Pansy sat motionless in the infirmary, staring at Milllicent Bulstrode's body laying in the bed next to her. Harry could see the tracks of tears running down her cheeks. There was a little zone of eerie calm in the middle of the chaotic din that surrounded them.
Madam Pomfrey would likely be busy all night.
Professor Slughorn was there, as was Dumbledore and the retired auror Watts. Harry was pretty sure there would be several more joining them soon. He'd heard that Amelia Bones was on her way to oversee things, not willing to let any underlings bumble the investigation into what had happened.
Hopefully Fudge wouldn't intrude and screw everything up even more than he usually did.
But Harry's focus wasn't on any of that at the moment. He remembered how Pansy had told him that she and Millie (as the other Slytherins affectionately referred to her) weren't particularly close- friendly acquaintances, she'd said. Judging by her reaction though, Millie had meant more to her than she had said. Maybe more than Pansy had even consciously realized.
Thankfully, she was the only permanent casualty among the Slytherin girls.
The final tally was six dead and nine injured in the night's chaos. That didn't count the Carrow girls; Harry knew that Hestia would require some medical aid once she got to France. Flora hadn't had anything too noticeable, only a couple of scratches that he had seen. He had to hope that both of them were alright.
Beyond the physical wounds, Hogwarts was almost certainly going to use up its entire supply of calming draughts. Everyone there had seen death much more up close and personal than anyone should ever want. Worst among them had been the half dozen girls that had been tied up and that would have had much worse fates if not for the actions of people like Millie and Flora charging in to rescue them. Remarkably, none of them had suffered anything physical beyond a bit of groping and having some of their clothes torn off, but Harry had a feeling that it wouldn't be easy to get over that night for them.
He could still remember the terror he had felt the first time Vernon had thrown him into the cupboard, his head bouncing off the wall when he was four. He had cried for hours as silently as possible after his awful uncle had threatened him with worse if he didn't quiet down. Harry knew that being a victim was bad, but that feeling of being helpless was even worse.
Of the guys involved, five had died. He had seen that both Warrington and Crabbe had been marked with Riddle's tattoo. The others he hadn't been close enough to tell, but if Bones and her people didn't do their jobs properly, he was going to go around the infirmary surreptitiously cutting everyone's sleeves off.
He had his cloak in his pocket and was already considering it.
The Slytherin quidditch team was now out of the running for the year. Harry almost had to laugh when he thought of it, no matter how inappropriate it would have been. After the brutality of both the last match as well as what they had tried to do that night, he would not mourn any of them. Harper, Urquhart, and Goyle were the only survivors, and the first two were both now missing their wand arms due to the actions of Daphne and himself.
But none of that truly mattered to him at the moment. Pansy would need him tonight and she took precedence over everything else.
At least she was safe. She'd only cast a shield spell and a summoning charm to pull one of the still-bound girls out of the way of a spell. Harry hadn't killed anyone either, so legally they should both be okay, but he had Dobby deliver a message to Sam just in case. Their lawyer was supposed to be on his way.
The doors banged open as Madam Bones led a group of eight people into the infirmary. Harry was pleased to see Alastor stumping along in the rear. He was even more relieved that Fudge hadn't barged in as well.
"Dear Lord," Amelia gasped as she saw how full the room was. "What the hell happened here?"
"We have been trying to discern just that, Amelia," Dumbledore replied. "The tragedy appears to have happened in a flash, and finding a witness who saw everything as well as being calm enough to explain has been difficult."
"Potter!" Moody growled. "You've got your head on straight. What can you tell me, lad?"
"I was only there for the end of it," Harry replied, as he squeezed Pansy's shoulder before stepping over to join the adults. He was very worried that she didn't respond at all. "By the time I got there, the fighting was well underway. Several people were already on the ground."
"Just tell us what you can, Mr. Potter," Bones prompted. "We need to know all we can."
"Alright. Well, I've been leading a sort of study group for those who were worried about-" he had to stop himself for a moment. "For things like these supposedly 'rogue' Death Eaters. Several girls from Slytherin are members."
"Only girls?" Bones asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Only girls from Slytherin," Harry clarified. "There have been a mix of guys and girls from the other three houses."
"Very well, continue."
"We had a short meeting tonight before everyone was going away for the holidays. A bit after that, I was contacted about an emergency happening down in the Slytherin dungeons."
"What sort of emergency?"
"It was hard to tell. There was a lot of noise, screaming even, and I saw spellfire."
"Saw?"
"The person who contacted me had an enchanted mirror."
"I've heard of such a thing," Amelia nodded. "Useful little trick. Can I see this mirror?"
Harry nodded and pulled it out of his pocket.
"Where is the linked mirror?"
"The last time I saw it, it was still on the floor of the Slytherin common room. It was broken in the battle."
"Can you tell me what you saw when you did arrive?"
"As I said, the fighting was already well underway. I saw several people wounded. The battle seemed to be largely split along gender lines. From what I was able to gather, several of the older guys had captured several of the younger girls with intentions to do... things to them."
"That is only supposition, if you weren't there to see it," Bones sighed.
"True. I am only telling you what I have been told. The older Slytherin girls were mostly in my group. Without them there, the younger girls would have been more vulnerable. It is possible, although again this is only supposition, that the guys may have been waiting for such an opportunity."
"Why do you say that?" Moody asked.
"Because my group has been meeting often on Friday nights, and there are enough people involved that it is possible the guys could have learned there was a meeting tonight. Maybe they thought it would last longer and they could get away with what they were planning? I'm just guessing, but from what I heard, the guys were interrupted when the older girls returned earlier than usual. I'm not sure who cast the first spell... well, not in the fight itself. There were some girls bound in ropes- that I did see. But when I arrived, there were several people on the ground and several people still fighting. First, I cast a shield spell to block one spell. Then, I saw someone about to curse a girl in the back, and I stopped him."
"How?" Amelia asked.
