It was a couple of minutes after the blue flames disappeared before the last remnants of Voldemort's army finally realized what had happened and dropped their wands. All of the inner circle were dead, but a few remaining elite fighters were still battling with squads one and two. For those who were marked by their master, they fell immediately, but for those who hadn't earned that privilege, it didn't take long to come to the realization of what had happened as they watched the last of their comrades fall to the ground dead beside them. Then Harry used the last of his strength and stood proudly as he cast a sonorous and his voice ripped across the field.
"LAY DOWN YOUR WANDS. I HAVE DEFEATED YOUR MASTER. TOM RIDDLE IS NO MORE!"
Just as Harry cancelled his broadcast spell and felt like he would collapse once more, he was hit with an incoming charge as his wife finally reached him, after running full out across most of the length of the battlefield. She was a bit battered and worse for wear, but never had she looked better to him as her lips locked onto his and she wrapped herself around him. Both were exhausted though as it had taken both of their strength to defeat Tom and they finally gave in and collapsed to their knees together. They would remain like that for countless minutes until they were actually found surprisingly by Dobby.
"Master and mistress, Dobby is here to take you home. Mister King Man was taken to the manor for his injuries and said the battle was over and you should be coming back."
Hermione turned to the elf and gave a small nod.
"Hi Dobby. Yes, we were going to come, but we're too tired."
"No worries, Dobby be taking you. Master and mistress need healing also."
Using supreme effort, Harry and Hermione helped each other to struggle to their feet, wobbling quite a bit. Once they were upright, Dobby took each of them by a hand and then popped them away, arriving back in the entry hall of Potter Manor. Just being home helped to energize them both just a bit as they looked around at the frantic hive of activity. The Potter elves were busy triaging injuries still and some of the lesser injured were still sitting in chairs, waiting to be taken into the infirmary. Dobby proceeded to drag them toward the infirmary, where Healer Reagan was working on stabilizing and dispatching the worst of the injured, with the help of the Grangers. Jean turned and saw them first, crying out to her children.
"Hermione! Harry!"
"Mum, we're alright. Exhausted, but not critically injured. Take care of the others. "
"I'll be the judge of that. Anyway, your father is providing Reagan's extra set of hands right now. I'm familiar with the basic potions and Auror Lacey knows some basic diagnostic spells. Let's take you two to the hall and check you over. The elves put some settees out this way."
Unable to argue with that compromise, they followed to the hallway and settled on the settees as Auror Lacey followed Jean and began to remove the heavy armor robes before starting to cast diagnostic spells over both of them. The first unusual reading she found was that they were identical on their magical exhaustion readings with both being at 9% total volume. It was just another aspect of the soul bond that showed how they had pooled their resources equally. Most magicals would pass out somewhere between five and ten percent, so it was amazing that they were both still awake and coherent.
As for injuries, Hermione had a number of bruises, the most severe being one on her thigh where she had taken a glancing bludgeoner that would have done more damage without the armor robes. She also had a nasty cut across the back of her wand hand that a combination of a healing spell and dittany took care of. With a shower and a day's rest she would be fine.
Harry was another matter, with so many bruises that they couldn't even be counted. The worse were the plethora across his rib cage, which appeared to have taken several severe hits since he had five broken ribs and a partially collapsed lung. As soon as Auror Lacey found that, she stopped the diagnostics and moved him immediately in to see Healer Reagan. Harry may be tough and used to not showing his injuries, but he was actually much worse off than he was letting on. Healer Reagan had just finished bundling Blaise off to St. Mungo's and immediately turned his attention to the Lord of the Manor, taking over on the diagnostics to start.
"Alright Lord Potter, along with your chest injuries, the cut to your left arm severed a muscle that I will have to knit back together. You also have three broken bones in your left foot, two torn ligaments in your left knee, a concussion, and a minor skull fracture. That's just the major injuries, not counting at least nine other smaller cuts that in the muggle world would at least earn you a few stitches and a host of bruises that I can't even count. I really should pack you off to St. Mungo's."
