Chapter 22 - The scars of battle
Once they levelled off to a steady altitude, Tom asked, “Can you wake me up when we’re five minutes away?” She nodded so Tom closed his eyes. Next thing he knew, he was hurtling towards the ground. The jolt in change of direction and acceleration had woken him. “Whoa, Lyrotth, what’s going on!?”
She pulled out of the dive and levelled off. Tom could feel her laughing and he put two and two together.
“Don’t wake me like that again. I could have fallen off!” She tensed up at that. Tom supposed it was rude to doubt Lyrotth’s abilities to keep him safe.
After he’d got over the initial shock of being woken, he set about sending a patronus to the Hag’s leg telling them he would soon be with them. He then sent a patronus to Amber, telling her that he was safe, that the fight was over and that he’d be back at school soon. Just as he finished casting the patronuses, he spotted a few lights through the darkness, indicating that they’d arrived. The journey back was far quicker than the journey there since Lyrotth could go at full speed. Judging by the darkness of the sky, they’d flown all the way back in less than an hour.
Lyrotth touched down in the street, next to the pub and Tom slid off. He thanked her, examined her wound again and said, “I’ll get Hogrod to heal you soon.” She nodded and took off again, heading for the forest and some sleep.
Tom made his way into the pub, where he found Harry, Ron, Hermione, Luna, Neville, Ginny and Ab sitting round a circular table, each with a bottle in hand. They all turned at the sound of the door. Ab got up and brought another chair to the table at the sight of Tom. “Thanks Ab,” he said. He sat down and looked at everyone. “Hermione, how are you?” he asked.
“I’ll be alright,” she said weakly.
Neville said, “She didn’t come round for about 30 minutes after we left you. Once she did, Abaforth patched her up a bit.”
Ab sat back down, having gone to get a glass of Glory of Magic for Tom. He passed it to Tom and he drank deeply. Ginny then said to Tom, “Harry’s filled us in on Sonrus and Moldywart’s escape but what happened to you?”
“What happened to Sonrus?”
“Oh, you haven’t heard. He’s dead,” she said mournfully.
Harry let out a wail. Tom took a deep breath. “I’m sorry to hear it.” No one said anything for a moment, then Tom continued. “Once I’d sent you lot here, I was waiting on my own and then Moldywart showed up. We duelled but I was no match for him. After a minute he had me on the ground and he sent a knife at me. Luckily it only hit my bicep,” he showed them the wound. They all gasped but Tom ignored them and continued. “But after that I had no chance, I’d dropped my wand and he was breathing down my neck. I thought I was dead. But then Moldywart got distracted by another death muncher and I managed to trip him up. Before he regained composure, Lyrotth showed up and grabbed him in her mouth. Then, hundreds of wizards turned up and… I guess Harry told you the rest.’
They all looked at him in awe. Tom wished they wouldn’t, it made him feel uncomfortable. It’s not like he beat Moldywart, Lyrotth was the one who did that.
Abaforth spoke out. “You’re all lucky to be alive. Just be glad it’s over. I hate to think what would have happened if members of the order hadn’t turned up.”
He then toasted them and Tom drained the rest of his glass. Ron put his bottle down first and said, “I wonder what happened to Dumbridge.”
They all shrugged and then laughed weakly at the thought of her being prisoner to the centaurs. It felt good to laugh, letting go of all the dread they had been holding on to for the past few hours. Tom then checked a clock on the wall, “We need to get back to the castle. Hermione, can you walk or do you need me to carry you?”
“I think I can walk,” she said.
They got up, saying thank you and goodbye to Abaforth, and headed for the door. Hermione only made it a couple of steps before stumbling. Tom rushed over to her and put one of her arms round his shoulders. “I’ve got you,” he said.
They then left the pub and started to walk back to the castle in silence. Just as they reached the edge of Hogswine, it started to rain hard. The group began to run back to the castle but Hermione was in no state to move quicker than a tortoise. Tom continued to support her as she needed him and he didn’t mind getting wet, but before long, she started to shiver so Tom picked her up and carried her in his arms as fast as he could. The longer he spent carrying Hermione, the more the pain in his arm increased but he didn’t mention it to her as he was still worried about her health.
As they reached the courtyard, they saw Harry and the others huddled under a roof by the entrance. “How are we going to get in the castle?” Harry asked.
“Have you tried the door?” asked Tom, whilst trying not to sound too patronising. Harry thought Tom was being stupid but Ron and Neville went to try them and as luck would have it, the doors were unlocked and the group rushed inside.
In the shadows, they spotted a figure. “Wilch,” whispered Ron to the others.
“Are you saying I look like a man?” asked a strong but gentle voice. Tom recognised the voice and his heart started to race. Out of the shadows stepped Amber.
