavy to lift.... He wanted to lie here, on this comfortable bed, forever....

"What amazes me most is the behavior of the Dementors... you've really no idea what made them retreat, Snape?"

"No, Minister... by the time I had come 'round they were heading back to their positions at the entrances — but M/n was already down..."

"Extraordinary. And yet Black, Harry, Y/n, and the girl --"

"All unconscious by the time I reached them. I could tell M/n had gotten the kiss when I got within a foot of her. I bound and gagged Black, naturally, conjured stretchers, and brought them all straight back to the castle."

There was a pause. Harry's brain seemed to be moving a little faster, and as it did, a gnawing sensation grew in the pit of his stomach....

He opened his eyes.  Everything was slightly blurred. Somebody had removed his glasses. He was lying in the dark hospital wing. At the very end of the ward, he could make out Madam Pomfrey with her back to him, bending over a bed. Harry squinted. Ron's red hair was visible beneath Madam Pomfrey's arm.  Harry moved his head over on the pillow. In the bed to his left, Y/n lay unconscious. He looked all the way down the ward on the opposite side of Ron.

The curtain was mostly drawn except for a crack next to the wall; M/n was sitting straight up in the bed, her face completely blank as she seemed to sway. The sight made Harry sick to his stomach and he had to force himself to look away.