"Cutting curse. Took his wand arm off." Bones exhaled while Alastor grunted approvingly. Harry didn't see the headmaster's face, but he knew he wouldn't be happy about that.
"Why did you think something that... severe was necessary?"
"Because I'd already seen one of the guys cast a killing curse that thankfully missed everyone. There were people bleeding, people dying, and the bastard tried to curse one of my friends in the back."
"Good choice lad," Alastor grumbled. "Which one of 'em did you get?"
"Urquhart," Harry replied, pointing to one of the people in a bed across the room.
"What happened after that?" Amelia prodded.
"The fighting stopped a moment later. I didn't cast anything else."
"We'll need to check your wand."
Harry nodded and pulled it out. "Who should I hand it to?"
"Shack, Tonks," Bones called two of the aurors to step forward. "Kingsley, you're in charge. Take all appropriate notes for evidence. Tonks, I want you to run the checks on all the wands as you go around the room. Follow Shack's lead. Make sure not to miss anyone, and see who else is up to testifying at the moment."
Harry handed his wand to Tonks, and sure enough the spells he said he cast showed up. It was returned to him a moment later.
"Did you see who got the girl? Bulstrode, I believe," Alastor asked, motioning over as Harry looked at Pansy.
"No. She was already down when I got there."
"And your girl?"
"They were friends."
"Alright, that's enough for now, Mr. Potter."
Harry nodded at Amelia's dismissal and returned to his Pansy's side. She still seemed to be practically catatonic. He was struggling to find any words that could help, so he sat down next to her, taking her hand in his. He had to assume that it was a start- she leaned into him, so he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"I... I don't know what to say." There was a hitch in her breathing, so Harry tried to press on. "I'm so sorry. Is there anything I can do?"
"Just stay by me, Harry."
"Always."
He let them sit in silence.
The rest of the room slowly began to fill up as parents started to arrive. The Greengrasses were the first, and Harry overheard bits of Astoria's testimony of what happened. He wasn't meaning to eavesdrop, but they were only about ten feet away. It was pretty much what he already knew or had inferred.
Warrington had been the ringleader. No real surprise there. He'd been the captain of the team too, as well as the fact that Harry now knew he was marked as an actual Death Eater.
Harry wondered with disgust what sort of ceremony Riddle would have for his followers. He imagined a display of both sadism and obedience. There was likely an unsolved muggle disappearance or murder. With the Dark Lord keeping a low profile, they couldn't afford to go after anyone magical. And to the Death Eaters, muggles didn't count for anything at all.
His thoughts were broken as he saw Sam McKenzie walk in. Harry kissed Pansy's temple and whispered that he would need to get up. She nodded and let go of his hand. He was a little surprised once he realized how tightly she had been holding onto him.
"Harry."
"Sam." They shook hands and Harry took a couple of steps away.
"What can you tell me about this terrible business? I've heard there was some sort of fight that broke out in Slytherin, but this... I never expected to see-" He motioned towards all the beds filled with bodies, both wounded and deceased.
"Yeah, everything went nuts. From what I've gathered, a group of about ten upper year guys decided they wanted to have some fun with some of the girls."
"Dear Merlin," Sam exhaled. "Please tell me they didn't succeed."
"No, they were interrupted before... well, anyway, my group that I've been teaching, I told you about that, right?" Sam nodded, so Harry continued. "Yeah, so most of the upper year Slytherin girls arrived and put a stop to things, but it got violent really fast."
"And how did you get involved?"
"I was contacted by Hestia."
"Then what?"
"She said that they needed help, so I got down to the dungeons as fast as I could."
"And Pansy went with you, I assume."
"Yes."
"What happened next?"
Harry spent the next few minutes explaining all he could. Sam pulled out a notepad and made a few notes with a pen as he listened. Harry was a little surprised to see an old pureblood not using a quill for everything, but Sam mentioned that it was much more convenient. While Hogwarts still insisted on parchment for some reason, even the ministry had graduated to paper a hundred years prior.
Tonks and her partner made it around the room to Pansy by then. Harry and Sam led them over to her.
"Pansy?"
She flinched and forced herself to look up. "Yes?"
"We need to examine your wand," Tonks answered.
She nodded and handed it over. A couple of healing spells had been most recent, a shield and a summoner before that. Pansy croaked out that she had pulled one of the bound girls away from the fighting, pointing to a third year whose name she couldn't remember.
"I assume neither of my clients are facing any charges," Sam stated. Tonks stepped back, deferring to Kingsley Shacklebolt.
"At this point, it seems that both of them should be in the clear. Pansy didn't cast anything to cause harm. As for Potter, he could have been charged with assault, but Urquhart had a couple of really nasty curses on his wand. If he had hit someone with one, he would have likely killed them. That moves things into the realm of self-defense."
"That's good to hear, but if for some reason anything changes, I expect to be notified immediately. Especially if there is some sort of pressure from the top. I'll remind Fudge himself if I have to."
"That shouldn't be a problem, Sam," Bones said as she walked over. "I wanted to make sure that no one botched this, so I've got some of my best people here. Cornelius sent a bureaucrat," she motioned over to a younger man standing against a wall, out of the way. "But he wasn't anyone that I couldn't handle.
"However, since you're here, we might need your help."
"What can I do?"
"I believe more than a few of our teenage witnesses, and their families, might want legal counsel tonight."
"Give me a moment to speak with my clients, and I'll see what I can do."
Madam Bones, Tonks, and Shacklebolt all left them at that point. Sam stepped over closer to Pansy.
"Was she a friend of yours?" he asked quietly.
"Yes."
"I'm terribly sorry, Pansy. Why don't you let Harry take you back to your rooms?"
"There's no one here for her," she replied quietly, still staring at Millie.
"Her family?" Sam asked, looking over at Harry.
"Hopefully her mum will come," he said. "Her uncle is supposedly one of the 'rogues.' I don't know about her dad, but-"
"He's a bastard too, but not marked," Pansy croaked, barely above a whisper. "She didn't deserve this."