"No hospitals!"
"Yes, your lady told me you don't like hospitals. Well, you're young and the injuries are stable for now. I'm going to have an elf take you up to your suite and I'll treat you there. First, we need to treat your lungs and the bone injuries. I'll also patch up the cuts. The bruises will resolve over the next few days. In a week or so, you'll be good as new. I don't need to tell you though that I'm going to be pouring liters of potions into you."
Harry made a face and the healer chuckled.
"Healer, before we get started, I need to know the total casualty and injury numbers."
"Later. After…"
Harry pushed himself up in the bed and willed a bit of the magic he had left forward as he rubbed his signet and glared at the healer.
"I am Lord Potter and you are a guest here, you will do as you are bid! I want the numbers!"
Jean looked a bit taken aback, while Hermione smirked. Harry didn't throw his weight around often, but he was exhausted and at the end of his patience. She noticed though that Healer Reagan, who she remembered was muggleborn, didn't seem impressed. She decided that she should intervene.
"Harry, Healer Reagan is just doing his job, I know you are tired and hurting, but please don't get upset with him for helping. Come on love. Healer, I think my husband will rest better if he is better informed and isn't fretting."
"I suppose. I don't have the exact numbers yet. It's been a bit chaotic. I've treated forty-two and sent twenty-four to St. Mungo's. I've lost fourteen since they arrived and I don't know how many never made it to me. One of those was Director Shacklebolt himself. He lost a good portion of his left hand, including three fingers. It was cauterized though and he's a tough enough bastard that he kept fighting until the shock finally got him. You probably want to know about your other friends and allies. Dumbledore magically exhausted himself I heard, but I didn't see him. I think an elf put him upstairs. I took three injured from one of those platforms early on, Ronald, Emmeline, and George. George was the only one awake and talking. Said something about an 'axeman'. That might explain some of the cuts. They all had broken bones also. I stabilized all three and sent them to St. Mungo's a while ago."
Healer Reagan consulted a couple of scribbled notes briefly.
"Um, let's see…Susan, yes she took a stray curse despite being on a platform. Not sure what it was, but it was causing some seizures, so I sent her to St. Mungo's as well. Then there was that Diggle fellow. I think he's with Dumbledore's group? He took a nasty cutter to the gut. I almost lost him, but I managed to package him up and send him off. Then there was another platform that got hit by fiendfyre I was told. I know the burns looked right nasty. I was told they jumped also. Young woman named Ginny was talking to me alright, but a young man named Blaise and a Mr. Lovegood both had broken bones as well. The men both had extensive burns and may not make it. That's just the ones I know were in your groups."
Harry and Hermione both took a moment to absorb the information. So many were hurt and so many were lost. None of their friends, at least that they knew of, although some of the injuries sounded bad. Even their friends who were supposed to be safe on the sniper platforms hadn't been. Harry wanted to go to St. Mungo's and see them.
Harry you can't. You've got broken ribs and bruised lungs. The last thing you need to do is move around and cause a piece of loose bone to poke into a lung or worse, into your heart.
Damn, I know, doesn't mean I have to like it.
I can go though. I'll take a pepper-up. Just sleep more when I get back.
If you're sure.
"Thank you healer. I know Harry can't visit St. Mungo's right now, but as soon as we get him settled upstairs, I'm going to take a pepper-up and visit our friends. Then I'll come back and rest."
"You're quite exhausted as well Lady Potter."
"I'll be alright, it's my duty healer."
Healer Reagan nodded and called for Dobby as he began to prepare Harry's regimen of potions. The elf very carefully levitated Harry's stretcher and popped him upstairs to the lord's suite. Giley showed up and took Hermione's hand. She was grateful for the assist to conserve energy anyway she could. Healer Reagan and Jean followed immediately after and Harry was settled in the bed as Hermione levitated and changed him before the regimen of potions began. As soon as he was asleep, Jean agreed to stay by his side and Hermione took her pepper-up before leaving to check on everyone.
