𝖘𝖆𝖑𝖛𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 | 𝖍𝖊𝖗𝖒𝖎𝖔𝖓𝖊 𝖌𝖗𝖆𝖓𝖌𝖊𝖗

lxvi. the tragic fates

They were nearing the end. They had only Nagini left to kill. Deanna remembered what she saw then. Harry and Voldemort facing each other off and her hugging Fawkes before the two of them burnt together. Once Harry weakened Voldemort enough, it was her time to shine... or burn.

As they got closer to Hogwarts, there was complete silence. The Death Eaters must have really retreated. There were fires everywhere, wreckage all around them. The castle was once Hogwarts was now in ruins. There was nobody in sight when they arrived. They could only see chaos, left behind by the war.

"Where is everybody?" Hermione asked. The four of them glanced at each other before they continued walking towards the castle. Ron pushed open the doors to the Great Hall where they had set up headquarters. The Great Hall was dark and filled with wizards and witches. Rubble was at the Entrance, showing visible signs that battles happened here. None of them though paid attention to the four, some were too tired to even know what was happening. Some were crying over the loss of their loved ones. Some were just chatting with the others, trying to take their minds off what just happened.

Deanna sent a small smile at Ron, letting him know she was alright. Ron squeezed Deanna's body before he let her go but still stayed close in case something happened. They moved around the rubble and entered the Great Hall. Ron went first, followed by Hermione then Harry. Deanna took a deep breath before she followed after Harry, readying herself for what she might see.

"Deanna." Slughorn called out to her while he was healing Filch's wound.

"Professor. Sir Filch." Deanna nodded in their direction before she continued on. The impact of the battle was visible on the appearance of their fellow wizards who had dirt and blood and cuts all over them from fighting. There were a few bodies on the ground, covered by blankets and cloth that made Deanna swallow the lump in her throat. They lost a lot of lives.

Deanna stopped when she saw Molly holding onto a familiar body. Fred. The Dumbledore felt herself tear up, hearing the cries of the Weasleys and seeing Ron hug George tight before kneeling down beside Fred and letting his tears fall. Ron cried his heart out and held onto Fred's body while Molly caressed his and Fred's hair, trying to comfort her son and trying to comfort herself as well.

Deanna bent her head down and tried calming herself down, but every cry from Ron's mouth was heart-wrenching. Fred was a good friend... a great friend. He didn't deserve to go so early. Then, Deanna looked to the other side and saw Harry hugging the weeping Sirius and Hermione hugging the sobbing Tonks. She finally saw the two bodies at the floor. Remus and Ria. They who had been so kind and so brave had laid down their lives to save their loved ones. So many have died to fight for the greater good.

The Dumbledore let out a sigh and she was about to go to Harry, remembering Snape's tears when she heard the familiar cry of Ginny. She looked in the direction of the sound, and her eyes widened when she recognized the body that was lying there with a lot of people crowding around it. The students from Dumbledore's Army, Minerva and Pomona were there. Even Pansy, Daphne, Theo and Blaise were there around the body with sad looks on their faces.

Deanna felt like her heart was being stomped on, the one who had already gone through so much and fought bravely despite everything that happened in her life. The Hufflepuff who was kind to all Houses and was the cause for Hogwarts to be united after such a long time. Jemina Nightingale who had sacrificed so much to keep the fire burning was dead, her fire extinguished.

"Everything is connected. They say the people we love who have passed on are in each of those stars, twinkling and smiling down at us."