Redemption I

Chapter 38

"Molly?" Remus' voice carried over the front lawn. The others having appeared slightly to the right of his position behind some trees. The door to the house came open in an instant, the woman who had been summoned hurrying down the steps.

"Oh my goodness!" Her eyes grew wide when she saw the limp form in his arms.

"Where's Luna and Neville?" He continued towards her but he could see she was conflicted.

"They-They're already inside with Maybelle..." Her brows furrowed deeply when a noise came from the trees and she raised her wand trying to still her rapidly beating heart.

"Thank you." Remus shifted his hold turning pausing only slightly as Ron was the first to come through the brush.

"Mom...?"

"Oh, Great Merlin!" She was torn between the two but Remus just bowed his head slightly giving her permission to go to her children, "Oh my baby!"

Molly rushed forward taking Ron into her arms holding him tight. He was sporting a few rather nasty looking wounds, the entire right side of his shirt was missing, leaving the large gash that had cut along his side exposed to the elements.

When Ginny came through she nearly lost herself with emotion. Her face was a total bloody mess from all the bits of stone that had cut across her face at high speed. Though she didn't look injured anywhere else the blood that had stained her face made the woman's heart thump nearly out of her chest.

"Let's get you inside..." She sniffled and looked at Ginny again running her hand over her still bleeding face before taking her under her arm. She glanced back watching Tonks and Fleur come through next with Harry, who didn't look that bad for ware.

"Hermione...it's Hermione...we got her..." Ron was still in a bit of a haze, the blood he'd unknowingly lost, leaving him a bit like a broken record. Molly just shook her head and took him by his elbow leading him towards the house.

oOo

Snape hissed as he pressed a compression cloth around his waist. The werewolf hadn't held back when he'd sent him into the pillar. He was certain that being unconscious at the time of Potter's escape was the only thing that kept him from feeling the full brunt of Voldemort's wrath.

The man had been waiting for them, inside the ballroom ready to lure Harry away from the others before the rest of the Order had shown up. He had retreated then, to the upper floors. Why he hadn't come down was still a mystery to Snape but he was just thanking every fate that resided above that he had made it out alive. After all, he was never one to interrupt his enemy when they were making a mistake.

He'd gone down to the cellar shortly after he'd come to; only to find that Granger's cell was empty and Wormtail had bled out along the wall inside the cell, back in his human form after death. Snape wondered just who exactly had done him in. He wasn't sure if it had been Granger or not but he wouldn't have put anything past her at this point.

A sharp pain in his lower back brought him back to focus and he shifted himself in the mirror to try and see where to put more bruise salve. The school had nearly been overrun in the short time he'd been gone. The Dumbledore's Army brats had done whatever they could to give the two death eaters on staff a run for their money.

He had put the entire school in lockdown for their trespasses before the Carrows were able to take any of them to the dungeons. He'd also warned them that should they dare to leave, the punishment would be severe. He was very certain that none of them would heed his words but he had hoped they'd be a little more stealthy about their movements from now on. He couldn't outright support them but he could pretend not to care whether or not the Carrows extracted their revenge.