Hermione's first stop was to make rounds around the manor. Most of the Aurors were still exhausted and had opted to stay and rest for a few hours. She stopped and talked to everyone, devastated to see how each squad's numbers had diminished. Especially for squads one and two, there were drastically fewer than there should have been. She even peeked in on Dumbledore, but the old man was sleeping soundly. With the manor checked, she then floo'd to St. Mungo's to check on all of her friends.
Upon arriving at the hospital, Hermione stepped forward to the welcome witch, who looked bored and a bit annoyed.
"What can I help you with?"
"I'm here to check on a number of patients that were evacuated from Potter Manor by Healer Reagan."
"Are you immediate family?"
"No."
"Immediate family only for emergent injuries."
"I don't believe you understand. I am the Lady Potter. My husband is Lord Harry Potter. He defeated Lord Voldemort a bit over an hour ago in a duel. I am here to visit the House Potter allies who were injured in the resultant battle. I am here on House Potter business. I must insist."
Hermione rubbed her signet and glared at the witch, who actually stepped back a bit. The entire waiting room had quieted from the usual buzz that echoed around. Hermione kept staring at the witch, waiting for her to respond and not letting up. Finally the witch turned on her heel and left through a series of double doors behind her. She returned a few moments later with an older woman in grey robes lined in purple.
"Hello. I'm Matron Hemp, are you Lady Potter?"
"Yes, hello. I'm Lady Hermione Potter. I'm here to check on our House Potter allies."
"Very good. Please follow me. I have a list of those that Healer Reagan has sent. They're in two different wards. Did you want to see anyone specifically?"
"Um, well I want to make sure the Aurors are well, but I have a number of friends who were injured who aren't Aurors."
"Of course. Let me see. We have a Mr. Diggle first here. Is he a relation? He seems a bit old to be a friend, but he will be the first we come to. Severe internal injuries, the cutter crossed his liver, pancreas, gallbladder, and a kidney. We may not be able to save the kidney, but we're still working on him. He will live though, although it's taken quite a few blood replenishers."
"Mr. Diggle is an acquaintance. I'm glad to hear that he will be alright. Who else do you have?"
"Let's see, next is a Ginevra Weasley. Much closer to your age. She has some severe burns on her back, head, and arms, but she was talking to us. Quite a fiery young woman according to the notes from the ward healer. She actually was quite helpful in identifying some of the others. She's been dosed on pain potions now, but you can visit her."
"Yes please, I'd like to see Ginny."
Matron Hemp nodded and led Hermione a short ways to a lift that took them up one floor. Ginny's room was just to the right of the lift when they exited. As soon as the matron led Hermione in, it was actually Susan who caught her attention first.
"Hermione! You're alright! How's Harry?"
"Susie! I didn't know you'd be in here. How are you?"
"I'm doing better. I got hit with some strange Norse curse. Similar to crucio, but different. I still get some twitches and they want to watch me for a while, but the healers think the seizures have stopped. I'm better than Ginny. She's on the other side of the curtain sleeping, which is a blessing given the burns she has and the skin that she's regrowing. My aunt was hovering until a few minutes ago, but I finally convinced her that she could leave and attend to her duties instead of watching me fall asleep."
"Yes, I heard about Ginny. I actually came to see her. I hadn't realized you were in here. I'm still trying to track down everyone. I'm running on pepper-up myself."
"Well I wish someone would tell me more. I know Blaise was on Ginny's platform, but no one will tell me anything."
Hermione turned to Matron Hemp.
"Mam, do you have a record for Blaise? He probably would have had similar burns to Ginny."
The matron flipped through her notes and paused for a moment, becoming quite somber.
"Who else was with Ginevra Weasley when the fire broke out?"
"We had sniper platforms with three people each. Ginny was teamed with Blaise and Xenophilius Lovegood."
"I see, well that makes sense. The three came in nearly at the same time. Perhaps you should rest and we can talk later Miss Bones."
"No! What is it?"
"Matron Hemp, please. We just finished fighting Voldemort and his army. We need to know."