Tom lay Hermione down by a wall and ran at Amber, lifting her off her feet and spinning her around on the spot. He had to put her down abruptly though as the pain in his arm was too much to support her weight and he almost dropped her. He kissed her and she said, “I’ve been so worried. I couldn’t sleep.”
“I’m so glad to see you,” he replied. They smiled at each other, then Tom turned to address the others, “Amber, Ginny, help Hermione up to the hospital wing. Neville, Luna, go wake Professors Snipe and McMogal. Tell them Dumby will be back soon and that Dumbridge is currently in the hands of the centaurs. Ron, go wake Hogrod and tell him that Lyrotth needs some attention immediately. Harry, come with me to Dumby’s office.”
It was a mark of his leadership that no one questioned his commands. They all went their separate ways, with Amber kissing him once more before she left. Harry and Tom then made their way to the eagle statue and went inside Dumby’s office.
They had to wait only a few minutes for Dumby to turn up. In that time, Harry said nothing and so Tom inspected his wound. The pain was getting worse and the skin around the cut was darkening. When Dumby appeared, he came from upstairs. Tom had never known what was kept up there, nor did he understand how Albus had got there.
Albus looked tired, just like the rest of them but there were no signs of it in his voice. He stepped down to them as he said, “Tom, thank you for bringing Harry here. There is much I need to tell the both of you and now is the best time to do it.” He then set about explaining the vision Harry had seen of Sonrus. Tom didn’t understand everything but this was probably because he kept missing bits, being distracted by his arm. All Tom understood was that Harry could sometimes see what Moldywart saw, due to his scar.
Dumby then explained how the prophecy with Harry’s name on it had been the reason Harry had been lured there. Tom was more interested in this part, taking in every word. Dumby told them how the order had been keeping guard over it for the past year but it was now smashed. He then spoke with a more serious tone as he told Tom how he’d not mentioned to Conrad Toffee that it was Tom who had killed the death munchers. He said Tom could be in serious trouble if the Ministry found out.
He then told them how the elemental magic that Tom had used was incredibly powerful but incredibly dangerous. He explained how the magic saps your energy and if you try and cast a spell beyond your limits, you can kill yourself. However, he ended on a more proud note, saying that most wizards would have died if they’d attempted what Tom had managed and that very few could produce such spectacular results.
Once Dumby seemed to finish, Tom said what had been on his mind for the past hour. “Albus, now that I interfered with Moldywart, do you think Garrick is in even more danger?”
Albus gazed at his pensieve as he thought, finally sa
ying, “I think not. Lord Moldywart doesn’t know who you are and he will take a bit of time to recover from his defeat.”
“But sir, even if he doesn’t know right now, surely he’ll find out soon enough? My names in the papers! And if I was him, I’d want to make my next move quickly, as people won’t be expecting it as much and it would create more fear in the world.”
“It’s an option. However, I disagree. Like I said, I think your uncle is, for the moment, safe. I like to think I understand Lord Moldywart a bit better than you do so…Tom! Your arm.”
“Yes?”
“That’s no ordinary wound!”
The seriousness in Albus’ voice started to worry Tom and he said, “It’s been getting worse these past few hours.”
“It’s dark magic. You need help. Go to the hospital wing now. Get Madam Pumpkin to do what she can. I’ll send Professor Snipe up to you so he can take a look, he might be able to help.”
“Alright then,” Tom said reluctantly, as he wanted to stay and learn more. He got up, nodded to both of them and left for the hospital wing.
On arrival, he found Hermione in a bed and Madam Pumpkin watching over her. “Another one!” she said as she saw him.
“I’ve been stabbed. Can you take a look at it?”
She bustled over to him and he stuck out his arm. Her eyes widened as she inspected his arm, which was now almost completely black around the wound. “This is beyond my skill to heal. I can seal the wound and fix the muscle damage but whatever accursed magic this is, it is not in my power to heal. How did this happen?”
“Lord Moldywart pierced me with a knife,” he said casually.
She jumped at the statement, but said nothing and forced Tom into the bed next to Hermione and went to get supplies. When she returned, Tom asked, “How’s Hermione?”
“She’ll be fine, she’s just very weak. She just needs some time to recover... You on the other hand, I’m sorry to say I don’t know what will happen.” Tom relaxed as he heard Hermione was fine but then tensed again when he heard his own fate. “Here, take this,” she said, passing him a drink.
“What is it?” he asked.
“It will put you to sleep. You won’t feel a thing if you’re asleep and I can fix you more easily.”
Tom agreed and downed the glass. The effect was immediate. His vision became blurry and he struggled to keep his head up. Before he knew it, he’d dropped off into a dreamless sleep.