"Ní mhaireann solas na maidine don lá." // "No morning sun lasts all day."

When Tara’s eyes opened up, and the wispy nature of her surroundings appeared to resemble the Hogwarts infirmary, she had thought for sure that she was dead. She thought she had died in that amphitheater, and this was simply what her own personal afterlife looked like. The white sunlight streaming in through the tall, stained-glass windows did not help her delusion, and it was not until a nurse had quickly rushed to her bedside that she had finally floated back down into reality. 

The woman had explained that she had been seriously injured in the battle against Grindelwald. And in an instant, everything came flooding back to her. Panic quickly seized her chest. 

“The other wizards-” she coughed out, her vocal chords seemingly fried as she attempted to sit up in the bed. “The other wizards that were there with me. Are they ok? Is everyone else-”

“I do not know.” the woman said as carefully as she could. “Many Auror’s were lost, we cannot be certain-”

Her words were quickly cut off by the sound of the doors at the farthest end of the room being pushed open. 

Dumbledore strode into the infirmary, his expression one of pained relief once he saw the scene developing around the last bed in the room. 

Tara was fully sat up by that point, blatantly ignoring the protests of the growing crowd of nurses.

“Tara. It’s good to see you awake. We’ve been so-”

“What happened?” she immediately barked at the professor. “Is everyone safe?”

As Dumbledore arrived at the edge of her bed, she saw his expression falter ever so slightly, though he had attempted to conceal it. 

Tara’s heart dropped into her stomach.

“Who?”

“Ma’am, please.” one of the nurses urged. “Sit back down. You’re still healing-”

“Who Dumbledore?!” Tara suddenly screamed, her rough, banshee-esque voice echoing around the room. 

A heavy silence followed her question, and in it Dumbledore took a long moment to compose himself.

Tara just stared back at him, knowing she would not be able to find rest until she knew what he did.

“Leta.” he finally said, his voice coming out in a whisper. “I am told she sacrificed herself to ensure your escape.”

The witch fell still. Completely and totally. She wasn’t even sure that she had been breathing in the moments that followed. It was as if her entire body had gone numb, and she no longer had any control over its movements and functions.

Due to her inaction, the nurses managed to lay her back down onto the cot, beginning to change the bandages that covered her neck. 

Dumbledore went as far as giving her hand a gentle squeeze before leaving the infirmary for good.

Tara remained static, the only movement being that of the tears that were now streaming down her face in concussive rivers.

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Dumbledore had made a point to visit the Ministry himself. 

Pushing open the door of the Head Auror’s office, he found the man himself sitting behind his desk, reading over some sort of file. 

“Professor.” Theseus greeted him, his voice a tad bit strained. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

The older wizard stopped directly in front of his desk.

“She’s awake.” was all he said in response.

Theseus looked up from the file in his hands, staring blankly back at his former mentor. In the long, silent moments that followed, Dumbledore began to see the shine of tears welling up in the Auror’s eyes. 

“Physically, she is expected to recover in full.” he promptly continued on.

At that, Theseus quickly stood up from his seat, moving to walk out from behind his desk.

“I have to see her-” he started to say, but Dumbledore had suddenly held out a hand, stepping out into his path.

“Theseus, wait.” he said sternly. “I do not think that is the best idea right now.”

Theseus furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

“Why not?” he asked impatiently. “Dumbledore, I need to. I-”

“She is not taking the news of Leta’s death well.” the professor interrupted him.

The Head Auror froze.

“She was refusing the care of the nurses.” Dumbledore continued to explain. “She wasn’t eating, or even sleeping for the longest time after she heard. They have only just gotten her to eat a small breakfast this morning-”

“Only just?” Theseus breathed out, his voice wavering. “How long has she been awake?”

Dumbledore pressed his lips into a thin line.

“Six days.”

“Six-” Theseus ran an exasperated hand down his face. “Merlin, why-”

“Theseus.” Dumbledore said, slowly and serious, forcing the Auror to focus on the gravity in his voice. “I am deeply worried about her. Not only has Grindelwald consistently been after her, but she is now teetering on the edge of something dangerous. And the more people that she loses, the more he’ll be able to manipulate and control her.”

Theseus nodded his head in understanding, for he had seen much evidence of that already.

Dumbledore took another long breath in.

“Take care with her, Theseus.” he eventually concluded. “She can’t go at this alone. It will destroy her.”

The wizard clenched his jaw.

“I’m not going to let that happen.”

Dumbledore had nearly smiled at that.

Nearly.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* : ｡☆ﾟ.･ ───