Aftermath of Battle

The first thing Harry did when he regained consciousness was to groan. He now knew how the Tin Man felt. It was a shame that there was no such thing as oil for stiff joints. Without opening his eyes, he contemplated going back to sleep and facing the discomfort later.

Just as he was about to sink into the dark abyss, he heard Bellatrix began to moan something under her breath. It sounded as if she was trying to say 'No.' Curiosity aroused, Harry opened his eyes and turned his head. She was laying on her stomach, hugging her pillow for dear life.

He raised his eyebrows. Normally, she slept a bit more passively. Not wanting to disturb her, he turned his attention to the ceiling as she began to suck air into her lungs with great gasps. Maybe she was having a nightmare. Should he wake her up?

I would want someone to wake me up, Harry thought to himself. His waking her up was prevented however when she abruptly let out a heart wrenching howl and woke up herself. She pushed herself up and looked at Harry with wild violet eyes.

"Nightmare?" Harry asked.

The violet eyes came slightly more into focus and she nodded as she studied him as if reassuring herself that he was indeed there. "Do you feel all right?" she asked slowly.

"Just a little stiff."

"Better than dead." she countered.

Taking Harry by surprise, the wild look returned to her eyes and she threw herself onto him and began to cry her eyes out. Not sure what to do, he brought up one of his hands and stroked her back through the oversize Muggle t-shirt she customarily wore to bed.

After about ten minutes, she regained her composure, and after an additional half hour of enjoying each other's closeness, she was ready to speak. "The doctor advised a hot bath to help loosen yourself up."

"No objections to that." Harry said.

"I think that I'll even join you." Bellatrix said as she climbed out of bed and then helped Harry to his feet, making sure that his stiff joints didn't impede his ability to walk.

They then made their way to the bathroom where they found the overlarge tub, which Harry had previously compared to a Muggle hot-tub, filled with variously colored bubbles and water. Harry removed his undergarments and lowered himself in. Bellatrix flirtatiously removed her t-shirt and slowly lowered herself in opposite Harry.

"So, how long has it been since I got knocked cold?" he asked as he luxuriated in the hot and soothing water.

"Less than a night." Bellatrix answered as she made use of a bar of soap and then some shampoo and scented oils.

"Wow. I'm usually out for days." Harry joked. "First time I faced down Voldemort, I was out for so long that I missed a Quidditch match."

Bellatrix laughed. "You didn't miss anything that important."

They idly sat for a few moments until Bellatrix asked a random question. "Are you ever disturbed by the fact that I'm more than twice your age?"

Harry shrugged. "No. Not really." He didn't relish the thought of explaining that to his friends though. "Why?"

She shrugged. "I don't know."

"Oh."

.....

The Order had convened again, due to the attack that had occurred at Hogsmeade. Ron was reporting to everyone his great heroics in the situation and was making many proposals as to what should be done with the prisoners. If he had been paying attention, he would have noticed that they had been handed over to the Ministry.

However, Hermione was remaining silent as she thought about the actions she had seen Neville and his friends take. She was willing to bet anything that another Defense group existed and that Neville was the leader.

This led Hermione to wonder how it was that they had all turned to him and to what purpose. It was not likely that his group was a clone of the DA, else it would not have taken off without the DA having a chance to show some sort of competition for student attendance.

The attention of the whole group was arrested when Snape arrived and contributed some of his own information. "Shortly after the Ministry Aurors left Azkaban last night, Voldemort attacked the island in force."

"Meaning that the Hogsmeade attack was a diversion." Dumbledore concluded.

Snape nodded. "Yes, that was the plan. The Dark Lord did not expect Lord Polairix to take possession of the island so soon however. They got in a fight with Polairix's forces for the island."

"Who won?" Hermione asked.

"Polairix did."Snape said cautiously. He had not received a letter from Harry since the event, so he treaded carefully. He would only tell what Voldemort knew. "Shortly after the attack began, Lord and Lady Polairix arrived at the island in time to see the ferry with Ministry Aurors abandon them to the attack. Some sort of battle ensued and Lord Polairix and the Dark Lord faced off. It ended in a draw in which ancient wards were activated and You-Know-Who was forced to leave the island."

"That's disturbing." Dumbledore surmised. "The Ministry didn't necessarily have an obligation to assist Lord Polairix, but he doesn't have an obligation to help us fight Voldemort either. He's probably angry about that."

"I wouldn't know." Snape said, truthfully.

"There's a Lady Polairix?" Mrs. Weasley asked sharply.

Snape grimaced. Lord Voldemort had not necessarily drawn that conclusion about the woman at Potter's side, but from prior knowledge, he knew it to be truth. "That's what the Dark Lord would assume." Snape said. Fortunately there weren't any other spies among the Death Eater ranks to prove him wrong.

"That is very interesting." murmured Dumbledore.

.....

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