Hogwarts' Shinobi

Chapter 53

Sakura reappeared at the top of a tower, her green eyes landing immediately on the vulnerable form of Fred Weasley. The dark-haired man before him slowly raised his wand, ready to fire some sort of fatal spell. But Sakura had seen enough of her loved ones die today, nobody deserved that kind of pain.

She lunged herself at the ginger boy, pink hair coming loose from her ponytail as she latched onto the unsuspecting man's back. She clung tightly to his body as it tumbled to the ground, her hand reaching for something to knock him out with.

Fred watched his pink-haired saviour in surprise, he had no idea where she'd miraculously appeared from, but he was very thankful she'd come when she did. He watched in shock as her hand found a brick, the girl pulling it up over her head, ready to knock the man out.

Seconds before being knocked unconscious, the dark wizard reached for his wand, wrapping his fingers around the wood. "Crucio" Sakura writhed in pain as she brought the brick down hard on the man's head. She hadn't meant to hit him quite as hard as she did, but her spasming muscles stopped her from softening the blow slightly.

She rolled off the man, twitching slightly as she lay on her back, her body sore from the pain of the curse. Sakura smiled up at the ginger boy in front of her, her teeth bloodied from where she'd bitten her tongue, "You're going to be alright, Fred."

-

Fred stumbled slightly under the additional weight of Sakura, but he was not going to drop her. The pair just making it to the Great Hall before they collapsed under the weight of their combined injuries. Of course, Sakura's weren't physical, but if the twitches weren't obvious enough to her pain, the slightly glassy eyes certainly were.

He breathed a sigh of relief at the sound of voices coming from the great hall, stumbling towards the large open doors, he cried out for help. He watched as a woman he didn't recognise turned to help him, though whether that unfamiliarity was due to her face being covered in soot, and her hair a bird's nest, he did not know.

Either way, he couldn't help but be thankful when he lifted Sakura's unconscious body off of him. The girl was not necessarily heavy, but with the added pain of his injuries, he was barely able to remain standing himself, his knees shaking, ready to give out from beneath him.

Seconds after he'd passed his pink-haired saviour off to the unknown medic, he was tackled by his twin. The unexpected attack had made him jump, hand twitching to reach for his missing wand, but at the sound of his own voice verbally celebrating his continued survival, he found himself relaxing. Tears beading in his eyes as he looked at his twin.

"Forge." he mumbled, drawing his brother into a rib-cracking hug as the pair lowered themselves to the ground. He'd so nearly left his brother behind, and the fear of his near-death was ever permanent. His muscles trembled as the last of the adrenaline left his body, a smile making its way onto his dirty, battered face. "Good to see you, Gred."

-

When Sakura came too again, the tremors had stopped, but her head ached quite unlike anything she'd experienced before. The dimly lit hall was loud, the shouts for assistance and tears of families losing loved ones did little to soothe the intense pain in her head. Forcing her eyes shut in hoping to ease the pain, she lay back, replaying the last few hours worth of painful memories in her mind.

Tears formed in the corners of her eyes as she thought about Snape, the salty water leaving tear tracks on her face. The marks leaving streaks of clean skin to stand out against her otherwise filthy skin.

Fred was the next one to come to mind, eyes shooting open in fear, had she made it in time? She wasn't overly sure, her more recent memories were blurry, and she hadn't seen the extent of his potential injuries. She sat up suddenly, causing blood to rush, and suddenly feel very lightheaded. "Hello there Sakura, good to see you're awake."

She turned suddenly, a wobbly smile making its way on her face at the sight of the twins, they were both battered and bruised, but they looked so alive. "Hello," she responded almost meekly, her voice husky from thirst. The twins beamed at her before one of them passed her a glass of water.

The mug was slightly chipped and had some sort of joke written on the side, the words making her smile at the boys who grinned back. At least there was one consistency in this war. When her thirst had been quenched, she looked back at the boys, "Good to see you both." she whispered, as though afraid this was just a dream. Reaching out, she grabbed their hands, holding on to them tightly, as though afraid to lose them again.

"Mum wants to talk to you, to you know, thank you." one of them awkwardly said, before the other jerked his head towards where their mother fluttered around their children, checking that the rest of them were all okay. "Don't worry, we won't tell her your up yet." the other started, "Gotta let our saviour rest before she undergoes that." the other finished, teasing smiles on both their faces.

Sakura couldn't help the smile on her face, relieved to find the thoughts of war and her near-death slowly moving to the back of her mind. Ever present, but she forced the negative thoughts and fears down, she needed a moment to just breathe. To hope that it might all work out before she let reality return.

"I should probably help out, it looks like they need some assistance," she said quietly as she looked around the room, the medics bustling around, frantically trying to find space as more of the injured were shuttled into the already cramped room. "You should get more rest, you got hurt pretty bad. We can pretend you are still asleep." One of the boys offered, but Sakura simply smiled sadly.

"It's okay, they need my bed more than me, besides, if I don't keep busy, who knows where my mind will go, and I'm not ready to face that right now," she responded, before giving herself a mental countdown and then lifting her aching body with a huff. She looked back briefly at the boys, drawing the pair into a hug once they'd stood. "See you around."