"No one deserves this," Sam sighed.
"We'll stay for now," Harry decided. "At least until someone shows up. Millie saved a lot of those girls tonight. It's the least we can do."
"Alright. But after that, you two should try to get some rest."
"I'll take care of her," Harry answered.
"Mr. McKenzie?"
Harry and Sam turned to see Daphne's father slowly strolling towards them.
"Mr. Greengrass, what can I do for you?"
"I was hoping to engage your services this evening."
"I have a feeling you won't be the only one," Sam replied before turning back to Harry and shaking his hand. "Let me know if you need anything else."
"You'll probably be hearing from Sirius soon," Harry warned him. He saw Sam look around the room, then his eyes narrowed and he nodded.
"Until next time then. Now, what can I do for you, Mr. Greengrass?"
Harry went back to Pansy and sat down. It was a waiting game now. Just as it had been most of the fall. He hadn't seen this coming, not exactly, but something had obviously been brewing all term.
It was strange to think that the first real skirmish was between teenagers, almost all of them underage. Harry had expected the Death Eaters to begin terrorizing people sooner. But, in a way, Hogwarts had been terrorized by this rising tension for weeks now.
Another ten minutes passed quietly before a large, square-jawed woman came rushing in and headed straight for them.
She fell to her knees and wept as she cradled her daughter's body. Harry looked away, not wanting to intrude, but Pansy was not yet moving, so he waited. By the time Mrs. Bulstrode looked up, she stared right at Pansy.
"What happened? What happened to my baby girl?"
"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Bulstrode," Pansy choked out. "Millie... she was already gone by the time I got there. I'm... I'm so sorry."
"Mrs. Bulstrode?" Harry turned and saw Astoria Greengrass leading four other girls over towards them. "Millie- she saved us."
It was almost an hour later before Harry and Pansy made it back to the Gryffindor common room. Professor McGonagall had come along to escort them back to the tower as it was nearing eleven, well past curfew.
He privately thought that she walked with them in part to try to get her emotions under control. The victims might have been Slytherins, but McGonagall had been clearly torn up over what had happened. From what Harry had seen, Slughorn had been in even worse shape, but he'd been struggling to stay strong for all the families involved.
As for Dumbledore, the headmaster maintained a calm exterior, but his eyes were dull and somber, a huge contrast to his usual manner.
Harry wondered at what all this would mean for the school. His club could get shut down, for one thing, or at least have more supervision. But the bigger question was what would happen to Slytherin. The girls should be safer now, at least theoretically, but at the same time, this could drive someone to act out even worse in some quest for revenge. Professor Slughorn was going to have his hands full trying to keep his house from falling apart.
"I'll leave you two here," McGonagall said as they reached the Gryffindor tower. "Do try to get some rest tonight."
"Thank you, professor," Harry answered.
Just as they got to the portrait of the Fat Lady though, Pansy pulled him to a stop. "I can't do it, Harry."
"What?"
"If, if people are still up, I just... I can't."
"Okay. Let me do the talking. I'll take care of everything."
Pansy nodded and wrapped her arm around his waist. They made their way inside, and she was proven right. Parvati, Lavender, Dean, Seamus, and a few others were still up, clearly waiting for them.
"Harry? Are you alright?" Parvati asked. "Dean said there was an emergency, and you guys have been gone a long time."
"I'm alright. Just give me a few minutes, and I'll be back out."
Once they were in private, Harry was happy to see Dobby already waiting for them. Pansy collapsed on the couch.
"Dobby, can you go get Luna?"
He didn't even bother to answer; Dobby was gone in a flash.
"I need to say something before the rumor mill makes anything worse," Harry explained and Pansy nodded. "Will you be okay if I leave you with Luna for a little while?"
"Yes," she whispered. "Just don't take too long."
"I won't."
A moment later, Dobby returned with Luna, who was clearly distressed. "He told me what happened. Are you both alright?"
"For the moment, yeah," Harry answered. "Will you stay with her? I need to go talk to some people."
"I've got her, Harry," Luna said as she sat down and cuddled up next to Pansy.
"Thanks."
He took a deep breath before he went back out into the common room.
"Harry!" Hermione ran at him, nearly barreling him over. She hadn't hugged him like that in a long time. "Dean said there was an emergency, but then you were gone, and there were rumors about the Slytherins, and... well, you look alright at least."
"Yeah, I'm okay."
"What happened?"
"Are all the younger years in bed?"
"Yes, why? Oh no, was it... was it that bad?"
Those still up were all now openly staring, and Harry realized that the group had probably tripled since when he had first arrived.
"Is Pansy okay?" Parvati asked. Harry smiled at that- she was the only one who asked about his girlfriend.
"She isn't hurt, but..." he sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. Better to just get it over with he decided. "I know several of you were with me at our little meeting earlier tonight. Unfortunately, that meeting meant that most of the upper year girls from Slytherin were busy. A few of the guys decided to take advantage of that. When the girls got back, they found some of the girls tied up and..."
"Oh god!" Hermione gasped. "Are they alright?"
"Millie-" Harry got a little choked up, and had to swallow to continue. "Millie charged into the fray and things pretty much went to hell in just a few seconds. Flora was right on her trail, and the guys started throwing curses too. By the time I got down there, it was almost over, but..."
"Millicent Bulstrode?" Hermione asked, almost shocked.
"She saved those girls. Flora helped, and some of the others too, but Millie- she took out several of those bastards before..." Harry had to take another breath. "It was Bletchley, he got her with a curse that made her organs fail. She... she didn't make it."
There was a shocked moment of silence that eventually Dean broke.
"Was she the only one?"
"No. From what I heard she got Crabbe, Montague, and Bletchley. Buried an axe in his chest just as he cursed her. Wounded a few others too. And Warrington and Pike are also dead."
"Holy shit," Dean whispered. "Did... did you kill any of them?"
"No, not me. I saw Urquhart about to curse Flora in the back though- I took his wand arm off."
