Incendio

Sunlight arrived at the same moment the fatal blow was sent at Voldemort. Everyone cried out in joy as the battle was truly won. Samantha had never cried more in her life.

Samantha's mother's arms were a welcome comfort after the dust settled. She had missed her mother so much and after everything she couldn't help but be grateful to see her.

Samantha said uncomfortably letting go of her mother. "Jack was here. We fought."

"He will be found." Her mother insisted touching her daughter's face, "I'm sure of that. For now, let me look at my brave little lion. I'm so proud of you."

Her mother sat silently with Samantha as she wrote the rest of her account of the battle.

Hermione also sat with Samantha as she finished writing. Many words had passed between Hermione and Samantha, in the room full of loud chatter. Hermione had brought her cloak back before volunteering all the information Samantha needed. Most of it was regarding Horcruxes and the particulars of how Harry was able to carry out Voldemort's demise. It had been an amazing moment of triumph, one Samantha hadn't expected to see within her lifetime.

Samantha looked at her notebook, it was full now. She wasn't entirely sure what to do with it, but it was there. It was very personal, very open and full of every feeling she had ever felt in the last twenty-four hours.

At one point her mother was called for by Professor McGonagall and Samantha didn't mind she left her side.

"I see your job is never over Miss Fyre." Kingsley said from behind them.

She turned and shrugged. "I'm not anything if I'm not a writer."

Hermione rolled her eyes but addressed Kingsley, "Need a seat Minister?"

Kingsley had been temporarily named Minister of Magic as the whole world instantly began the ascent into normality again.

"Thank you Miss Granger." Kingsley said as Hermione stood and left the table.

Kingsley nodded before sitting beside Samantha, "Is that an account of the battle?"

"I still need to edit it, but it's all in there." Samantha insisted handing him the journal.

He flipped through the pages and scanned the pages quickly. He looked back to Samantha, "I hate to ask more of you today."

Samantha shrugged, "What needs to be done?"

"Someone should take a written count of the bodies, now that they've been identified." Kingsley's voice whispered loud enough for only her to hear.

She stood up from her seat. She gathered her strength. The world began spinning around her.

"I'll do it." She said with what mental strength she had left.

"Are you sure Miss Fyre?" Kingsley asked looking her over.

She nodded. "Of course." She reached into her bag and pulled out another journal. "I can do this."

Kingsley first lead her to the room where they kept the dead Death Eaters and Voldemort. Shivers went up her spine. It would feel disrespectful to put their names in the same journal as the martyrs. She took a deep breath. They could remain nameless, only a number could be counted.

It suddenly passed through her mind, Jack could be among them. Her mother would want to know, so would any mother. She decided to count their names, but keep them separate from the heroes.

Kingsley began pulling back the white cloth covering their faces so she could write their names. She knew she'd have to look at them, she'd been avoiding it, but she'd have to.

She didn't mean to, but she felt a slight relief upon first seeing Jacob Avery's dead face. Genevieve was truly free now.

A few bodies down from Jacob Avery's, red hair stuck out at the top of the cloth. Samantha couldn't help but feel divided. She'd taken a life, the life of someone horrible, but a life all the same. Kingsley pulled back the cloth to reveal Hilda Burke. She was beautiful in death, if one could be so of course. Samantha became hesitant as Kingsley began revealing other bodies. What if one really was her brother?

She felt another wave of relief upon reaching the last body and it being no one she knew at all. Kingsley provided a name and she flipped the page to prepare for what she really dreaded.

Kingsley walked with her back into the Great Hall to see the bodies of the heroes. There were about fifty. Seeing each of them, friends, colleagues, classmates hurt less than she imagined. She was too dizzy to truly realize what she was doing. She recognized people, but she didn't react, just wrote their names and ages. It wasn't a surprise to see most faces as she had been prepared before hand.

The body that pierced Samantha's numbness and gave her a moment of intense clarity was the very last body, and possibly the smallest. It was Colin. His eyes were closed as if sleeping and he held his wand to his chest. His hair was singed and a large burn covered his cheek.

He wasn't supposed to be there, he was too young to fight. He must've snuck back from the Hogshead to fight. She felt herself fall to her knees, dropping her journal. Not a sound uttered from her lips, just heavy breaths. Lee hadn't mentioned Colin to her. He hadn't told her when she'd asked. Had he not known? Her hands began shaking intensely, she couldn't stop it. She touched his face softly, the age she had seen upon Colin's arrival, had faded. He was still the little boy with the camera she'd befriended in her second year.

