Through All the Pain // N. Longbottom

Sixth Year // Chapter 20

"That can't be," Neville said just above a whisper. "It just can't be." I took a sharp breath and stood up and wobbled out into the grass a little bit, to try and make sure it was Dumbledore. To both my horror and delight it was Dumbledore.

Albus Dumbledore was dead. 

After his body fell from the tower, the Battle seemed to die off instantly and we were all escorted off to the hospital wing. The walk to the wing was deathly quiet, no one uttered a single word, not even so much as a cough was heard. We filed into the hospital wing and by the time we were all in the wing, almost all the beds were filled and Madam Pomfrey had to start tending to those who were more seriously injured. 

"Harry!" Hermione shouted suddenly jumping off of her bed and sprinting over to the door and hugging him.

"Are you alright, Harry?" Remus asked as he and Sirius surrounded him.

"I'm fine ... How's Bill?" After none of us answered him, Harry looked around Ron and me to see Pomfrey, dabbing Bill's wounds with some harsh-smelling green ointment. "Can't you fix them with a charm or something?" he asked.

"No charm will work on these," said Madam Pomfrey. "I've tried everything I know, but there is no cure for werewolf bites."

"But he wasn't bitten at the full moon," said Ron, as he gazed down at our brother's face, almost as if he was trying to mend it with his eyes just by staring. 

"Greyback hadn't transformed, so surely Bill won't be a - a real -?" I looked uncertainly over at Lupin. I felt tears welling back up in my eyes but tried to fight them down. Remus must've noticed for he left Harry and came over beside me and Ron. 

"No, I do not think that Bill will be a true werewolf," he said rubbing our shoulders. "but that does not mean that there won't be some contamination. Those are cursed wounds. They are unlikely to ever 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," I spoke quietly.

"No!" Lupin looked at me, before looking over to Harry. After Harry did nothing to contradict me, he collapsed into a chair beside Bill's bed, his hand covering his face. 

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

"Snape killed him," said Harry. I went wide-eyed as even as much as I disliked him as a person and Professor, I couldn't believe he would kill Dumbledore. "I was there, I saw it." Everyone just sat in shock while the beautiful, and sorrowing sound of a Phoenix lament came from Fawkes, Dumbledore's partner. We all must've sat in silence listening to the lament until McGonagall enters the wing.

"Molly and Arthur are on their way," she said. She then went back and forth with Harry about what happened on the tower. I couldn't listen anymore. I walked over to where Neville was laying on a bed and placed my head on his hand. He had some injuries that required healing so Pomfrey gave him some potions that put him in a sleeping state while he healed, so I couldn't just cuddle up with him and pretend this was all a dream.

They all continued talking for what felt like hours when actually it was at most ten minutes. I snapped back to reality when the hospital wing doors busted open and Mum and Dad ran into the ward, with Fleur just behind, her face was in pure terror. I lept from my seat and sprinted over to my Dad's arms and just cried and cried. 

"Molly - Arthur -" said Professor McGonagall. "I am so sorry -"

"Bill," Mum whispered as she got beside his bed. "Oh, Bill!" Dad walked over to join Mum by Bill's bed, but I refused to let him go. Dad just held me while he talked to McGonagall about what happened. Lupin reiterated what he told the rest of us earlier, while Mum took the nasty-smelling ointment from Pomfrey and took over dabbing in on his wounds.