"Oh, Harry," Hermione moaned. "Are you in any trouble?"
"The aurors said I was in the clear. It was done in defense, and he had some nasty curses on his wand."
"What about Flora?" Parvati asked. "And the other girls, was anyone else-"
"The rest of the girls were alright, as far as I could tell. The hospital wing is pretty full tonight, though, and I bet Madam Pomfrey is going to be needing to restock her supply of potions.
"I... I never thought the first battle of the war would be fought here." Harry scrubbed at his face, feeling incredibly weary. He needed to finish up and get back to Pansy, but he knew he was probably forgetting a few things. "Oh, yeah. I should tell you all that at least Warrington and Crabbe had the Dark Mark."
"Shite!" Seamus yelped. "Even though they were still in school?"
"One way for the Dark Lord to build his forces back up," Harry shrugged. "If you hear any idiots talking about how Riddle isn't back, you can tell them that Crabbe just turned sixteen, and he had the Dark Mark. If not for Riddle being out there now, that would mean he's had it since he was a baby. I hope no one is stupid enough to think that.
"But anyway, that means that they had spies here, and they still might. So, we all need to be careful. I don't know who they'd want to spy on other than Dumbledore, and well, me, but just keep it in mind."
"What do we do now, Harry?" Hermione asked.
"Not much we can do at the moment. I just wanted people to know the truth. I've got to get back to Pansy though. Millie... she was her friend."
"Tell her I'm sorry," Parvati said. A few voices murmured in agreement. Harry nodded and went back to his room.
Meanwhile...
Gregory Goyle was having the worst night of his life. Not that the rest of it had been that great, but he would always remember that as the night when everything really changed.
Vincent Crabbe had been his best friend all his life. Just like their dads. Although they were purebloods, their families weren't rich or powerful. But their fathers had also both been Death Eaters. It was an open secret, and their fathers had always taught them that muggles were no more than filthy animals.
About a year before starting Hogwarts, they were taken to Malfoy Manor. Greg at first had thought it must have been Hogwarts with how big the mansion was. There, he met Draco Malfoy. Draco seemed like the coolest kid he'd ever met. He was rich and his family had all their well-connected friends, and from then on, Goyle had a spot among the powerful. It may have only been as a follower, but it was still a big step up.
For a few years, everything seemed great. No one ever cared that he was a poor student. He could push the other kids around because Snape never let Draco get in trouble. Since Greg was always by his side, that protection extended to him as well.
Then that Parkinson bitch attached herself to Potter, and everything started to change.
First, Potter somehow defeated Draco's father in a duel. Then, Draco tried and failed to curse Potter to death. Potter got rid of Snape too. It seemed like no one in Slytherin was safe anymore.
But things got so much worse at the Quidditch World Cup. It was supposed to be a bit of fun and a reminder of how powerful they were. How scared the rest of the wizards and witches were compared to the might of the Death Eaters. But his father was unlucky enough to get caught and sent to Azkaban.
In a way, that seemed like it might make things better for him. Greg's mum was always a lot nicer and less demanding of her son.
Most of his fourth year was quiet. But by the time summer came back around, Vincent was telling him all about how proud his dad had been to present him to the Dark Lord. He talked about how the Dark Lord was going to put them back on top of things. Warrington did too, and it soon turned out that joining the quidditch team might as well have meant joining the Dark Lord. Three of them were already marked, and the others at least seemed to be looking forward to it. Practice always involved a lot of talk about putting the mudbloods and blood traitors in their place.
As for Greg, he just wanted to play quidditch and stay far away from Harry Potter. Potter had killed a whole lot of people, and Greg didn't ever want to be on the other side of him in a fight.
But things got worse that Halloween. The Dark Lord broke his followers out. That meant that Greg's dad was free. His thoughts of a nice quiet holiday with his mum went out the window. Crabbe tried to tell him how amazing it would be, that maybe he could even get the Dark Mark for Christmas.
That and all the other fun that his team wanted led to that one terrible night.
Now, Greg had never even kissed a girl.
When Warrington said they were going to have a party, and a bunch of pretty girls would be there, it sounded great. Maybe he would have one good night before his father forced him to follow in his footsteps in the shadow of the Dark Lord.
He was the last one to get back to the common room. He'd had a second slice of apple crumb cake for dessert. Greg should have stayed for a third.
The room was so quiet when he got there that he could hear a couple of the girls crying. Warrington called him over and that's when he saw what was happening. There were six girls all lined up, bound with ropes, and lying on the floor. He saw Harper standing over Astoria Greengrass, her shirt half torn off, laughing and leering at her.
In a way, Greg couldn't blame him. Daphne Greengrass was probably the hottest girl he'd ever seen, and her little sister was really good looking too. But ignoring the not so little crush he might have had on Daphne, he knew exactly how she would respond to someone doing this to Astoria.
He barely listened to the words Warrington and Montague were saying- that Potter's group was meeting but they'd have to be quick, that there weren't enough girls so some of them would have to share. He heard Harper call dibs on Astoria, and Greg stood in the back, trying to figure out what to do. If he didn't go along with it, his teammates would probably kill him.
But if he did, he knew that Potter would definitely kill him. That's if Daphne or someone else didn't get to him first. He'd seen the scary look on Flora Carrow's face before, and that was one witch in particular he wanted to stay far away from. She was friends with Potter, after all.
Goyle was damned no matter what he did. So he chose to do what had become the usual for him all that term- stay in the background, be quiet, and hope for the best.
When Millie came roaring down the stairs, Greg knew that his hopes were gone.
The spells came fast and furious at that point, and he started to panic. He'd been near a wall and there had been an old shield hanging on it that he pulled down. He wasn't great with a wand, so he hoped that someone would put a stop to things. Professor Slughorn's office was nearby. Hopefully, he would hear what was going on and could save the day.