"He'd have done it for me." Samantha said to herself as she gathered her wits to put his name on the list. His family would want to know he died a hero. She gathered her journal from the floor and wrote his name.

Colin Creevey- Age 16

She paused before writing something directly below his name. She decided to bestow upon him an honor she couldn't in good conscience give to anyone else.

Editor-In-Chief of the Hogwarts Gazette

She kissed his cold cheek, saying one final goodbye.

Kingsley stood with his back to her, covering her display of grief from the rest of the room.

She stood and handed the journal to Kingsley. "I hope this is enough?"

He nodded looking deep into her eyes. "Of course."

"Look these over and let me know if I need to make any changes, all right?" She requested and he nodded.

She looked away from Kingsley and locked eyes with a set of beautiful blue ones that stared back at her. Kai Jones was sitting with his little dragon on his shoulder beside Charlie Weasley who had tears pouring from his eyes. Samantha realized he had probably heard everything she was thinking.

She thought to herself, 'Get out of my head please.'

He tipped his hat to her with a face of solidarity.

"I think I need some air." Samantha said to Kingsley as he read through her lists.

Kingsley bowed his head to her as she left.

She couldn't bring herself to speak, the room was actually spinning now. Everyone looked like watercolor paintings. After a few moments, Samantha stumbled from the building. The sunlight pierced her eyes and she breathed it in gratefully. Her hand was still shaking.

She found a spot behind the greenhouses and sat down on the grass between buildings. She tried to erase Colin's small face from her mind. She pulled out her handkerchief and wiped her face, she knew there must be blood on her lip and cheeks. She was shaking as she did it, but she felt better. She sat down in the grass and leaned her back against the cold glass greenhouse. It felt cool for a moment in the wet dew. She no longer felt sweat dripping from her forehead.

She closed her eyes. It finally began to register in her mind, the war was over and she'd survived it.

Neville's voice was heard above her. "Sam, are you alright? I saw you went with Kingsley, but then you didn't come back."

She opened her eyes to see he was sitting beside her. She had meant to speak with him, but in the Great Hall he'd been surrounded by a throng of admirers and she felt funny entering it.

She pulled her knees to her chest, feeling a real pain in her abdominals as she did. She wondered if the Dittany had worked.

"I saw Colin." She revealed and felt a weight leave her shoulders. She felt his hand on her shaking one. It ceased shaking slightly.

"He looked so small." Samantha remarked softly.

"I said the same thing to Wood when we were carrying him in." Neville revealed.

"You carried him in?" Samantha thought she couldn't have had any more surprises when it came to her high regard for Neville.

He nodded.

"I didn't know till Kingsley pulled back the cloth, that he'd even-" Samantha couldn't finish her words, it hurt too much. She felt a sob grow in her throat.

"Lee didn't tell you?" Neville asked, his eyebrows stitching together.

Samantha shook her head and asked, "What do you mean?"

"I was worried when we were retrieving the bodies that I'd find you dead out there. I didn't see you return with your group." He nodded looking her over calmly, "I asked Lee if he had seen you and he said he had an idea where you might be. I asked him to find you, see if you were alive and let me know. I assumed he would tell you about Colin."

Samantha leaned her head against his shoulder.

"I would have gone to find you myself." He sat up straighter again as she leaned. "I just knew if I did, I wouldn't be able to do what I needed to do, to help Harry."

"Why not?" Samantha asked trying to process what he was saying.

He didn't answer, just kissed the top of her head. She had a similar feeling it was why she never told him how she felt before the battle, she didn't want him to be hurt if something happened to her.

She looked up into one of the cracked windows of the greenhouses, a little sprig of Moly was peaking out above her. He reached up and grabbed it before putting it into her hair behind her ear.

"Can you believe it's over?" He asked, changing the subject.

"No." She felt her heart slow in beating. The dizziness was subsiding slightly.

"What are you going to do now?" He asked.

She smiled, "Whatever I want really. I think I'll write a book and then maybe try to get a job. Maybe a normal writing job where I never have to look at dead bodies again. Something simple like-"

"Editor-in-chief of the Daily Prophet?" Neville interrupted.

Samantha laughed, "That's not bloody likely."

