Moments in Love

In the Wake of the Storm

The angry Shade of the Dark Lord had fled through the bodies of the fallen on the field of battle, and into the Forbidden Forest when his head had been unceremoniously stricken from his body. He sought a creature to inhabit which could bear him until he could find another wizard willing to bring him back.

Temporarily, the Dark Lord possessed a crow, and flew off into the wilds of the Scottish Highlands, transferring from one small animal to another as their bodies failed. Finally he found an adder and he was pleased. A venomous snake was the only animal capable of being possessed by the Dark Lord indefinitely without expiring.

The Dark Lord considered his options. He could find his way to a seaport, and hide on a vessel bound for Europe, and make his way to his old haunts in Albania, biding his time as he developed another plan. But the risks were too great. Dumbledore would be expecting that.

No, the Dark Lord needed to act quickly and find a wizard to possess who would survive the process long enough until he found another to return him to his rightful form. He needed to stay in Britain so that he could seek vengeance in a timely manner. But he couldn't act near Hogwarts, where Dumbledore might surely find him out.

The Dark Lord needed to be elsewhere; he slithered south and crossed the border into England.

~o0o~

Madam Pomfrey ignored the wounded attackers lying on the front lawn, leaving them to the devices of the Healers who were already arriving from St Mungo's, and the Aurors who would soon be following.

All weariness from the long night forgotten, Madam Pomfrey bustled around the Hospital Wing tending to the Potters and their friends. She was relieved to no end that they had all survived the tumultuous ordeal that they had faced. Fleur, Daphne, Parvati, Viktor, Ginny, and Dora seemed none the worse for wear, but the rest needed looking after.

"Well, Mr Potter, you shouldn't be conscious at all," Madam Pomfrey shook her head in amazement as she passed Harry a foul smelling potion to drink. "That was quite a nasty spell you took. It should have damaged your internal organs far more than it did."

Harry winced as he sat up in his bed to take the potion. Once the battle was over and Voldemort lay dead, Harry's adrenaline had diminished; exhaustion and pain had set in.

"It must be these Chinese symbols," Harry replied as he took a whiff of the potion and wrinkled his nose. "I'm not sure why though - I thought they only protected our internal organs and bones from physical injury."

Harry peered questioningly at Hermione who was lying in another bed next to his.

"I'm not sure why either Harry," Hermione responded with a shrug which made her groan in pain. "All I can think is that they must have made our internal organs extremely resilient."

"Well, be that as it may, your spleen, kidneys, and liver received a nasty shock and you'll still need to drink that potion Mr Potter," Madam Pomfrey said in a brisk manner. "Come on then, drink up. I need to look after your wife and the others..."

Harry grimaced, then quickly downed the revolting potion so that Madam Pomfrey could move on to her next patient.

"Urgh, that's horrid..." he gasped.

"Very good Mr Potter," Pomfrey's stern features softened and she smiled at him. "One more of those each evening over the next few days and you'll be as right as rain. You should feel lucky - you might have been drinking that several times a day for a few weeks. You can have a pain potion and a sleeping draught after I've given everyone else a look."

Harry nodded and took a sip of water to rinse the vile taste from his mouth while Madam Pomfrey examined Hermione who had come up black and blue over nearly every inch of her body.