We will meet again ~ Fred Weasley

- Every Last One -

"Understanding evil is not the same as accepting it."

_______________________________

"What the hell..." Katherine groaned.

The words came out muffled as she buried her face deeper into the cushion beneath her.

Sunlight streamed mercilessly through the dusty windows of the Shrieking Shack, cutting directly across her face.

It felt personal.

Like the sun had singled her out specifically.

Her head throbbed.

Her mouth was dry.

Her entire body felt heavy.

And if she moved too quickly, she was fairly certain she might actually throw up.

With another groan, she forced one eye open.

Instant regret.

The room spun slightly.

"Brilliant."

Slowly, painfully, she pushed herself upright.

The sight before her almost made her laugh.

Almost.

Bodies were everywhere.

Absolute carnage.

Dean was somehow sleeping with his legs hanging off an armchair.

Seamus had migrated halfway beneath a table.

Harry was sprawled across the floor with one arm over his face.

Neville and Luna remained curled beneath a blanket together near the fireplace.

Theo hadn't moved from the rug.

Blaise was still asleep sitting upright, though Pansy had somehow ended up using his lap as a pillow.

Ginny and Hermione occupied one sofa.

Ronnie had fallen asleep awkwardly in an armchair with her head tilted at an angle that looked genuinely painful.

The remnants of last night's chaos littered every available surface.

Empty bottles.

Snack wrappers.

Playing cards.

Several abandoned blankets.

A suspicious amount of glitter that Katherine definitely didn't remember appearing.

The room looked like a tornado had passed through it.

Katherine sighed.

Because she already knew exactly who was going to clean it.

And it certainly wasn't the ten unconscious people surrounding her.

"Of course."

Dragging herself to her feet, she stumbled towards the tiny kitchen area.

The headache immediately intensified.

Wonderful.

Exactly what she needed.

Tea.

That was the answer.

Tea fixed everything.

Or at least made suffering slightly more tolerable.

The ancient appliances looked as though they'd been manufactured sometime before Merlin himself attended Hogwarts.