He saw Warrington cast a killing curse that Flora Carrow just barely managed to duck in time. There were explosions and bits of stone and wood in the air. A thud smashing into the wall next to him drew his eyes down to see Vincent lying there with an enormous pool of blood leaking out of the back of his head.
Greg didn't remember standing up, not exactly, but he couldn't stay there crouching next to his best friend's dead body.
A moment later, he was looking around horrified as people were still trying to kill each other. If this was what being a Death Eater was like, he knew that serving the Dark Lord was going to get him killed. Just like Montague, as Millie slashed him open with an axe and blood splashed up all over the right side of Goyle's face. If he wasn't so dazed by everything going on around him, he probably would have thrown up.
Instead, he tried to back away, to stay out of the fighting as much as he could. Not that it did much good- he was near the wall furthest away from the exit and there were two people lying on the ground next to him.
Then, Bletchley and Millie had met in the center of the chaos. It looked like Millie had scored another killing blow with her axe, but Bletchley was cursing her at the same time. Greg paid no attention to Bletchley's body going flying away. He was staring at Millie as she fell, and he saw the flash of pain in her eyes before they grew dim.
He was too shocked to move.
Years before, when he and Vincent were still just kids, they hadn't made many friends. Most of the other wizards their age were either too snobby or the wrong sort. They were on the poorer side of the purebloods, and it's not like their dads would ever be chummy with people like the Weasleys. There were a few witches they met, but most of them played with silly girly things like dolls.
When he was about five, he met Millie. Her uncle had brought her over, and while he went to talk with their dads, Millie joined him and Vincent as they played what they called monster fighting. They had these little figures, and they would argue over things like who would win between a troll and a werewolf, or how many goblins it would take to kill a hippogriff. That day, he and Vincent were arguing about which creature was the best of all. Crabbe wanted to be a good little Slytherin, so he said a basilisk, while Goyle had said a nundu, because their breath could kill- and of course, they could close their eyes so the basilisk's gaze wouldn't work.
Millie told them they were both wrong, that a dragon could fly over them and burn either a basilisk or nundu up with it's fire. When Vincent told her she was wrong, she punched him in the jaw.
It started a fight, and a few minutes later, when the dust settled, the three of them were friends.
Millie wasn't like most girls. To Greg, she seemed like the coolest girl he'd ever met. She might not have been as pretty as someone like Daphne, but she could throw a punch better than most of the guys he knew, and that was impressive. Plus, she thought girly things like 'tea parties' were just as stupid as he did.
They had ended up in Slytherin together, and while they weren't as close as they had been when they were younger, he still got along with Millie just fine. At first, while he followed Draco around, she had become pals with Pansy Parkinson, who was half her size but seemed just as mean. When Parkinson went off with Potter, Millie was left kind of alone, but she still had enough of a reputation that no one messed with her.
Greg had still been her friend too, and in fact, she sometimes helped him with his assignments, especially for Charms and Defense.
And now, she was dead. First Vincent, now Millie.
He was just standing there in a stupor when he felt a horrific pain as something stabbed him in the eye.
Three hours later and it still hurt, even as he now knew that his eye was gone. Greg was in the infirmary, and he counted himself grateful that he was still alive. And at least he wasn't like Urquhart or Harper, both of whom were now missing their wand arms.
But even with his wounds, he still faced going home tomorrow and having to deal with his father. And that meant that sooner or later, he would end up before the Dark Lord himself.
His mum was beside him, trying to console him, but Greg thought she was probably trying to calm herself down as much as anything else. He had barely heard any of what she'd been saying for the last half hour.
"Mum?"
"What is it, sweetie?"
"Can you get one of the aurors over here?"
"Whatever for? I think you've been through enough tonight, they can come back tomorrow to bother you." She continued to fuss over him, alternately stroking his hair or holding his hand, but he sat up and waved her off. Then he saw his old Defense professor and had an idea.
"Professor Moody?" he called out, and wondered just for a second if he could get a magical eye like that. It would probably cost too much. The clomping of wood reminded him of how glad he was to not be missing anything else.
"I'm not a professor anymore, lad. Goyle, wasn't it?"
"Yes sir. I'd like to testify."
"Gregory-" his mum warned him, but he shook her off.
"But I need help. No, we need help," he clarified, pointing her out as well.
"What do you mean?" Moody asked.
"I want to stay at Hogwarts. I mean, for Christmas. And I want you to take my mum somewhere safe."
"Safe from what?"
"My dad. You know he's free now. If I go home, I might not ever come back. If I don't show up though, he might try to hurt my mum."
"What are you saying son?"
"You keep her safe, and I'll tell you everything I know."
"And just what do you know, lad? You're what, fifteen?"
"Sixteen next month, but I know my father was a Death Eater. I know Crabbe's father is one, and I know others too."
"Gregory!" his mum hissed in a quiet voice. "You'll get yourself killed!"
"I almost got killed tonight, mum. If dad makes me join the Dark Lord, I will get killed."
"Why do you say that, lad?" Moody asked.
"I saw enough fighting tonight, sir. I saw people like Flora Carrow that Potter's been training. And I saw Potter himself. He's killed people before. I remember his duel with Draco's dad. I know he killed people last spring too. I don't ever want to be on the other side of his wand. I want to stay out of this war. I want to stay alive."
"So you're willing to testify then? You'll tell me what I want to know if I help keep your mum safe?"
"And talk to the headmaster too. If I can stay here over the holidays, then my dad can't force me to join the Death Eaters. If he gets to me, I won't have any choice."
"Alright, you've got yourself a deal. I'll even talk to Albus for you. Now, what can you tell me?"
"I can tell you that if you take a look at Harper's left arm, you'll see he's got the mark. Warrington and Vincent did too."
"Any others at school?"
"Not yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if some others might be... er, that is, Vincent talked to me about how I might be able to get it over the holidays too. That our dads would take us in front of, of him, you know? I wouldn't have a choice. Please, you've got to to tell Dumbledore that I have to stay here."
