~Wren~

Mrs. Potter didn't pull back until I'd finally managed to stop crying. Even then, she kept her hands on my arms, scanning me with a worried look on her face. "Did she hurt you?"

I shook my head, looking down. "Not really." The place where my mother's nails had dug into my skin stung a little, but other than that, everything she'd done to me had been more psychological than anything else. Sure, I could already feel bruises forming from when Stillens had thrown me to the ground, or Zaria had tackled me, but overall I was fine. "I'm okay."

"Don't tell me that." She pursed her lips as she turned my arm over to show that I was bleeding from where my mother had grabbed me. "You're not okay, and you don't need to be. Not being physically hurt isn't the same thing."

I swallowed and nodded, still feeling like I was liable to burst into tears at any moment. Not okay, I guess.

A gentle hand cupped my face, and I looked up to see her smiling grimly. "Do you think you can tell me what happened?"

It took a second to understand what she meant. With Stillens, obviously, not just my mother. I took a deep breath, willing my voice to be steady. "I think so."

"How did you end up anywhere near him?" Before I could answer, she closed her eyes and grimaced. "Astra's idea, I'm guessing?" When I nodded, she sighed. "That poor girl."

"One of my friends saw her sneaking upstairs, and I went after her," I explained. Had that been a horrible idea? Probably. I found I didn't even have space to be worried about Mrs. Potter being angry. "And then... well, we made it to Stillens."

I think she could tell I was leaving out something, and I'm sure she already knew what it was, since I'd already told her that my father had died. But she didn't press me about that right then, which was good—I didn't think I'd be able to tell her anything else if I thought about that right now.

"Did he say or do anything out of the ordinary?" She paused, frowning, and I had a feeling she was trying to find words. "Did he have something to do with losing his magic?"

"In a way, I guess." My breath caught, and I closed my eyes for a moment. You don't need to be afraid anymore. "It was a spell. He... he was going to have it used on me, first."

She raised an eyebrow. "Have it used? Not use it himself?"

"No," I whispered, the horror I'd felt at seeing Colette for the first time returning with full force. "He... apparently he forced Colette to make a spell that takes away magic. And he wanted her to use it on me. I guess she hadn't stabilized it enough for other people to use?"

Mrs. Potter was frowning again, eyes darting around me with concern. "Did she?"

"What?"

"Use the spell on you?"

I shook my head quickly. "She told him no. And then... and then she let herself fall off the balcony."

As I spoke, her eyes widened in shock. "That was Colette?"

"I thought she died," I said in a soft voice. "It was... it was horrible. But she didn't, I guess. And then she and Albus showed up out of nowhere a little later, and Astra and Colette worked together to use the spell, somehow? And... and now Stillens doesn't have magic anymore."

She raised an eyebrow at me, and I wondered if I should've sounded more surprised about Albus showing up. She didn't press me on that, though. "When you say 'doesn't have magic,' what do you mean? Does it backfire on him? Get uncontrollable?"

"The way everyone was talking about, it sounded like it turned him into a no-maj. I... I don't really know, though."

She shook her head in disbelief, glancing back in the direction of the stage. "Do you know where Colette is now?"

I shook my head, suddenly realizing I didn't know where any of my friends were, and if anyone other than Lacy and Rose had survived. As my breath started to get shakier, I said, "She... she was really hurt..."

"Right." Mrs. Potter squeezed my arm. "We won't disturb her, then. I just needed to know something to tell people about what you five did."

Before I could respond, I saw a flash of orange from the corner of my eye, my only warning before Lily threw her arms around both of us with so much force that she nearly knocked me down. She pulled away almost as quickly, taking us both in with a huge smile on her tearstained face. "Thank Merlin, you're both safe. I've been so worried..."

Mrs. Potter just pulled Lily back into a hug, cutting her off. I looked away in an attempt to give them some privacy, but Mrs. Potter reached out towards me again. After a moment of hesitation, I took a step closer and let her draw me into the hug as well. Several moments passed before she let us go again.

