Understanding (Neville Longbottom)

44

Voldemort's voice left my mind and took with it every other thought or sound. I could feel a slight ringing in my ears and my eyes were seeing things differently, almost as if the world around me had changed its grain.
I only realized that Ben was talking to me because he shaked me.

"Jo, hey!" he was saying, his beautiful face close to mine. He examined me quickly and then moved his hand away from me almost as if I was white hot. He passed a hand on his face and pointed his wand towards me, speaking low and fast.
"Hey, look at me" he held my face in his palms studying my eyes. But I couldn't really focus on him.
Oh! That was the problem, I realized: he thought there was something wrong with me because I wasn't present.
I blinked twice and tried hard to come to the surface of reality.

"Her shoulder is a mess" Aberforth was folding himself to our level to examine me

"I got hit twice" I explained. Ben exhaled in relief.

"And then some... I can set the bone back but a magimedician has to see it" the old man went on; he braced himself and then locked his eyes in mine "It'll hurt Jocelyn"

There was little I could do to prepare myself before he made a quick backward flick with his wand and a blinding pain hit me. It passed almost immediately leaving behind a deaf throbbing. I sighed and my head swam for a couple of seconds; I was dizzy.

"I'll take her in" Ben offered, lifting me gently from the less injured arm, but I suddenly realized something.

"Ben" I gripped his shoulder tight, searching him for cuts and wounds "Are you ok? Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine" he reassured me; he snaked one arm around my waist to sustain me but I turned again to put myself in front of him, agitated.

"She's confused. Needs to eat something" mumbled Aberforth.

"There's blood on your face!"

Ben held his hand up to my cheek and made his eyes from determined to gentle and a touch worried "It's yours love, I'm fine. Come on"

I let him take me towards the Great Hall, where everyone seemed to be pooling. I didn't really look around at the bodies on the ground or the destruction my school, my home, had sustained. I gripped Ben as the anchor that he was, and I felt he was doing the same with me. As he positioned me on a broken bench, I almost cried at the thought that he was alive; then Madam Pomfrey arrived and all my concentration went into not screaming as she examined me.

She had to stitch muscle together again and it was painful. So painful. Ben sat next to me and murmured encouragements through the worst part of it.
The procedure was getting to the end when I heard it.

"Miss Josie" a shrill tiny voice reached me. A voice I knew.

"Gilly?"

"Miss Josie!" this time closer, louder. This time I was sure

"Gilly!" I almost jumped

"Stay down Vance" Madam Pomfrey grabbed me unceremoniously and pushed me back down, but it didn't matter because my tiny house elf had found me. She skipped between the legs of the many witches and wizards around and threw herself in my free arm.

"Merlin, I missed you so much!" My eyes began to fill with tears of joy "But you have to go, you can't stay here, it's dangerous"

"Miss Josie is injured!" Gilly was very focused on my shoulder, terror written all over her face.

"Is it almost over?" I asked the witch

"Calm down child. It's a miracle your arm is still attached"