"Alright, calm down," Moody replied, holding his hands up. "Don't worry about Albus- he's not going to turn someone in your position down. But what other names can you tell me? Adults, I mean."
"You'll get my mum somewhere safe too? I don't want Dad hurting her when I don't come home."
"You have my word, son. How many more do you know of?"
"Maybe ten?" Greg shrugged. He wasn't completely sure of all of them, but he knew at least six that definitely bore that tattoo. It had once seemed so impressive. He remembered his dad telling him about how it could move and how the Dark Lord could summon him through it.
That type of power had once seemed amazing. Now, all Greg Goyle saw was a death sentence.
Christmas had come early for Alastor Moody. He'd discreetly thrown up a privacy charm as soon as the boy had started talking. Not all of the names were that useful, a couple of them he'd already known, but three of them turned out to have incredibly fortuitous timing. Because Emery Warrington, Simeon Montague, and Tobias Harper were all standing in that very room.
A huge grin lit up that battered old face as a plan started to come together.
In another part of the castle, Harry found Pansy and Luna ready for bed when he came back into their quarters.
"I asked Luna to stay the night," Pansy explained. "I didn't think you'd mind."
"Of course not."
"Okay, go get changed, Harry. Pansy seems to think I shouldn't watch for some reason." It was obvious that Luna was trying to lighten the mood, and Pansy gave a half-hearted grin, so maybe it was working a little bit.
"Uh, yeah, I guess it might be um, inappropriate?"
"I don't really know why," Luna shrugged. "I've seen you two shag before. Unless you're going to do a sexy strip tease?"
"I wasn't planning on it," he snorted.
"That's more my style, anyway," Pansy added, before letting out a slow chuckle. "But we probably shouldn't put any ideas in Harry's head tonight, sweetie."
"If you insist," Luna sighed.
Harry made it quick, as he was hoping that maybe with the three of them together they could keep any nightmares away. He was really worried about Pansy.
Within a couple of minutes, the girls joined him as they all climbed into the bed together.
"You'll have to scoot over a little, Harry," Luna said. "Pansy needs to be in the middle tonight."
"Yeah, no problem." He slid over a bit, and Pansy molded herself to his side with Luna curling up behind her.
"There, now you've got both of us to hold you tonight," Luna said. "Just so you'll remember that Harry and I both love you."
"Thank you, sweetie."
Harry kissed her forehead and added, "Luna's right as usual. We both love you, and we'll do whatever we need to in order to help you get through this."
"I know, Harry, I just..." Pansy shivered slightly against his chest. "I failed her. Millie, she- I-"
He heard and felt her begin to cry again, tears dripping onto him. Harry just held on that much tighter.
"I never really thought of how I abandoned her," Pansy admitted. "Those first couple of years here, she was... she was my best friend. I mean, we weren't always really close, but neither of us had anyone that was closer, you know? I always felt too insecure and jealous around Daphne, even though I'd known her longer. But Millie, well, we never really had all that much in common. But she had this really nasty sense of humor, and, and... I guess we just really bonded over the fact that we were both mean little bitches. It's not like the other houses were open to befriending a couple of nasty little Slytherin witches like us. Plus, some people would have made fun of her, you know? She wasn't turning the heads of any boys, but that never really mattered to me. She was kind of intimidating, and I loved having someone like that to watch my back.
"Did I ever tell you the story about the beginning of our second year?"
"No."
"This was maybe a week or two into the fall term, and this older bitch... what was her name? I think it was something like Sternes or Sternley or... I don't really remember. Anyway, she was a sixth year, and for some reason she decided to pick on 'little' Millie. Ha!" Pansy chuckled to herself. "She was always a head taller than me, but I suppose she was a bit shorter than whatever her name was. But, this stupid bitch tried to take Millie's new quill. You see, it was a gift from her gran, and it had a charm on it that could turn ink into different colors. Millie had shown it to me on the train. I guess word got around, and this sixth year tried to take it from her. Can you guess what happened?"
"I would venture that Millie kicked her arse," Luna suggested.
"You would be right, sweetie. Millie blasted her across the common room. Before she could get up, Millie had jumped on her and given her a black eye. She said, 'next time you try to take something of mine, I'll take something of yours, bitch.' She had her wand pointed right at the bitch's eye too. It was amazing. But that was Millie. She wouldn't have done bad in Gryffindor, really."
"I think that's a compliment for once," Harry teased.
"Yeah, for once, it is."
Pansy grew quiet after that, and Harry couldn't think of anything to say that would help. He hated the feeling of not being able to do enough for her. He wished he was better with words. His worries lightened a moment later when he heard Pansy's breathing change and she started to softly snore.
"She's going to be alright, Harry," Luna whispered. "You need to get some sleep too. You can't take care of her if you wear yourself out."
"Thanks. Good night, Luna."
The next morning was very subdued. People were talking quietly in little groups, obviously about what had happened. Breakfast went on like that until it got even worse when the paper arrived.
For once, the Daily Prophet seemed to be only reporting the facts- that a fight had broken out at Hogwarts and that several students had been killed. The fact that Mr. Greengrass was quoted heavily let Harry know where they got their information. Greengrass had been smart about it too; he'd mentioned his own daughter being attacked and Harry couldn't see how Fudge, or anyone else, could try to throw the blame at anyone other than the Slytherins involved in the fighting.
Unless they tried to argue that Dumbledore had lost control of the school. Harry sighed when he thought of that. If someone like Umbridge came to Hogwarts after the Christmas break, he wasn't sure what he would do.
Hopefully, not have to kill anyone else.
He couldn't imagine anyone being worse than that awful bitch. Unless they sent a Death Eater. Harry snorted to himself at that thought- he'd probably just jinxed himself.
The Slytherin table was very quiet, which seemed obvious since it was half empty. A number of people were still in the hospital wing. Most of those eating were kids from the first couple of years. And they looked frightened. Harry briefly wondered about going over to sit with them, if that wouldn't scare them even more.
But Pansy was still hurting, so he focused on her.