"You're not hurt, are you?" Lily asked finally, glancing between us so much that I couldn't tell who she was asking. There were tears in her eyes again, but she wiped them away with the back of her hand, smearing blood across her cheek from what was hopefully just a scratch on her wrist.

"We're both safe," Mrs. Potter said, patting my shoulder. "No injuries, unless Wren's been holding out on me."

I shook my head quickly. "Just bruises."

Mrs. Potter laid a hand on each of our arms. "I need to go see about helping Ernie and Aunt Hermione organize things, all right? Will you girls please stay together?"

"Of course," I said softly.

Lily slid over to me and looped her arm though mine. "I'm not letting her out of my sight," she declared, leaning her head against mine. "We'll find James, too. And... was that really Albus?"

I nodded and looked down, all the guilt of keeping my promise to Albus suddenly descending on me. They'd been so worried about him, and all this time, I'd known where he was...

"Stay safe, please," Mrs. Potter said with a faint smile. "Find somewhere to rest, all right?"

"We'll try," I said with a nod, despite the fact that Lily was buzzing with tension, eyes already darting around us to find one of her brothers.

As Mrs. Potter was turning away, I heard Lily's breath catch as her eyes alighted on my mother. "Merlin's beard, Wren, you weren't fighting her, were you?"

Instead of looking down at her again, I closed my eyes tightly. "Fight is a strong word."

"You were doing wonderfully, love," Mrs. Potter said. She frowned at my still-unconscious mother for a moment. "I'll send someone over here to deal with her as soon as I can, all right? Though perhaps it would be best if you two weren't here."

Lily tilted her head, seeming confused, but nodded anyway. "We'll find James. Or Albus. Or someone." She grabbed my hand and started pulling me away. "Good luck, Mum!"

As soon as Mrs. Potter had disappeared from view, Lily pulled me to the side and frowned at me. "What happened with your mum? Did she hurt you?"

I chuckled weakly and held up my scratched-up forearm. "Not much."

"That's not what I bloody mean!"

Lily seemed distressed enough that my smile dropped. I bit my lip, not sure if words were going to come out when I opened my mouth again. "I... well... she disowned me, I guess."

"Good riddance," she said, and instantly winced. "Sorry. Couldn't help it."

"It's fine." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "I... I don't think I want to talk about it yet."

For a moment, I couldn't tell if Lily was fighting disappointment or still trying not to celebrate my mother being out of my life for good. She blinked, and it was all gone. "You don't have to. I'm here when you are, though. I'm pretty sure that's what sisters are for."

A weak smile was the best response I could muster. Lily's eyes began scanning the crowd again, her frown deepening. "So... um... Albus is here?"

"Somewhere..." I pursed my lips, trying to think through what my friends would be doing right now. Albus didn't take much time to figure out. "He probably went to get help for Colette."

Lily bit her lip. "I saw her falling. That was her, right? We all thought she'd died."

"She was still alive the last time I saw," I said, entirely unhelpfully—the whole wizarding world had seen her then, Lily included. "I don't know what happened after."

"Well, I know where they would've gone, at least." Lily grabbed my hand and started pulling me through the crowd. "I left Elmer, Pip, and Eviana there to come find you. Where they're taking the wounded, that is."

"Are they all right?"

"Fine, I think. Pip broke his arm, and Eviana got hit really hard on the head. But that's not so bad, all things considered..."

As we walked, I couldn't help glancing around, hoping to catch sight of James. The crowd was thinning as people were guided to wait upstairs or bring the wounded in the direction we were headed, which theoretically should've made it easier to see, especially someone as tall as James. There wasn't a sign of him, though, and my heart twisted in the grip of worry.

Lily stopped short, and I nearly ran into her. When I stepped around to stand by her side, her eyes were already roving the crowd before us. This was much easier, considering the vast majority of these people were sitting or lying on rows of cots. Dozens of them, in fact, and more being added as we watched. Some people seemed to have suffered relatively minor injuries, like the witch near us who was bandaging her own arm with the help of a friend. I could hear the cries of the people who'd suffered more serious injuries, though, and I winced as I watched a healer snap someone's shoulder back into place. And on the far side, a long line of witches and wizards lying perfectly still, separated from the rest. My stomach turned as I realized I was looking at the dead. Was my father there yet?