"You never know." Neville insisted. "I'm going to see if they will still let me become an Auror. I don't know, I feel like I could do anything right now."

Samantha felt herself laughing, "I mean you did stand up to Voldemort personally. How many people can say that?"

He didn't turn red fully, but there was a bit of pink in his ears.

"I sent you the valentine." He admitted out of nowhere making her heart beat quickly. He looked at the little sprig in her hair.

"With the bumblebee?" She asked without thinking and turning to face him.

"Yes." His eyes sparkled looking into her's. "I had Dean make it, and swear to never tell you."

"I had a feeling." She felt slightly cheated. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Never felt right." He admitted touching her cheek and pulling the stray hairs back behind her ears. They stared at each other for a brief moment.

He kissed her quickly, almost so quickly she could barely feel his lips on her's.

They both began laughing.

He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. They both spent a few moments, just kissing each other between bursts of uncontrollable laughter.

His other hand made it to her side and it felt like someone was stabbing her.

"Ow." Samantha exclaimed pulling back.

"Are you alright?" He looked bewildered as her lips left his'. He picked up his hand and it was covered in blood.

"Where'd that come from?" Samantha said starting to hyperventilate.

"You're bleeding pretty badly." Neville said aggressively looking down at her stomach where blood was coming through her shirt.

"I think I am." She blurted out in surprise. She thought the Dittany had worked. Why was she still bleeding? Maybe that was why she was dizzy. Her hand started to shake.

"You need to see Madam Pomfrey." Neville stated before pulling her off of the ground.

She nodded in agreement. "I think I do. "

"Maybe when you aren't bleeding incessantly, you wouldn't mind, going on an actual date with me?" He asked with a chuckle as he held her around the side of her waist that wasn't bleeding.

"I'd like that very much." She replied with a laugh.

They began to leave their hiding spot when saw him lean down and grab the sword that he'd apparently leaned against the glass.

"So do you get to keep that?" Samantha asked. "It'd be a real conversation piece."

"I dunno. No one has told me what to do with it." Neville explained before walking her into the Great Hall.

He stood with her while Madam Pomfrey explained to her that her Dittany was in fact expired. She cleaned her wound quickly and Samantha no longer felt dizzy.

She kept running the moment he'd kissed her over in her mind. She smirked slightly, deciding maybe that would be what she'd try to remember this day as instead.

"There they are." Her mother said loudly, while walking with another older woman Sam hadn't met before.

"We were looking for you two." The other woman exclaimed looking between them.

"We went outside to breathe for a moment Gran." Neville said with a big dopey smile on his face. "Kingsley had her write the names of every casualty and I wanted to make sure Sam was ok."

Samantha just smirked a little as her mother looked between the two of them. She couldn't get the smile off of her face.

"Well, I hope it made you both feel better." Her mother said giving a knowing look between them and noticed they were holding hands. "McGonagall had pulled us both aside to tell us the school plans to give you both special awards."

"Oh." Samantha and Neville both exclaimed unenthusiastically.

Samantha's mum turned back to Neville's Gran, "It's always good to see you Augusta."

"You as well Belle." Neville's Gran said before motioning to Neville, "You look like you could use some rest Neville. Let's get you home."

"That would be wonderful Gran." He said smirking first at his Gran then back to Samantha. "I'll see you soon." He kissed her cheek and she laughed as he walked away with his Gran, dragging the sword behind him.

"Getting room to breathe?" Samantha's mum asked softly with a chuckle.

"Well, it started that way." Samantha blushed before dropping her eyes. "I do want to go home too, or at least go wherever you and dad are staying. I have to get my notes from Kingsley first then we can go." Samantha said thinking that he probably needed her to edit more.

"Mr. Shacklebolt told me that he already sent your account of the battle to be published." Her mum's eyebrows shot to the sky.

Samantha nervously exclaimed, her insatiable happiness leaving her heart, "It's not even finished. I asked him to let me know of any changes that needed to be done first."

Her mother nodded. "There were no changes then."

Samantha tried to breathe."There's some really personal statements in there."

"It's ok darling. Unedited is necessary right now. I'm proud of you sweetheart."

Samantha wished she could feel that way about herself. Her hand began to shake again.

"Jack wasn't among the dead Death Eaters." Samantha revealed quickly. "I checked."

Her mother nodded and her eyes looked downward, "He must have run." Her mother's smile returned as if to not discourage her daughter. "Let's get you somewhere you can rest."