By the time they got on the train, the pressure seemed to be easing up. Once again, Luna came and helped things along.
"Alright, Harry, you sit down first." He wasn't used to her bossing him around, but Luna usually did things for a reason, so he sat closest to the window where she was pointing. "Now me, then Pansy can lay her head down in your lap."
Pansy took her directions too, and Luna then helped her stretch out her legs across her lap.
"Luna, what are you doing?" Pansy asked.
"Taking your shoes off."
"Why?"
"I know that you like it when Harry rubs your feet, so I thought I should start practicing too. You know, for when Harry isn't around to cater to your every need."
Pansy snorted and grinned at her. "He does have to go to the bathroom now and then. Thanks, sweetie."
"You're welcome."
"But leave my socks on," Pansy added. "It's fucking freezing out today."
"It will be nice to see my grandparents soon," Luna said with a grin. "What are you two looking forward to for Christmas?"
"We were supposed to meet up with Sirius at some point, but I imagine things are going to be really hectic for him. He's probably in France at the moment. I hope the girls are doing alright."
"Hestia and Flora?" Luna asked.
"Yeah, I let them use our escape portkey. Did I tell you about that?" Harry asked, and Luna shook her head, so he explained about how Fleur had spoken to her father and had a permanent portkey set up that they could use to go right to the Delacour family home, just in case things got bad enough with the Dark Lord. After helping rescue his youngest daughter, Mr. Delacour had felt it was the least he could do for Harry.
Hermione came in a moment later, sitting down across from them.
"Harry, you know we're supposed to patrol the train today, right? You should have your badge on."
"Someone else will have to do it. I'm busy."
"But, Harry, people look up to you. Even more than most prefects, this is something-"
"Hermione, listen, I just really don't care." He saw her narrow her eyes and he could just feel the angry retort coming so he raised his hand to cut her off. "I am taking care of Pansy today. One of her friends was killed last night."
"What about everyone else? There were a lot of people hurt and scared and-"
"They can fuck off for all I care. Pansy's more important."
"You... you really mean that don't you? She's more important than everyone else. The world could burn, and as long as she was safe, you wouldn't care."
"Yeah, pretty much," Harry replied.
"You two are really co-dependent," Hermione huffed. "It's not healthy, and I worry about you, Harry. You used to be more caring. You've become so hard and so... ruthless. It scares me, frankly. You should be upset by the fact that you permanently maimed someone last night. I went to the infirmary, and I saw Urquhart there. Everything below the elbow is just gone. I know he was doing something awful, so don't try to make this about me worrying over him. This is about you, Harry. I'm concerned about how all of this violence is affecting you."
"I'm still alive," Harry shrugged. "If it takes being more ruthless, or colder, then so be it."
"Just... just don't let it change you too much. I guess I should go walk the train then. Someone has to," Hermione said, sending him a mild glare as she got up. "I hope you all have a good holiday. Happy Christmas."
"Happy Christmas, Hermione."
Once the door closed behind her, Luna turned to look at him. "I don't think she's as observant as she thinks. She should have already known how much Pansy means to you. Hermione acted like it was all a big surprise. I've seen how close the two of you are ever since we met. I'm not sure why she thinks it's a bad thing."
"Harry used to be more noble and heroic in her view," Pansy answered, her eyes closed and a smile on her face as Harry idly stroked her hair. "He's had to fight to stay alive, but more than that, he's had to kill people. Someone like Granger is still an idealist. She doesn't realize that when you're in a war, you have to either kill the enemy or watch them kill the people you love."
"Plus, I don't know why she said we're co-dependent like it's a bad thing," Harry added. "I'm going to spend the rest of my life with Pansy. Why shouldn't we depend on each other?"
"I think she meant more that the two of you are too obsessive about each other," Luna explained.
"Well, of course I'm obsessed with her. You know how awesome our sex life is. Why wouldn't I be obsessed with the woman who-"
"Harry!" Pansy objected, looking up at him with a glare.
"What? It's not like you don't tell Luna all those sorts of things when you're alone."
"Yes, but that's different."
"How?"
"It just is!"
Harry turned to Luna who shrugged in response.
"Don't look at me. I'm always up to hear more about your sex life. But, we are supposed to be catering to Pansy today, so I suppose we should do as she asks."
"Good girl, Luna."
"Alright, you win," Harry surrendered. It was two on one with them, like always. But Luna was right. And Pansy's mood had improved a lot, so him being picked on was worth it.
When they arrived back in London, they departed the train to find Pansy's uncle Malcolm waiting for them. As Harry looked around, he noticed there were a lot more people than usual. Probably families wanting to make sure their children were alright after that morning's headlines.
"Uncle Malcolm, what are you doing here?" Pansy asked as they walked over to him. He leaned over and gave her a hug.
"I just wanted to see you after what happened last night. Are you alright?"
"I'm getting there. I've got people who've been looking after me," she said with a smile, motioning to Harry and Luna. "Oh, I don't think I've introduced you. This is Luna Lovegood, she's my best friend."
"Miss Lovegood, it's a pleasure."
"You as well, Mr. Parkinson."
"Luna?"
The girl in question turned her head. "That's my dad. I need to go."
She threw her arms around Pansy and kissed her cheek, then did the same with Harry. "Take care of each other."
"You too, Luna. Have fun and we'll see you soon."
As she left, Pansy turned back to Malcolm.
"I'd love to take you out to eat, if you don't mind," he said. "It's been too long since we caught up. And if I remember correctly, I was usually really hungry by the time the train ride was over."
"That sounds good," Pansy said and Harry nodded in agreement. "I'm starving actually. But can we stay out of Diagon Alley or anywhere like that?"
"That shouldn't be a problem. I know a really great Italian place here in London."
"Thanks, uncle Malcolm. After everything last night, I just want to relax and not have to worry about what happens next and..."
"I understand," he said. "I don't see any of your things. Are they still on the train?"
"No, Dobby handled it," Harry answered. "He takes really good care of us."