"I don't see them," Lily said after a minute, and I blinked at her in confusion, having completely forgotten who we were looking for. "Albus and Colette?" She squeezed my hand. "Are you sure you don't need a healer, too?"

"I'm fine." I pursed my lips, doing a quick scan of the area myself. She was right—no Albus or Colette. I didn't see Nico, either. Were they okay? Had Colette not made it? Should I have been searching the too-still faces first?

"Astra would know, wouldn't she?" Lily pointed across the room. To my relief, there was Astra, looking perfectly unharmed. Even better, she was with Ciara, who was at least well enough to sit up and talk.

"Maybe?" I didn't know why Astra wouldn't be with Albus and Colette (was that a bad sign?), but at least she'd been around them more recently than I had.

Without waiting for Lily's reply, I started weaving my way through the cots towards them. Despite the fact Ciara was facing our direction, they didn't notice us until I was close enough to hear them, and it was Astra who turned around and said, "It's Wren and Lily!"

"What?" Ciara seemed to grow pale.

"No, they're fine. They're coming towards us." Astra waved at me, a relieved smile on her face. "Merlin, Wren, don't run off on me like that. Do you know how scared I was?"

"I... Lacy was in trouble..." I smiled a little as she hopped up to hug me and I realized part of the anger was teasing. "I made it, anyway."

"Thank goodness." Astra laughed. "Honestly, I ran off to help James right after you, so I guess I can't be mad."

Lily and I both perked up, but she beat me to the punch. "He's alive?"

"Unless something picked him off since the battle ended." She sat back down on Ciara's cot. My fear must have shown on my face, because her eyes widened when she looked back at me. "No, no, I'm joking. He's really okay."

"Merlin, Ciara, what happened to you?"

I looked down to see that Lily had sat down on the other end of Ciara's cot. She was staring at her with a mixture of worry and horror that made my heart sink. I realized why when I turned my attention to her, just as she started speaking. "It's only a curse."

I dropped down right next to her, only realizing that I was startling her when she jumped. "Does it hurt?" I asked softly, gently brushing her hair from where it had fallen in her face, obscuring her eyes. Completely white eyes, looking in my direction but clearly seeing nothing.

"Is that permanent?" Lily asked before she could answer my question beyond a shrug. "What curse was it?"

"Give her some space, Lily, Merlin," Astra said, rolling her eyes. "We don't know yet."

"What about quidditch?"

Ciara let out a laugh that sounded like she actually wanted to cry. "I'm glad your priorities are in order."

"Sorry, no, that's not..." Lily sighed. "I meant for you, not Slytherin. I guess there are bigger things to worry about..."

As Ciara leaned her head against my shoulder, I got the feeling that that bothered her more than she cared to admit just then. Unfortunately, I couldn't think of anything comforting to say. I was struggling to hold myself together at all, honestly. As Lily started a on barrage of questions for both Astra and Ciara on if they were okay, I found myself drifting. There, but not. I could still see them all, hear what was being said, but it was like they were getting further and further away...

I was dragged back to the present when Lily suddenly broke off to exclaim, "It's Albus!" I started, surprised to feel Ciara squeezing my hand tightly—I couldn't remember her taking it. My eyes slowly followed to where Lily was pointing, and I managed to register Albus, Poppy, and Nico gathered around a door they must have just come out of. Before anyone could say anything, Lily had jumped up and practically flown across the room to throw herself at her brother.

I winced, half expecting him to shove her off, but all he did was stiffen up for a moment. He relaxed and put his arms around her quickly, and they might have both been crying.

"Wren, what's wrong?" Ciara whispered.

I turned to her in surprise. "What?"

"You've barely said anything." Her brows drew together in concern. "I know I can't see you, but it feels like something's wrong."

There wasn't supposed to be anything wrong. I looked up and met Astra's eyes for a moment as if she might know how to explain it, but she only looked down. Wonderful. "It's... it's complicated..." I sighed. "I don't know. I think I'm feeling a lot of things I shouldn't be."