"Alright. Blaise appears on here with only one name. He's in the critical ward still. His burns were severe. It seems likely that he may need one or two amputations due to the damage. That is if he lives. Fiendfyre burns are quite difficult to treat. As for Mr. Lovegood, he passed about a half hour after he arrived."
"Oh gods no. Poor Luna. Has she been told?"
"I don't know. Matron, has anyone else who is not an Auror that was evacuated from Potter Manor passed on?"
"No, although Ron Weasley is listed as critical as well. Apparently he has severe wounds that he attributed to an axe of some sort. I don't understand that. As for your friend Mr. Lovegood, I don't have him marked as having any next of kin notified yet."
Hermione sat down in a nearby chair, still absorbing all the information. Ron was critical with axe wounds? That had to be Mcnair. She needed to see her friends, but she needed to notify Luna about her father. She was feeling so tired though. Taking a deep breath, she willed herself forward.
"Alright Matron Hemp, I know the status on Susan, Ginny, Blaise, Mr. Lovegood, Mr. Diggle, and Ron. Please give me a quick summary on everyone else. I need to figure out who I need to see first."
"Are you sure Lady Potter? You are looking quite pale."
"Yes. I'll grab another pepper-up if I need to. The battle isn't over yet."
"Alright, let's see, I also have a George Weasley. He has two broken legs and some cuts and bruises, but he's stable. Do you know a Remus Lupin? Healer Reagan evacuated him here as well, but he's a werewolf."
"Yes, he's a good friend."
"Alright, well he's being treated in the Magical Creatures Ward upstairs with potion burn injuries. Apparently he got hit with some sort of silver solution that was meant for attacking wolves and he got hit by some instead. He didn't get much of it, but enough. He should be fine in a couple of days. Finally, the last we have that Healer Reagan sent is an Emmeline Vance, another with broken bones and also with a single axe blow. She is unconscious, but stable. We expect her to be here for the rest of the week."
"Okay, thank you for the summary, so it sounds like the only people other than Susan who are conscious at the moment are George and Emmeline, correct?"
"Yes, unless they decided to sleep."
"Understood. In that case I think I will visit them and then go back to the manor to talk to Luna and bring her back here. Is there someone here she should talk to?"
"Is she an adult? Is there any other family?"
"Yes, she's seventeen, and no, there's no other family that I know of. Luna's mother passed when she was nine."
"Alright, please have her come and talk to Ursula Bryan. I can take you to talk to your other friends now."
"Tell them I said hello Hermione and let me know how everyone is."
"Will do. You rest Susie. I'll be back later."
Hermione and Matron Hemp left, with the matron leading them first two doors down to Emmeline's room. Hermione didn't know Emmeline Vance that well, but had become acquainted with her over the previous couple of days that the Order had spent at the manor. The woman was well dosed on pain potions, but was happy to see Hermione, even if she did keep nodding off.
After leaving Emmeline, Matron Hemp led them to the other side of the floor to George's room. George was only slightly more lucid than Emmeline, but he was happy to have a distraction from the painful process of the skele-gro that was healing his legs. Arthur was by his son's bed and Hermione stayed and talked for a few minutes. The Weasley patriarch himself looked quite rundown, with a nasty bruise on the side of his head, but he brushed off her concern. When Hermione delivered the news about Xeno, Arthur choked up and insisted that Hermione go and take care of Luna. With a promise to return later, Hermione left with one more stop to make before she could head back to the manor.
Pushing herself to her limits, Hermione insisted that the matron show her to the Magical Creatures Ward to see Remus. It was a testament to her exhaustion that Hermione didn't complain and accepted the use of the lift instead of a single flight of stairs. When they arrived at Remus' room, it was small single locked cell that had to be spelled open. When they entered Hermione was glad to see that Tonks was sitting by Remus' bedside. He looked incredibly pale and was swathed in bandages from his chin to his waist, but he was awake and brightened when he saw her.
"Hermione! You look exhausted, why are you here? How's Harry?"