Dinner ended up being very nice and relaxing. Malcolm was kind enough not to ask too many questions about Hogwarts, and specifically avoided the night before, which Harry was thankful for. Malcolm and Pansy had plenty of other things to talk about, and Harry mostly just listened. He felt really good by the time they got back home later.
It wasn't too late, roughly nine, but Pansy was quick in heading for the bedroom in their flat.
"What are we going to do tonight?" he asked as she opened the closet.
"We're going out."
"Out?"
"Yeah. Dancing, and drinking, so give me a minute to find some clothes for us both. It's a Saturday night, and I don't want to stay in. I want to feel... different. I want to put the magical world behind us. So I want loud music and to just forget everything. And when we get home, I expect you to shag me until I can't think straight."
Harry chuckled behind her. "I think I can handle that."
"Good. Now get out while I get dressed. Go put on something upbeat to listen to."
"Your wish is my command," Harry grinned.
If this was the way she wanted to cope with all the stress, he certainly wasn't going to argue.
The next several days passed in similar fashion. Pansy wanted to go out and do things constantly. If they weren't at a club they were going to a movie. Or shopping. They dined out at least once a day too. She was clearly staying busy so that she wouldn't have time to get depressed.
Harry was far from an expert on mental health, but it seemed to be working, so he followed her lead and tried to always have something for them to do.
Unfortunately, Pansy also didn't want to celebrate her birthday by doing anything special. He'd had an idea that had been set aside due to the end of term, but he was keeping it in the back of his mind for later. Instead, they just had a quiet, romantic dinner at a fancy French restaurant that was way more expensive than any other place they'd been to, with a bottle of red wine that cost more than their food.
Harry barely touched the stuff, but Pansy's smile made it clear that he'd chosen well.
Plus, they had to get dressed up, which meant she was wearing this sleek dark purple dress that he couldn't wait to peel off her. Between the creme brulee and what came later, Harry ended up having two desserts and both of them were delicious.
Their third Christmas together was nice and quiet like the first one had been. There was no Yule Ball or anything fancy like that going on. It was just the two of them relaxing, drinking hot chocolate, exchanging a few gifts, and shagging like teenagers.
Luna popped in briefly, dropping off a couple of presents and chatting about her family. Winky was tapping her foot though, as she wasn't supposed to stay too long. Instead, Pansy told her to call later on her mirror if she had free time to talk.
They did have a few things coming up though- Boxing Day at Grimmauld Place with Sirius and a trip to France to see the Carrows and Delacours. According to Sirius, the girls seemed to be doing alright, so Harry and Pansy were trying not to worry about them.
When they arrived at that gloomy old townhouse in London, there was a lot more activity going on than they expected as Sirius led them inside.
Harry wasn't surprised to see Remus Lupin there, but the dining room was full of people and when Dumbledore and Fawkes arrived in a burst of flame, it was clear that the Order of the Phoenix was having a meeting.
"Sorry about this, Harry," Sirius said as he waved to the crowd. "It was sort of last minute's notice, but it's hard to get everyone together during the busy holiday season. Moody says he has something to talk about. Do you mind waiting a bit?"
"No problem, Sirius."
"Thanks," he said before turning to Pansy. "I hope you and Harry are doing alright after everything. The girls told me what happened."
"They're okay?"
"I think they will be. They've been pretty shaken by everything but-"
"Sirius?" Lupin called for him from the doorway.
"Right. Feel free to browse the library. I'll be up as soon as we're done."
Harry nodded as his godfather went into the kitchen and closed the door behind him. Pansy went up the stairs; Harry followed as she went into the library.
"I was thinking we might as well see if there's anything interesting to look up. For Surviving Death Eaters 101," she teased.
"It will be a new term though; I think that means it becomes 102."
"101 sounds better."
"Yeah, I guess," Harry shrugged at Pansy's grin. She started browsing the books.
"Ooh, this sounds fun. 'Three Hundred Ways to Torture a Muggle Without Killing Them Too Quickly.' I think I might like to borrow this."
"The Dursleys are still locked up though."
"I'm pretty sure the Death Eaters feel pain the same as anyone else," Pansy replied with a wicked smirk. "Plus, it would be fun irony to deal with them as if they were nothing more than the muggles they all look down on."
"True." Harry tried to find something that was less horrible sounding. It was the holidays after all. "I think I'll try this one. 'Dark Creatures and How to Make Them Serve Your Every Whim.' Might be useful."
"Going to replace me with a succubus, Harry?"
"What? Don't be silly. You're all the temptress I can handle."
"Good answer."
"I know," he chuckled. "I was actually thinking that it might have something about dementors in it, and-"
"And you have been planning on teaching the Patronus charm to people. You're smarter than you look, Harry."
"As I recall, you claimed to be the brains of this partnership from the very beginning. I should have known you only wanted me for my body."
Pansy cackled at that. "What if I did?"
"Then I'd say we should probably find a different room."
"Why?"
"As much fun as christening Sirius' library might be, I thought we might like to find some place a little more comfortable."
"The meeting will probably last awhile," Pansy said, clearly considering the idea. "What the hell, it could be funny if someone catches us anyway."
"Now you're talking."
Harry smiled as they darted out into the hall and started to look for a bedroom to borrow very temporarily.
Unfortunately, that plan was shot to pieces when he saw Andromeda Tonks come barreling out of the drawing room. Her hair was loose and wild and there was a nasty cut down the left side of her face.
"Where are they?" she yelled as she stomped down the stairs. Harry noticed that she had a slight limp too.
Nym came out behind her, looking pale and holding her left arm gingerly.
"Tonks? What's-" Harry stopped himself when he saw that she had obviously been crying. "Are you alright?"
"No," she winced, and Harry saw that she was limping too. He stepped forward and she threw her good arm over his shoulder. "Thanks, Harry. It's... my aunt, Bellatrix. She came to visit and she brought those Lestrange bastards with her. They...
"They killed my dad."