"Don't even start," Astra said, frowning at me. "You've... that was... it's been a lot, okay? You don't have to feel a certain way about anything."

"Did something happen?" Ciara asked, alarm in her voice.

I closed my eyes tightly, just wanting to crumple in on myself. "I don't want to think about it."

She was quiet for a moment, seeming unconvinced. Astra studied me, clearly concerned, but ended up nodding. "It's... she'll talk when she's ready. Right?"

"Right," I whispered.

Luckily, I was saved from any more focus on me by Nico appearing just at that moment. Lily was at his heels, but Poppy and Albus were walking off in a different direction. Astra frowned questioningly at them, but Nico shook his head. "They needed to talk."

"Who?"

"Poppy and Albus." He grimaced. "Sorry. Forgot you couldn't see them."

"Hopefully it goes away soon." Lily glanced around at us, the smile that had been on her face slowly fading. "Um... Wren, do you think it's all right if I go sit with my friends? I'll be just over there..."

I nodded with a frown. The mood had just shifted considerably, but why? Lily let out an uncomfortable laugh before hurrying off, and I glanced around at my friends. Nico was avoiding Astra's eyes, and Astra... she seemed very frustrated all of the sudden. Or maybe she'd been before, and I hadn't noticed. I was about to ask her what was wrong when she shook her head. "So.. about Albus."

Oh. I felt my face heat up as my gaze dropped to my lap. Nico shot a nasty look at Ciara that she thankfully couldn't see. "Ciara..."

"She was going to find out you knew eventually," Ciara protested.

"Yeah, preferably from Albus." Nico sighed and turned back to Astra. "I didn't want—"

"Not now." Astra held her hand up to cut him off, but she was watching something behind me. I turned to see Fred picking his way through the crowd, followed by Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy. And... was that Scorpius? My mouth dropped open.

"What is it?" Ciara was asking, but Fred had reached us before anyone could answer. I stood up and took a step back as he pulled her into his arms.

"Oh, thank Merlin," Mrs. Malfoy said, putting her arms around Astra as she smiled down at her daughter. "You're both alive."

"Astra!" Scorpius seemed caught between relief and anger. "Where on earth did you go? Do you know how worried we were?"

"What's this?" Mr. Malfoy was frowning in my direction, and it took me a second to realize his glare was actually leveled at Nico, who had stiffened up and was staring at the ground. Instantly, the chatter stopped, and I felt the urge to step in front of him, though I don't think he would've appreciated it.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Fred demanded, clenching his fists as he stood up.

"How dare you come anywhere near my family?" My eyes widened as I realized Mr. Malfoy's wand was in his hand now. 

Astra winced and made an effort to get in front of him, but before she could, Ciara spoke up. "If you're talking about Nico, you can stop talking about him. Astra's more likely to hurt me than he is."

Everyone turned to stare at her. I'd known she'd been warming up to him lately, but defending him to her family? That was entirely unexpected. The shock on Nico's face mirrored that feeling. It took a moment for anyone to respond.

Mrs. Malfoy pursed her lips. "Ciara... are you sure that curse only affected your vision?"

"Yes." Even without sight, she managed to glare. "It's a long story, but all you need to know right now is that he's my friend."

Now, they turned their stares to Nico, but he'd frozen, blinking at Ciara as if not sure he'd heard her right. I nudged him in the side, and he started. "Oh. Yes. Right."

Astra snickered, Nico glared at her, and I smiled uncomfortably. "Why don't we give them some space...?"

Though I'm sure the Malfoys wouldn't have minded Astra staying (and I might not have minded either, considering the conversation they'd interrupted), she followed us to the side of the room, out of the way of healers and family members trying to get to the wounded. I couldn't bring myself to look for anyone else I might have known as we walked.

The moment we'd come to a stop, Astra crossed her arms and glared at Nico. "You knew where he was? The whole time?"

"Do you know how hard I tried to convince him to talk to you?" Nico snapped.

"You should've told me anyway!"

