𝐑𝐄𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒-ℍ𝕒𝕣𝕣𝕪 ℙ𝕠𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣❥

𝐃𝐇 𝟐𝟐

It was like sinking into an old nightmare; for an instant Emily knelt again beside Eric's body in the midst of the fight at  Hogwarts, but in reality
she was staring at Ethan's curled up body upon the Beach, pierced and slashed by Bellatrix's spell.

Emily's voice was still saying, "Ethan . . . Ethan . . ." even though she knew that her brother had gone where she could not call him back.

After a minute or so she realized that they had, after all, come to the right place, for here were Bill and Fleur, Dean and Luna, gathering around her as she knelt over her brother.

"Hermione?" she said suddenly. "Where is she?"

"Ron's taken her inside," said Bill. "She'll be all right."

"Harry." Emily whispered, "Where is he?"

"I'm right here." Harry said, he bent down beside her and held her hand.

Emily looked back down at her brother.

The sea was rushing against rock somewhere nearby; Emily listened to it while the others talked, discussing matters in which she could take no interest, making decisions. Dean carried the injured Griphook into the house, Fleur hurrying with them; now Bill was making suggestions about burying Ethan.

"No." Emily said, "My father needs to be here. He has to be here. Get him here!"

"It's okay." Harry said as Emily collapsed into his arms, "We'll get Remus here."

Her rage was dreadful and yet Emily's grief for her brother  seemed to diminish it, so that it became a distant storm that reached Emily from across a vast, silent ocean.

"I want to do it properly," were the first words of which Emily was fully conscious of speaking. "Not by magic. Buried properly, peacefully."

"Emily, we'll take him inside, we need to get you cleaned up." Harry said.

"I'm not moving until my Pops gets here!" Emily sobbed.

"He'll be here soon." Harry said, "Emily you're bleeding too, Ethan would want us to get you cleaned up and safe before we go any further."

After Harry had convinced Emily to get her neck checked out, she straight away went back out to the beach and sat where she watched Ethan die.

The sand was still stained red and the conversation they had was still ringing in her mind, like it was happening all over again.

Emily had not heard Hermione coming through the darkness.

Hermione was wrapped in a borrowed dressing gown, pale and unsteady on her feet but she still bent down and sat beside Emily.

"Thank you." she said weakly, "Ron told me what you did in there for me."

"I couldn't let her hurt you again." Emily said, Hermione looked at her and saw a numb expression on her face, it was so opposite to what Emily was normally like that it scared her slightly, "She had done enough to you."

"She had done more to you." Hermione said, "You shouldn't have done that."

"Tell that to Ethan. It's all my fault, I had to go back to her that stupid ring and that stupid necklace! If I had just left it, none of this would've happened!"

"It's not your fault, Em." said Hermione gently, "Ethan wouldn't want you to blame yourself."

"Where are the others?" Emily asked, wiping her nose on her sleeve.

"Harry's just buried Dobby." Hermione said, shaking her head at the sentence, "Do you want to go to them?"

Emily nodded and stood up, she began to walk but Hermione took her hand and they walked together, the girls hand-in-hand.