"I'm tired, but I had to check on everyone. Harry is recovering. He has a few injuries, but nothing too serious. He is recovering in our suite back at the manor with Healer Reagan checking on him. Since he couldn't come and check on everyone, I decided to come instead. How are you? I heard that you took potion damage."
"Yes. I got in the way of the globes that the Unspeakables were tossing. I wish they would have warned us about them. They were effective though. I'll have more scars, but probably nothing more noticeable than what I had already. Honestly, the ribs hurt as bad as the burns."
"Ribs?"
"Yes, I cracked most of them fighting my way through Fenrir's pack. Don't worry! I've had worse. I'll be out in a couple of days. Us wolves are tough."
Hermione nodded and looked toward Tonks. She looked worried and was shaking her head as she moved to adjust Remus' blankets. She had a few visible cuts of her own, but didn't look to bad. She had been in squad three if Hermione remembered correctly.
"Tonks, how about you, are you alright?"
"Yes, fine. Nothing but a few scratches and one cracked bone in a foot that I healed on my own. Our field medic treated me, I didn't even need a healer."
"Alright, well I'm glad you're both alright. I really am quite tired and I need to get back to the manor and talk to Luna. I don't know if you heard, but Xeno Lovegood passed from his injuries. I have to inform Luna and bring her to the hospital yet. After that I do need some rest. I'll come back tomorrow."
"Gods no, I hadn't heard. You go take care of Luna and yourself. We're fine here. We'll see you in a day or two."
Hermione excused herself and exited the ward with Matron Hemp, who escorted her back to the lobby. Rather than apparate in her exhausted state, Hermione opted to take the floo back to the manor.
Once she was back at the manor, Hermione went directly to the infirmary and was glad to find Healer Reagan. He reported no change in Harry, who was still resting comfortably. He wasn't pleased with Hermione's exhaustion, but when she notified him of what she still needed to do, he reluctantly agreed to give her one more pepper-up. The second dose didn't help as much as the first, but she thought it would see her through what she needed to do. Once she had visited the loo and washed her face, she called for Giley to ask where Luna was. It took a minute for the elves to check, but her friend was found on the back veranda, where Hermione quickly made her way to. As soon as she arrived and Luna saw Hermione heading for her, the blonde rose to meet her.
"Hermione! How are you? How is Harry doing? They said he was stable and resting. Can you tell us about the others? I tried to go to the hospital, but the healers told me to stay here until the triage was done and someone would send word. I've been waiting for a healer to come like they said they would."
"I'm alright. Mainly tired. Harry will be better in a week or so. I don't know why a healer hasn't come, at least to talk to Reagan. Probably just lost track in the confusion. I have been to the hospital though and can tell you more."
Hermione looked around and saw that the veranda was crowded with scattered groups of Aurors and others who were eating buffet style and talking in casual settings. Wanting more privacy, she took Luna by an arm and led her inside.
"I need to talk to you Luna. Let's go in the parlor. I just came from St. Mungo's where I've been visiting all the injured. I know they weren't allowing visitors, but being Lady Potter has its privileges."
They reached the parlor and the two friends sat down next to each other as Hermione turned to face her friend.
"First, let me tell you about Ron. His platform was attacked by Macnair, who apparently took his axe to it. Even though he couldn't see it, he was able to get some lucky hits in and took the platform down. Those on the platform fell and suffered some broken bones. Ron got the worse of it, apparently he fell in front of Macnair. He fought back, but he was in a prone position and took some axe blows. He's in critical condition."
Hermione let that first bad news set in as she put an arm around Luna. Her friend looked at Hermione and could tell she wasn't done.
"Alright, what else?"
"Luna, did they tell you anything about the details from the end of the battle, about a fire?"
"Yes, I heard one of the platforms caught on fire and they had to evacuate it."
"Yes, it was the platform that Blaise, Ginny, and your father were on. They jumped off the platform to get away and a couple of them broke bones. The fire was actually fiendfyre and the Death Eater who cast it had very poor control of it. All three of them were burned. Ginny is stable, but Blaise is critical and may need some amputations, it still too early to tell. Your father was sent to St. Mungo's immediately, but his burns were too severe. I'm sorry Luna, but he passed a short while after he arrived at the hospital."
