PRINCESS ➳ harry potter , draco malfoy (OLD VERSION)

92 || Lost

A/N: A much shorter chapter than usual but I think it's a nice way to wrap up the Half-Blood Prince.

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The students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had been awoken to the sounds of banging and screaming in the corridors. The news that Death Eaters had entered the castle spread rapidly, and no sooner had Severus Snape escaped did the pyjama-clad students file out into the dark grounds to check that the Death Eaters were indeed gone.

A black mound could be seen lying on the grass at the foot of the Astronomy Tower. Katie, of course, knew exactly what this mound was, as did Lupin, Ginny, Ron, Hermione and Harry, but no one else did, so they all moved, overwhelmed by curiosity, towards the mound. As people drew closer, they let out cries of shock or horrified gasps, and many people burst into tears.

Harry pushed to the front of the ground and Katie, Hermione, Ron and Ginny followed him, each of them shaking from head-to-toe.

When he reached the fallen Albus Dumbledore, Harry dropped to his knees at his side and reached out, with a trembling hand, to straighten the half-moon spectacles that rested on his crooked nose. Katie could not seem to stifle her tears, and neither could Hermione.

Amidst the darkness, there was a flicker of light. Professor McGonagall had raised her wand in respect for Dumbledore. One by one, the students and the other teachers raised their wands also, until a ring of gentle light obscured the dense darkness of the night, bidding farewell to the great Albus Dumbledore.

Harry started to tremble and it was safe to assume that he was crying. Ginny stepped forwards to comfort him and Katie felt a hand grip her elbow. She turned to see that it was Ron, white-faced, lip quivering.

"C'mon..." he said quietly. Evidently, he had also taken Hermione's arm, because she too turned around, nodded, and together, the three of them walked silently back up the lawn and into the castle.

Bill Weasley had been attacked by Fenrir Greyback and suffered great injuries to his face, injuries that Madam Pomfrey said would leave prominent scars. When she saw Bill lying in the bed, his face so grotesquely disfigured, Katie absent-mindedly reached up to touch the scar on her face that Remus Lupin had given her when she was thirteen years old. She remembered how much that small strike from a werewolf had hurt, so she could not even begin to imagine the pain that Bill was in.

Remus must have noticed her touching her scar because he put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry about that." he said, and judging by his quiet tone, he meant it.

Katie smiled at him. "Don't worry about it. I think it kind of suits me. Besides, it's nothing compared to that." she nodded towards Bill, who had not yet woken up. No one, not even Madam Pomfrey, knew what his fate would be. Although he could not be sure, Lupin had suggested that, as Greyback was not transformed when he attacked, Bill would not be a full-werewolf, but he may possess wolfish characteristics.

Harry did not join the group in the hospital wing, but no one could exactly blame him. It made sense that he would want to be alone. They were, however, growing worried about him, because Ron had gone back to the Gryffindor common room to check on him and returned to tell everyone that he was not there.

Katie, however, had a pretty good idea as to where he was. Telling the group that she was tired and going to go to bed, she left the hospital wing but did not return to the Slytherin common room. Instead, she turned into the corridor in which the battle had taken place only hours before, and climbed the spiral stairs of the Astronomy Tower.

As expected, Harry was at the top of the Astronomy Tower, standing by the railing over which Dumbledore had fallen. He did not look to be deep in thought, as one might have anticipated. In fact, he looked completely free of all thought — completely blank.