Slytherin Tales: The Divine Seven

Chapter 24: Everything Changes

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Chapter 24: Everything Changes

I woke up in the Hospital Wing over a week later, the last night at Hogwarts, with a bandage around my head and a headache. Sunlight shone through the windows of the hospital, and I sat up and looked around tiredly. There was one other patient here, a student who lay motionless a few beds down. It was hard to tell, but they looked asleep. Could that be the student who was cursed? Suddenly Madame Rosenbloom came up to me with someone trailing behind her.

"Good afternoon, Miss Sinclair. Well rested, I hope? You should be well enough to be out of the hospital by tonight. I had some medication that will help with the pain as well as the healing process, so be sure to take it," she said, placing a tray with water and meds down onto the stand next to my bed. She turned to the person behind her. "She should be well enough to talk now, but be gentle. I'll come back to check on her in a bit." And with that, she walked off to give my visitor and I some privacy. I watched as Professor Wolfram pulled up a chair and sat down next to me.

"Hey there, Sachie. You're looking a little better, how are you feeling?" he asked in his usual gruff voice.

"Like my head is a ticking time bomb, but other than that I'm fine I guess," I sighed. I looked down at the bed sheets covering my body.

"I've got some news related to your brother. We talked with your friends and they explained what happened. We searched them and their things and with their cooperation, found the Staff of Suppression. Unfortunately, his and Albert's crimes along with their terrorist plots were severe enough for them to be considered societal threats," he paused for a moment to clear his throat before continuing. "They've both been expelled and will be awaiting trial to be sent to Azkaban." My eyes widened as I stared at him and I could feel tears welling in my eyes. I looked back down as they spilled onto my fists, which were clenching the covers.

"I wish I'd have known... Maybe I could've done something..." I whispered. "This is all my fault."

"Sachie, none of this was your fault. You did more than what should've been asked of you. This was not your responsibility, you shouldn't have been burdened with this in the first place. That fault lies with us, the staff."

"But he's my brother! I should've seen something..." I trailed off.

"You sometimes just can't see these things coming, and that reality can be so hard to accept, but it's true. What he did was his choice, his actions are not a reflection of you. He didn't want you to know, he truly did care about you, but he made a decision, a decision that he has to face the consequences for."

"He killed someone. He framed me for his crimes and then tried to kill my friends and I. I put them all in danger by bringing them along."

"You couldn't have known he'd do that. Besides which, your friends went with you because they wanted to support you. They believed in you and chose to help you because they knew you were innocent. Those are some incredible friends right there." I smiled lightly for the first time hearing this. I brushed away my tears and grabbed a tissue.

After blowing my nose I finally asked, "Where are they?"

"They visited while you were asleep. They brought you some things too," he gestured to the foot of the bed, which had a small table piled with sweets and 'Get Well Soon' cards. I smiled happily to myself. "Madame Rosenbloom didn't want too many people swarming you at once so I was sent first to talk to you. You can see them tonight at the End-of-Term Feast after you rest up a bit more."

"What happened to the Divine Seven?" I asked. This question had been nagging me since I woke up.

"Well, due to the breach of security at Hogwarts, Professor Willoughby thought it would be best to relocate them to new, diverse hiding places." I had figured. I doubt they have many, if any, of the objects left over at Hogwarts anymore. Do you have any other questions or anything I can answer or help with?" I shook my head.