"And have you both angry that I'd broken my word?" He threw his hands up in frustration. "I'm sick of you both yelling at me when you're just upset with each other, you know. Do you think I've been enjoying myself?"

Astra glared at him for several seconds before turning to me. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"He made us swear not to." I looked down, once again wishing I could simply disappear. "I told him he shouldn't, but... he made me promise, Astra. At the end of the day, it wasn't our choice."

The anger had melted from her gaze almost as quickly as it had come. I don't know if she'd connected my words to our own issues last year, when James and I had broken up, but that's what had been on my mind this whole time. She hesitated, and I braced myself for another onslaught, but it didn't come. Instead, it was like she deflated. Her eyes were suddenly wet when she blinked again. "Did he tell you why?"

I glanced at Nico, wondering if he'd heard a different side than I had. Albus and I had only brought her up that first time I'd seen him, but he'd still been overwhelmed back then, anxious about Colette, angry about Teddy, guilty about Astra... He hadn't wanted the DA to know where he was, of course, but he'd also told me he felt horrible about not speaking to her. But he hadn't forgiven her for running off, either. He didn't know how, not without Colette. How was I supposed to tell her that?

"He... he felt terrible, about the whole not talking to you thing," Nico said after a few moments of silence. "Guilty, that is. But... I don't know. He didn't even know how he felt."

She blinked quickly, clearly trying not to cry, but nodded as if she'd somehow expected that. "He hates me, doesn't he?"

My eyes widened. "What makes you think that?"

"Why wouldn't he?"

I shook my head, at a loss. The Albus I'd talked to had been feeling a lot of things, but I was pretty sure hate hadn't been one of them. "You... you don't get that upset over someone you hate, Astra." She just frowned at me, defeat in her eyes, and I felt my heart sink. "He... he can't..."

Instead of saying anything, she sighed and glanced back to Nico, who shook his head seriously. "I don't know, Astra. You'll have to talk to him. I think there are more important things to worry about, anyway."

She closed her eyes for a moment, and even though I wanted to reach out, I stayed still. I had no idea what was going through her head, honestly. How could she think Albus hated her? Astra and Albus had always been inseparable. Surely this wouldn't erase those years of friendship, right?

I wasn't really expected Astra to get ahold of herself on her own, so I was surprised when she opened her eyes again and asked, "Is Colette going to make it?"

Nico's expression fell. What did that mean? Was it already too late? I felt the blood drain from my face as he shrugged. "They... they don't know. From what I understand, they've started to move the most critical cases to St. Mungo's, and she was one of the first. They've limited apparating and flooing for now."

No. No, no, no, this was too much. She had to be okay. I couldn't take any more. Couldn't lose Colette again, after everything else. My breath started to grow shallower as everything started pressing down on me again. Iris was dead. My father was gone. My mother wanted to kill me. Ciara was hurt. Colette could have been dying right at that moment. Who else was gone? What else did I have to be afraid of? Everything was over, but nothing felt better yet.

From very far away, I heard Astra saying my name, felt her hand on my arm, but I couldn't reach her. Couldn't hear her. I think she was telling me to breathe, but I couldn't remember how to control that. I was too busy trying to keep all of these pieces together because I was about to shatter and it was going to be impossible to put anything back together and if we'd won, why did it all still hurt so much?

Arms encircled me from behind, and the loop of my thoughts broke long enough for me to breathe. To recognize I instantly felt a little less like a hurricane was about to tear me apart. To realize there was only one person this could be, resting his chin on top of my head. Ignoring the voices around me that were still a little too far away to make out, I managed to get out, "James?"

"I'm right here." The room was coming back into focus now, and James appeared at my side, concern and relief mingling on his face. I leaned closer to him as a lump grew in my throat. At least one thing was okay, actually. James was safe. And for just a moment, nothing else mattered.

~~~~

Question of the day: How are you doing?

Answer: I've been dealing with a lot of big life changes in the past few weeks, which was been really overwhelming. Hopefully, I'm nearing the end of that! I very much want to write, but I've been too mentally drained to think about it lately.

Vote and comment! 

~Elli

Word count: 4218