The Disgraced of the House of Black - A Multi-Character Fanfiction - Part Two

255. The Waking

"Ron - Dumbledore's dead," Ginny said.

They had been talking quietly about Bill, who was so scarred they hardly recognized him, but her response seemed to echo through the room. 

There was a beat of stunned silence before Remus, finally looking up from Althea, cried, "No!"

"But-" Althea began, attempting to sit up. She was wide awake now. "How?"

Harry hesitated a moment, staring at her full in the face before he admitted, "Snape killed him. I was there. I saw it. We arrived back on the Astronomy Tower because that's where the Mark was...Dumbledore was ill, he was weak, but I think he realized it was a trap when we heard footsteps running up the stairs. He immobilized me. I couldn't do anything. I was under the Invisibility Cloak - and then Malfoy came through the door and disarmed him-"

Althea pressed her eyes closed, fighting back tears before she felt a hand in her own. Neville had taken her hand in his own, squeezing comfortingly as she forced herself to listen to the end of Harry's story.

"-more Death Eaters arrived including-" Harry broke off, his eyes straying toward where Bill was lying. "Including Ellis. And then Snape - and Snape did it. The Killing Curse."

He couldn't bring himself to say more. Madam Pomfrey burst into tears before disappearing into her office as a sound reached their ears. Althea turned her head slightly to listen better as beautiful music reached their ears. She realized after a moment that it was the sound of a phoenix. How long they listened, none of them could afterward remember. But Althea, after only listening for a few moments, drifted off into a deep sleep.

.

The moment Ellis got beyond the barrier that allowed him to apparate, he disappeared, reappearing again in a forest he did not recognize before he let out another scream, sobs tearing through his body as he pounded the earth, pain twisting inside him, threatening to suffocate him. There was only one thought left to him now: he could never go back, not to Voldemort and not to his friends.

.

Althea was released from the Hospital Wing the next morning with strict orders to take it easy, orders which Neville was forcing her to uphold. That was why, a few evenings later, she sat, curled up against him, almost asleep as she listened to the others talk.

"I suppose I'm just going to have to accept that he really is going to marry her," Ginny sighed, referring to Bill and Fleur, who, Althea later found out, had had a rather dramatic exchange with Mrs Weasley about their marriage.

"She's not that bad," Harry said, causing Ginny to instantly raise her eyebrows at him. "Ugly, though," he added hastily.

Althea smiled in amusement, giving him a look.

"Well, I suppose if Mum can stand it, I can," Ginny said.

"Anyone else we know died?" Ron asked as Hermione scanned the Evening Prophet.

Wincing slightly at the forced-toughness in his voice, she replied, "No. They're still looking for Snape but no sign..."

"Of course there isn't," Harry said furiously. "They won't find Snape until they find Voldemort, and seeing as they've never managed to do that in all this time..."

He broke off painfully.

"I'm going to bed," Ginny yawned. "I haven't been sleeping since...well...I could do with some sleep."

When she had stood, kissed Harry, which caused Ron an amusing amount of discomfort, and waved goodbye to the others, Ginny went upstairs, leaving the four of them alone.

Harry was quiet for a moment before he said, "I should've known it was Snape, the Half-Blood Prince, I mean. That spell..."

Althea sighed.

"It must have been the one he used on Amara," Althea whispered. "When he tried to kill her."

Harry nodded, attempting to swallow the lump in his throat.

"God, how could I have been so stupid!" Althea cried, sitting up with uncharacteristic harshness.

"Thea-" Harry began.

"No, Harry," she said harshly, meeting his gaze. It was then that Harry realized with a start that she was nearly in tears. "You don't understand, I - I had started to trust Snape, to actually trust him, and now...If I hadn't been so stupid maybe, maybe..."

She couldn't bring herself to continue. No one could think of anything to say.