Hermione reached to hold Luna's hand as her friend seemed to suddenly fold in on herself, looking at Hermione with vacant eyes. Minutes past without a sound and then she suddenly let out a strange whimper before finally speaking.
"Da…Daddy's…gone?"
"I'm so sorry Luna."
Luna doubled over at that point and Hermione wrapped her arms around her friend and held her. No tears flowed, but instead Luna rocked herself, whimpering occasionally. Hermione found herself crying instead for her friend, feeling unable to do anything. She was unsure how long they sat there when Luna eventually unfolded herself and sat up.
"What am I going to do?"
"Well, the hospital wants to talk to you. I'll go with you. And if you want, I can ask my mum if she will come. And you are welcome to stay here with us as long as you need. Anything we can do, just ask. You have friends Luna, you're not alone."
"Th..thanks. Yes, can your mum come."
"Sure, let's see where she is."
A quick check with the elves found Jean back in the infirmary. Hermione went to talk to her mum briefly and soon Jean was holding Luna as the threesome made their way to floo back to St. Mungo's. Hermione had a strange sense of deja vu when she arrived back at the hospital only an hour or so after having left. This time she was led to a social services office where she and her mum supported Luna for the half hour or so that it took to complete the immediate paperwork that was needed. By the time that was done, so was Hermione. Luna still wanted to see Ron, so Jean went with Luna to visit him upstairs while Hermione went on back to the manor. The pepper-ups had all but worn off and she happily floo'd back home.
As soon as she arrived via the floo, Hermione called for Dobby and had the elf pop her up to her suite, where Hermione barely managed to shed her robes before she crawled in next to Harry. She only briefly thought of all her injured friends and the aftermath of the battle before she let blessed sleep claim her.
Hermione slept for a grateful ten hours before she was roused by the arrival of her mother and Healer Reagan, coming with a tray of potions for both her and Harry. It was the morning after the battle and they both woke with groans. Harry was ordered to stay in bed, but Hermione knew she needed to get back to the hospital. She didn't want to worry Harry, but he queried her about their friends before she could divert his thoughts.
"Love, how did everything go at the hospital? Who is hurt?"
Hermione sighed and knew from the look that Harry was giving her that he needed to know. Truthfully, he was much stronger than the day before, although he was still in a lot of pain.
"Alright, I'll tell you everything, but you have to stay in bed another day at least. You cannot set your healing back. Agreed?"
Harry scowled, but nodded. With his agreement, Hermione went ahead and asked Healer Reagan to wait on the potions while she gave Harry a brief summary of everyone's injuries. He was dismayed to hear that several of their friends were badly injured and especially that Luna had lost her father. Hermione knew he hated being confined, but he had made the agreement with her. Once she finished, Healer Reagan examined Harry and seemed satisfied with his progress. He administered the first potions of the morning and then quickly examined Hermione. Other than still being a bit rundown, she was fine, so an elf was called to deliver breakfast for the both of them before the healer had some final news.
"Now Harry and Hermione, I need to get back to St. Mungo's. I'll leave you instructions and potions and check back in tomorrow morning, but Jean should be able to take care of you and I know Hermione will be visiting the hospital. If you need me, just floo call the hospital."
"Thank you for everything healer."
With that the healer left just as their food was arriving. Jean sat down in a nearby chair to talk to them while they ate. She looked tired as well, but seemed to be in better spirits than the previous day.
