black and white ✰ g.w.

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

Elizabeth had brought Olivia, Evelyn, and Luna back to Hogwarts after getting them out of the Ministry of Magic and escorted them up to the hospital wing, where she stayed long enough to make sure they were settled in a bed getting their injuries treated before leaving. Already there were Arabella, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, and Neville. Everyone was there except for Faustus and Harry. Not wanting to worry the others by becoming worried herself, Olivia told herself that the two of them had just gotten out later than herself and they would be arriving shortly, even though she had a feeling this was not entirely true.

Sure enough, a half-hour passed before Faustus finally arrived, by himself with the exception of David who had been the one to bring him there.

"Faustus..." she called to him as he entered, hoping to get an explanation from him as to why he had taken so long to get there and why he appeared more bruised and scratched than herself and the others.

"Faustus, what happened to you?" Evelyn asked him, worry evident in her voice.

Neither girl got a response; in fact, Faustus appeared not to have heard them at all. He walked straight to a bed, not acknowledging his peers at all, and allowed Madam Pomfrey to address his wounds with a totally blank face. He was acting exactly like he had on his 16th birthday when he had seen Cedric Diggory dead and learned that the murderer of his parents had come back to full power, and Olivia did not like it at all.

David looked to the others and motioned them all to gather around. He pulled up a chair in between Evelyn and Olivia's beds and waited until the others had spread out upon them.

"Grandpa, what-?" Evelyn tried again, now hoping to get a response from her grandfather.

"In a minute, Evie," David said to him. His expression was grave, not helping to ease the nerves of the children at all. "Now, before I tell you anything, you are not to badger Faustus or Harry - when he gets here - with questions about what has transpired tonight, got it?"

"So Harry's all right?" Ron asked in a hopeful tone.

David didn't answer at first, allowing Olivia's mind to go straight to the worst possible scenario.

"He will be, yes," he said finally.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ginny asked the question that was on all of their minds.

"Physically, yes, he is all right. But, emotionally... he's going to need time, and so will Faustus, your mum," he looked to Olivia, obviously referring to Catrina, "and likely Remus as well."

"My mum? Why my mum? Grandpa, what's happened?" Olivia demanded of him, failing, for the first time that night, to keep her voice and demeanor calm. The thought of anything happening to her mother terrified her.

David heaved a heavy sigh. "Not long after you all left... Sirius was murdered by a Death Eater. Harry, Faustus, your mum," again, he looked to Olivia when he said it, "and Remus Lupin were all witnesses to it."

Some people gasped. Olivia didn't blame them; they had gone to the Department of Mysteries to save Sirius for him to die anyway.

"You're joking," Ron said.

"I'm afraid I'm not," David responded.

Olivia pulled her knees to her chest. She had seen for herself how happy Sirius had made Catrina, Harry, and Faustus. Now that he was gone...

She wished then more than ever that she could be with Catrina and sincerely hoped that she wasn't alone, that Oliver, Helena, or somebody were with her at that moment, keeping her company so that she didn't have to deal with the loss alone.

"Wait," said Neville, "I'm sorry if this seems disrespectful or anything, I don't mean it to be, but... well, I know he was Faustus's uncle and all, but what was he to Harry?"

"He was his godfather, Neville," Ginny informed him, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Oh... damn."

"Erm... do we still have to take exams?" Ron asked. "I just mean, they're only a few days away..."

"I will speak with Professor Dumbledore-" David began.

"Professor Dumbledore? He's back?" Evelyn asked. There was a hint of excitement in her voice.

"Not officially as of right now, but I think it's safe to say he will be at any moment now. Anyway, as I was saying, I will speak with him about letting most of you off of exams because of tonight's events if you feel you cannot take them, and I'm sure he will agree to it. But for those of you in your fifth or seventh years - that is to say, if are scheduled to take your O.W.L.s or N.E.W.T.s over this next week - I'm afraid that, unless you want to repeat your current year, you will have to take your exams, as you will not get another opportunity to do so afterwards."

There were quiet groans and nervous gulping from the fifth-years. Olivia, however, was expecting this answer and was looking forward to the sense of normalcy and distraction studying for N.E.W.T.s would offer her.

"What about Umbridge?" Evelyn asked.

"What about her?" Arabella asked bitterly.

"My question exactly," David said, looking around at them all, hoping that one of them would explain.

"Well," Hermione spoke, looking nervous, "Harry and I sort of led her into the Forbidden Forest where she was sort of attacked and carried off by angry centaurs."

David appeared shocked for a moment, just looking at Hermione. "I see."

"Oh, no, are we in trouble? We only did it because-"

David looked like he was trying his best to hold back laughter. He held his hand up to stop Hermione. "No, you are not in trouble, nor is it any of my business why you did what you did. I will inform Dumbledore of what you have just told me and I will let him handle it; since I am not a staff member at this school, nor am I an employee in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, what happened to Dolores Umbridge in the Forest at the hands of the centaurs is none of my concern."

Olivia nearly smiled. If it were anyone else that had suffered Umbridge's fate, David would most certainly care more, but since he had made it clear multiple times over the Christmas holidays that he despised the woman, she knew he was using his job as an excuse for his indifference.

"What about the Death Eaters?" Neville asked. Olivia knew he probably had Bellatrix Lestrange in mind. "Some of them were the ones that escaped from Azkaban back in January..."

"I am aware," David said. He seemed slightly annoyed at himself. "We were able to capture some of them, Lucius Malfoy included, but, I'm afraid, most of them got away."

Olivia briefly wished she could have been there to see how awkward it was for David to arrest his own nephew.

[word count: 1177]
[written: 8/27/20]
[published: 8/27/20]