WARNING: GORE at the end of this chapter. I tried keeping it at a minimum, as it's not the
focus of the story. Believe me, I wouldn't put it if it wasn't necessary!
Notes: By the way, for those who wonder, John is seven years old. :)
Chapter Two - The Blood
"We're really not sure what happened..."
"How could a little child survive such terrible accident unscratched!"
"Poor, poor boy..."
The voices faded in and out. I didn't know who they were or where was I. I felt tired and sleepy. I could hear sirens from a Muggle ambulance, more people talking, but further away. The crunching of glasses against the pavement, as if someone was stepping over them. Metal groaning and a sound that reminded me of an electric chain-saw.
Suddenly, everything changed. Some people yelled out in confusion as loud cracks startled them. "In here," called a voice. "Run an Inquiro spell on him, Auror Longbottom," the female voice ordered.
A weird sensation made me shudder. "He is under a Sedative Charm, a highly advanced Shield Charm and presents no injury," a soft male voice reported. "He also seems to be awake," he added.
I groaned and opened my eyes. I seemed to be in the back of an ambulance, with two people staring at me. A tall, chubby man in formal robes and a pink haired woman in similar garments. "Where am I? Where's Mother?"
The man opened his mouth to say something, but someone called out from somewhere near the ambulance. I couldn't see much, only the darkness of the night and the lights from the street. "Auror Longbottom!" a man called out. "You better come and see this!"
"I'll be right back," the man, Longbottom, said.
The woman looked at me curiously, and I also felt very curious about her. I think I remembered Mother telling me about a witch with colorful hair. We both gasped, though I didn't know why she had done so. "Tonks?"
"Who are you?" she asked awkwardly. She looked rather confused, the poor woman.
"My name is John, and I think Mother talked about you a lot. Are you Tonks?" I asked, finding a logical and straight way to face this new challenge.
She just gaped at me, looking straight into my eyes. And then it hit me. My eyes! I had Father's eyes. Mother always said so. "John, what is your last name?"
"Granger," I answered simply.
Longbottom chose that moment to return. "Auror Tonks," he said in a strained voice. I noticed his eyes were shining with tears. "Auror Tonks," he pressed, when the pink haired woman didn't acknowledge him.
Tonks turned around sharply and followed him. They just got a bit away from the ambulance, and I still could see them. Longbottom said something, he looked very anguished about it. I noticed Tonks brought a hand to her mouth and sobbed. Once, twice. Until she broke down and had to hold on to him so she wouldn't fall.
I didn't understand what was going on, and I was starting to panic. "What is going on? Where's Mother?" I called out to them.
Longbottom managed to leave Tonks near a light post, where she could lean on, and came back to see me. His eyes were red this time and his cheeks were wet with tears. My heart skipped a beat as I finally started putting the pieces together. I wasn't Mother's son for nothing...
Mother had... When the car lost control and we hit something... Mother had used her magic to protect me... And she had died. He knew he didn't need to say it. I had finally figured it out, and it showed by the way my eyes watered and I started sobbing.
Longbottom held me tightly as I cried on his chest. Images of the crash finally came back to me at a frightening speed...
I saw Mother throwing her arms around me. I heard her voice, though I couldn't make out what she was saying. I felt the car hitting something, heard the metal bending and the glasses breaking. My grandmother was yelling, while my grandfather had stopped moving. Something had come through the front window, something hard. It had hurt him and he was unconscious... or dead.
Mother's arms were warm and soft, but she held me tightly. She kept muttering. My grandmother stopped yelling and I saw why. Something else had come through the front window and it had impaled her. Much to my horror, I realized it was in the same path... Mother was muttering, but her voice was strained. I felt something warm and wet around my neck and I shuddered...
It was then that I started screaming. Both in my memories and in Longbottom's arms. I had Mother's blood all over my body. I had Mother's blood all over my body!
Longbottom and Tonks desperately tried to calm me down, but I couldn't hear them. I still could see Mother's vacant eyes in my mind, as I pulled her off of me. Mother's abdomen had been sliced open and her insides were spilling out.
I was screaming even more, and I could tell all the Aurors were at a loss of what to do with me. I looked at my hands, covered in dry blood, but all I could see were Mother's guts... I threw up, startling everyone.
Longbottom quickly pointed his wand at me and whispered, "Sleep."
Once again, the world blacked out on me...
Notes: I really hated doing that to Hermione. And to John. :(