2.| ✮𝓛𝓸𝓿𝓮, 𝓑𝓲𝓵𝓵. ✮ {𝓑. 𝓦𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓵𝓮𝔂}

\𝒻ℴ𝓊𝓇𝓉ℯℯ𝓃\

~

Eleanora didn't remember the rest of the battle. She found herself in the hospital wing afterwards, sporting a busted lip and and injured hand, but she barely noticed either of these. She sat in a chair next to Bill's bed, the soles of her sneakers balancing on the edge of the bed frame, her elbows resting on her knees. She'd spent the last half hour helping Madam Pomfrey mix up the ointment she'd used on her own leg when Greyback had attacked her and running around doing whatever she could for Bill.

Now that there was nothing else to do, she felt helpless. He wasn't dying, but they weren't exactly sure what the aftereffects of the werewolf bites would be. Madam Pomfrey had already announced that he would never look the same again. Gathered around the bed with Eleanora were Ron, Hermione, Luna, Tonks, Lupin, and Cillian. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley still hadn't been found. Moody had gone off to look for them, muttering something about seeing them down by Hagrid's hut.

Everyone looked up as the door opened again and Harry entered, followed closely by Ginny. Hermione ran to Harry and hugged him and Lupin moved forward too, looking anxious. Eleanora only glanced at them before looking back down at Bill, who still hadn't woken up. Madam Pomfrey had come out to dab ointment on his wounds, but they weren't looking any better. Harry moved to look over Hermione's shoulder at Bill. "Can't you fix them with a charm or something?" he asked softly.

Eleanora shook her head. "Doesn't work. We've tried everything."

"There is no cure for werewolf bites," Madam Pomfrey said, continuing to dab the ointment onto Bill's face.

"But he wasn't bitten at the full moon," said Ron, who was gazing down into his brother's face as though he could somehow force him to mend just by staring. "Greyback hadn't transformed, so surely Bill won't be a — a real — ?" He looked uncertainly at Lupin.

"No, I don't think that Bill will be a true werewolf," said Lupin,"but that does not mean that there won't be some contamination. Those are cursed wounds. They are unlikely ever to heal fully, and — and Bill might have some wolfish characteristics from now on."

"Dumbledore might know something that'd work, though," Ron said. "Where is he? Bill fought those maniacs on Dumbledore's orders, Dumbledore owes him, he can't leave him in this state —"

"Ron — Dumbledore's dead," said Ginny

At this, Eleanora tore her gaze away from Bill's face to stare up at Ginny. Lupin jumped out of his seat, looking wildly from Ginny to Harry. "No!" he said breathlessly. Harry nodded solemnly and Lupin collapsed into a chair beside Bill's bed, his hands over his face. Eleanora felt a stabbing in her chest. If Dumbledore was dead, all hope for winning the war was surely lost.

"How did he die?" whispered Tonks. "How did it happen?"

"Snape killed him," said Harry. "I was there, I saw it. We arrived back on the Astronomy Tower because that's where the Mark was.. . . Dumbledore was ill, he was weak, but I think he realized it was a trap when we heard footsteps running up the stairs. He immobilized me, I couldn't do anything, I was under the Invisibility Cloak — and then Malfoy came through the door and disarmed him —" Hermione clapped her hands to her mouth and Ron groaned. Luna's mouth trembled. "— more Death Eaters arrived — and then Snape — and Snape did it. The Avada Kedavra." Harry couldn't go on.