"Alright, while the two of you eat I thought I'd update you on what has been happening around the manor. Your father and I have been keeping track of everything with the help of the elves. Immediately after the battle the uninjured Aurors and hit wizards stayed around to rest, but they've all gone home or back to the Ministry now and the elves have started to clear out the cots and such. I told the elves to not push themselves too hard on the cleanup. Taking a couple of days won't matter. The last Aurors left maybe eight hours ago. Your other allies have been in and out, mainly staying here briefly for a few hours of sleep and then going to the hospital to see the injured. I saw Sirius briefly, but he may have been at his own house. I know he's been at the hospital quite a bit. The Weasleys were here briefly, but I think they've been home and at the hospital. I brought Luna back after a couple of hours and she's still resting with the help of a dreamless sleep potion. As for the Order members, Dumbledore was the last one here, but he woke early this morning and asked me to pass on his thanks for the hospitality before leaving for the hospital and then the Ministry. He said he'd call later in the day. He still looked quite tired, but said he needed to talk to a number of people. So, other than us, your father, and Luna are the only people at this precise moment who are at the manor."
"Wow, the place cleared out quicker than I thought it would. Thanks for working with the elves. I need to get back to the hospital soon. Has there been any word on anyone? Any changes?"
"Nothing that I've heard."
Hermione nodded and the room became quiet as everyone was left to their own thoughts as breakfast soon finished. When they were done, Harry had one more potion that he had to take and then he insisted that he wanted a shower. Jean excused herself and Hermione helped her husband into their large shower. Although they traded a few kisses, Harry was nowhere near ready for any antics and was just happy to have layers of grime and blood finally washed away. By the time he was clean he was more than ready to return to bed.
Once Hermione had Harry settled, she got herself dressed and floo'd back to St. Mungo's. Since she now knew where everyone was, she bypassed the hectic lobby and made her way to the lift. Moving through the crowd purposefully and acting like she belonged meant that no one questioned her. Her first stop was the critical ward where she found Arthur and Bill at Ron's bedside. Unlike the previous day, Ron was partially awake, although he was on a heavy pain solution and seemed feverish. As soon as she knocked, Arthur welcomed her in.
"Good morning Hermione, come in. He's awake. How are you and Harry?"
"I'm fine, just tired. Harry is recovering at home. He's still on mandated bed rest until all his broken ribs and lungs heal. What do the healers say here? I haven't been by in over twelve hours."
"Perhaps we should step out for a moment..."
Hermione accepted Arthur's hand as he led them out to the hallway to talk.
"Hermione, it's been a long night here. Ron broke a hip when he fell, but the worse of the injuries came from the fact that he couldn't get up and fight Mcnair after the platform came down. He took at least six axe blows and the bastard had some kind of poison on the blade that prevents wounds from healing. There's no easy way to say this, but last night to save Ron's life, they had to amputate his right leg. He almost lost a hand and part of an arm, but the wound wasn't as deep. He's going to have some horrific scars, but in the last couple of hours we've turned a corner and the healers don't think any more amputations are going to be necessary. He's only semi-lucid and we don't think he's realized what they had to do yet."
Hermione felt everything drop out from under her as she crumpled and Arthur caught her. She began to sob into his chest. Ron was such a big, strong bloke that the idea of him missing a limb seemed impossible. Suddenly her breakfast rebelled and she turned quickly away as she heaved and emptied her stomach as her sobs grew worse. A nearby healer came over and vanished the mess while also producing a calming draught that he seemed to have waiting in a pocket on standby. Hermione didn't even think as she downed it and felt the waves of calmness quiet her sobs. She turned back to Arthur and shook her head.
"Sorry Arthur."
"Don't worry about it, we all understand. Do you want to try to talk to him?"
Hermione nodded and dried her face as she followed him back in the room to see her friend. She spent a few minutes by Ron's bedside and thought she saw a brief flicker of recognition as she was talking, but wasn't sure. Then she looked up at the others.
"By the way, how are George and Ginny? I haven't made it to them yet."
"George is up to his usual ways. Pranking and flirting with nurses. The skele-gro is almost done with the work on his legs. Fred and Charlie are with him and we take turns checking on him and giving him updates on everyone. Molly, Percy, and Neville are with Ginny. We're divided up between each of the rooms."
"Alright, well, I'm going to make my rounds to everyone. I'll be back to check in with you all in a while."
