Where The Sage Shrubs Grow,

Chapter 108

Third Person POV:
Thunder and clouds rolled in that evening, but something wasn't right. The halls were quieter than usual and a eerie feeling filled the castle.
"Do you think he will be ok?" Hallie asked setting her book down on her bed
I looked up from my own book and out the window at the lightning in the distance.
"Yeah, he'll be ok." I replied

We both went back to our reading for a moment before Hallie heaved out a sigh and stood up.
"Something doesn't feel right."
"I know." I replied
"Please can we go find them?" Hallie pleaded
"Yeah, let's go."

We left our dorm and wandered around to the courtyard. All that could be heard was wind whirling and cackling from the astronomy tower. Hallie gasped next to me grabbing my arm tightly. I mimicked her gaze only to watch Dumbledore falling to his death from the tower. He landed with a horrific crack as my eyes welled up with tears. The headmaster was dead.

"S-sage-" Hallie choked "What do we do?"
"I don't know."
Other students started slowly gathering to see what had happened. Soft cries could be heard as the realization hit. No one dared to go too close, leaving his body undisturbed. No one knew what to do with themselves. Dumbledore had been the one to keep Hogwarts safe, always. Now what? Death eaters had invaded and there was no one to save us except ourselves.

One of the greatest and most respected wizards to live was now dead. Nothing was supposed to go this far. The dark mark was summoned, Bellatrix letting out an excited and triumphant scream. The figures from the tower disappeared. You could hear the sounds of laughing and glass breaking from inside the great hall, where choir practice had been held just hours ago. Everyone was too scared to move or do anything other than watch and listen in complete fear.

"Hagrid's hut is on fire!" A student cried running up to the large crowd
A scared chatter spread from person to person. Harry came pushing through the crowd. Oh Harry. Dumbledore was like a father to him. He had already lost his real parents, Sirius, and now Dumbledore. This wasn't fair to him. This wasn't fair for anyone.

Harry knelt by his side, pressing a hand to Dumbledore's no longer beating heart. The professors stood disheveled and grieving. Hallie buried her face in my shoulder, not wanting to look at the horrific scene in front of us as Harry cried over the Headmasters body.

McGonagall lifted her wand, causing everyone else to follow suit. We all stood there for a moments with our wands raised in honor of Dumbledore. Harry continued to cry as Ginny held him closely. What a horrific end to another year. Hallie and I would be gone after this, but what about the other students that had to come back?

Eventually Dumbledore's body had to be moved. He didn't look right, most dead people don't. I would know. The crowd dispersed, escorted back to their houses by a professor for safety. I had almost forgotten about the death eaters who had invaded.

Everyone was dead silent. No one dare speak a word about what was happening and no one wanted to talk about what had just happened. I think everyone just wanted to forget and pretend everything was normal, but that would be practically impossible. Students were even avoiding eye contact with me.

Hallie and I got ready for bed silently and bid each other a quiet goodnight as we slipped into our respective beds. I lay awake trying to take in what had happened. Nothing felt right anymore, I wanted the old days back. The times when my biggest worry was if Fred liked me back. A small tear slipped past my eye and down the side of my head.

"Sage?" Hallie whispered
"Yeah?"
"Do you think your mom is here?" She asked
I laughed blandly "Most likely."
"Sage?"
"What?"
"Can I sleep next to you?"
"Yes please." I replied
I didn't like admitting it because it was kind of embarrassing but, when I was scared I liked sleeping next to a living person. It made me feel safe.

I rolled over next to the wall as Hallie grabbed her pillow, stuffed pig, and an extra blanket. She crawled under the covers with me and made sure to place her pig next to my bear as she got comfortable.
"Shh, don't tell Fred." She joked
I giggled quietly at her comment.
"What happens in the dorm room, stays in the dorm room." I replied
She let out an all too loud laugh, covering her mouth to smother it.
"Stop-" She snorted

-

Classes were cancelled for the rest of the year. Luckily they were still going to graduate the 7th years. They probably wanted to get some students out of this place. Hallie had just finished sitting me down to talk about how she had bought a house out in the middle of nowhere on a mountain where it snows far far away from me. Apparently Karl had bought one too and she had asked me to go with her. I couldn't. I knew I had to stay here with my brother although I didn't think I would be living with him much longer and the twins.

I had teared up at the thought that we wouldn't be together anymore. Just one more thing on the stack of things going wrong in my life currently. It felt like I was loosing my best friend and she was supposed to be the one that stayed. Of course she mentioned that there was always apparating. But it wasn't the same. Our meetings would have to be planned. There was always weekly lunch I guess.

It kind of just hit me that it was over. My time at school was over. A war was starting, my childhood was ending. It was time to go out into the world and be alone. There would be no more common room parties or prank pulling or sleepovers or Yule balls or free periods spent in the library or Hogsmeade trips with my friends. Everyone was going their separate ways to follow their own dreams. No one was staying together and I hated it. Deep down, I hated the thought of being alone, truly alone.

"I won't leave right away." Hallie comforted as we packed our things
She knew something was wrong when my answers became bland and I didn't make any other conversation.
"I still have things I need to get in order and with things how they are right now it's not a good time to just up and leave."
We were practically adults, I wasn't ready. I was scared.
"I won't abandon you, I promise. Besides I'm sure you'll flourish after this. You could open your own shop or something. Become an author, sell your art, run a coffee or a book shop. You'll find something." She comforted
"Yeah." I replied shutting my school luggage for the last time

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