Every Little Thing, James Potter.

28. At the End of the Day

                                          The Death Eaters' attempt at overthrowing the castle proved fruitless, once the full force of the Order had arrived—everyone from Aurors to Arithmatists fought with their full-fledged strength and drove Voldemort's army away not soon thereafter Gwen's run-in with Walker.

     She and Sirius had rushed the Great Hall shortly after, in search of James and Remus respectively, and were met with each of their fellow Birds of Prey. It was a daft name to refer to the students by, one Gwen had come to hate, and she still wasn't too keen on being symbolized as poultry, but the Order had all been in search of them especially and needed to recognise that they, specifically, were alright.

There was an unfamiliar wave of relief that had washed over Gwen's entire being when she laid her eyes on James—he was completely unscathed and seemed to have held his own well enough. He didn't see Gwen, at first, and she surprised him with a blowing embrace from behind, jumping at him with all her relieved might.

He let out a grunt of shock and nearly threw her off him, whirling around to see who had thrown themself so briskly at him, but soon the tension in his body dissipated at the realisation and he wrapped his arms around her in return. Neither of them said anything to each other.

"Has anyone seen Mary?" Marlene was asking as she came bumbling in after Sirius and Gwen. There was a certain tone in her voice that Gwen instantly caught, because she herself had used it an abundance of times—the timidity of trying to restrain one's voice from showing how worried they truly were. Marlene's eyes darted around the Great Hall. "Anyone?"

"She's here," called Ted Tonks from the Slytherin side of the Hall, leaning over a stretcher laid across the table. "Come quick, Marlene. And grab Alice."

James turned instantly, letting go of Gwen, his eyes skimming the situation from afar. "Alice?"

Immediately, Gwen's stomach gave a lurch, and she took a step back from James, following his gaze. "Is something wrong?"

"Alice's the best Healer on the scene," he explained, his voice buzzing with worry. "Something's happened, then. To Mary." His eyes met Gwen's and softened on impact, and he swallowed, shaking his head. "No, it's fine, I'm sure of it. As long as they're asking for Alice, she's still alive. They think she can be saved. That's good, Gwen."

"This is a nightmare," was her weak response, and she dropped her head against James's chest. "How could this happen, James?"

     For a moment, he didn't say anything, and all Gwen heard of him was his heart's beat, pounding rhythmically and softly. Its pace was steady and even, each pulse thrumming from James's chest into Gwen's mind and embedding her in comfort. His heart was beating and for a moment that was all that mattered.

     Then, he drew in a shaky breath, and Gwen felt his arms wrap around her shoulders again—and he confirmed her deepest fears. "We're a world at war, Gwen. This won't be the worst of it."

                                     Mary lost an arm, in the end. She'd been hit by a nasty, awful thing—Remus was there when it happened and attested that Snape had been the caster, though it wasn't a spell that came familiar to him.

     "Sectum-something," he said, on record. Moody and Shacklebolt had demanded to know what curse Snape was using—for if he used it once, it was definite that he would use it again. "I'd never heard it before. Sliced through her shoulder like butter."

     Lily excused herself at the metaphor, her quiet voice sounding choked, and Gwen couldn't tell if it were tears or bile doing the work.

     On a side Gwen didn't quite want to refer to as 'bright', Mary's arm was the only great casualty of the battle. No deaths, nor injuries, nor incarcerations had taken place, and whether this had been a purposeful move by the Death Eaters was still in question. It was argued for just a short while that this attack had been a sort of diversion, and that Voldemort's army was only moments away from storming the Ministry, but it didn't take long for that idea to be dispelled.