Courage - Harry Potter

-125-

Book: Courage
Chapter 125
Word Count: 2314

Quite suddenly, a high, cold voice spoke so close to them that they all thought Voldemort had re-entered the room.

Voldemort's voice reverberated from the walls and floor.

"You have fought," said the high, cold voice, "valiantly. Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery. Yet you have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste. Lord Voldemort is merciful. I command my forces to retreat immediately. You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured. I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to you. You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then battle recommences. This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you, and I shall punish every last man, woman, and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour."

"Don't listen to him," said Layla, turning to Harry.

"It'll be all right," said Hermione wildly. "Let's — let's get back to the castle, if he's gone to the forest, we'll need to think of a new plan—"

She glanced at Snape's body, then hurried back to the tunnel entrance. Ron followed her, then Layla, and then Harry.

They crawled back through the tunnel, none of them talking. The three of them hurried toward the stone steps. A lone dog, the size of a small boat, lay abandoned in front of them. There was no other sign of Grawp or of his attacker.

The castle was unnaturally silent. There were no flashes of light now, no bangs or screams or shouts. The flagstones of the deserted entrance hall were stained with blood. Emeralds were still scattered all over the floor, along with pieces of marble and splintered wood. Part of the banisters had been blown away.

"Where is everyone?" whispered Layla. Ron led the way to the Great Hall.

The House tables were gone and the room was crowded. The survivors stood in groups, their arms around each other's necks. The injured were being treated upon the raised platform by Madam Pomfrey and a group of helpers. Firenze was amongst the injured; his flank poured blood and he shook where he lay, unable to stand.

The dead lay in a row in the middle of the Hall. Layla could not see Fred's body, because his family surrounded him. George was kneeling at his head; Mrs Weasley was lying across Fred's chest, her body shaking. Mr Weasley stroking her hair while tears cascaded down his cheeks.

Without a word to Harry, Layla, Ron and Hermione walked away. Layla approached Ginny, whose face was swollen and blotchy, and pulled the redhead into her arms.

Ron joined Bill, Fleur, and Percy, who flung an arm around Ron's shoulders. As Ginny moved closer to the rest of the family, Layla went to follow but paused when she spotted the bodies lying next to Fred. Remus and Tonks, pale and still and peaceful-looking, apparently asleep beneath the dark, enchanted ceiling.

The Great Hall seemed to fly away, become smaller, shrink, as Layla reeled backward. She could not draw breath.

"No," her whisper was unheard. Her friends hadn't seemed to notice the bodies, yet Mr Weasley glanced in her direction, his eyes watery as he stared in pity. "No... no!"

The raise of her voice had caught the attention of her friends as they followed Layla's gaze to her deceased father and step-mother. Hermione's hand flew to her mouth in shock, Ron's eyes flew from Fred, to Remus, to Tonks repeatedly, and Harry was stunned speechless. He tried to reach for Layla's hand but she yanked hers away, staggering forward clumsily. It was like her legs did not know how to work themselves anymore as she collapsed between the two parents. She gripped her father's cold, lifeless hand in hers as her face soon became a waterfall of emotions, tears cascading down her slowly paling cheeks.