Arthur hugged her as Hermione made her way to her next stop in the critical ward two doors down to see Blaise. When she entered she found both Susan and Amelia sitting on opposite sides of a bed that was contained in an unusual warded field that was visible as a faint golden bubble. Within it Blaise could be seen swathed in bandages and with multiple tubes of potions running to bottles of potions on the side of the bed. A healer stood to the side constantly monitoring him and he looked even worse than Ron had. Hermione took a deep breath as she stepped closer. Susan turned and stood up to greet Hermione with a hug.
"Hi Susie. It's good to see you out of bed. How are you feeling? Are you discharged?"
"Yes, as of a couple of hours ago. As soon as I could, I came up here to be with Blaise. He needs someone to be with him. Auntie has been here as much as she can, but he doesn't really have anyone."
"What are the healers saying?"
"Well, as of this morning, they've stopped the burn progression. Now they have to remove the dead skin and start growing new skin. The problem is that fiendfyre is a dark curse so it leaves a lot of scarring. Auntie is having a specialist called in from Russia to come and work with the healers here to hopefully reduce the scarring, but it may still be quite severe. They also don't know if he'll ever be able to grow hair again. He's in a lot of pain right now as well, so they're keeping him asleep. He probably won't be awake for a few days."
Hermione just nodded and gripped her friend's hand. There wasn't much she could say, so she just went to sit and be with Susan for a while. They talked for a few minutes about the battle and also about their other friends before Hermione excused herself to go see the others.
The next several hours were much the same for Hermione and she was glad that she had already emptied her stomach as each encounter was painful, even those with friends who were starting to recover. Ginny was doing the best of the burn victims, but her hair was so devastated that she had opted to cut the front and sides of her hair short to lessen the dramatic impact where her hair had burned off in the back. She also had burns to her shoulders and upper arms, but had escaped most of the injuries that the others on the platform had suffered.
Along with visiting her allies, Hermione also stopped by to visit Dedalus Diggle and Emmeline Vance. The two Order members were both recovering well from their own injuries and were due to be released within the week. Dedalus had lost a kidney, but his liver and pancreas had been repaired from the damage they suffered from the cutting curse. Emmeline meanwhile had broken her leg and a hand when her platform had fallen and had also taken one axe blow, but all her injuries were treatable.
Hermione stayed at the hospital until shortly after one and then floo'd back to the manor, finding herself more exhausted than she would care to admit, both physically and emotionally. The day would set a pattern for the following week as she would make visiting her injured friends a priority.
A week after the battle everyone had been released home except for Ginny, Ron, and Blaise. The three of them remained, but were all stable enough that their family members all left them long enough to attend the memorial service for Xeno Lovegood held at the cemetery in Ottery St. Catchpole. Luna was still staying at the manor, but she returned her father to the ancestral ground of his family and to the spot next to the wife that he had lost years earlier.
Along with Xeno, the battle saw the loss of twenty-seven brave Aurors, nine hit wizards, and two Unspeakables. Amelia and Kingsley attended the services for all of them. Harry had come to know a few of them over the week they had stayed at Potter Manor and he also attended a few of the services with Hermione.
Nine days after the battle, Ginny was released from the hospital, although she still had a heavy regimen of potions and bandage changes. The day was also Harry's sixteenth birthday. He insisted on a quiet celebration at the manor with his close family and friends. They had a simple luncheon with good food and cake, but the celebration didn't go overly long. It was good to have Ginny with them, but two of their number were still missing.
It would be an additional ten days before Ron would be released from the hospital. The loss of his leg was difficult for him and his demeanor remained sullen, despite Luna's attempts to raise his spirits while she herself was still grieving. His arrival home came just in time to celebrate Ginny's birthday the day following his homecoming.
Blaise was the last to be released a week after Ron and just two weeks before the start of school. Home for him was Bones Manor, where he and Susan set aside past differences and realized what was truly important after all they had been through together.
With all of combatants back to some semblance of normal life and Voldemort defeated, Harry and Hermione looked forward to a brighter future for themselves and all of their friends and allies.