The trip to St Mungo's was a blur to Caleb.

They were rushed through Healers and magical procedures, and he caught the odd phrase like "it's smoke inhalation" and "lucky we caught it when we did", but beyond that, he didn't pay much attention.

He stuck with Winnie through most of it. Since she'd broken down after seeing Ian's dead body, she'd refused to be separated from him unless it was strictly necessary.

After a while, they must have been deemed okay, because they were shuffled off into a private room where they were allowed to sit on stiff, white hospital beds.

Caleb was pretty sure they were told to "try and get some rest", but he brushed it off in favour of following Winnie to sit on one of the several beds on offer.

He leaned against the wall, letting the emotional load of the day wash over him.

Winnie buried her head in his shoulder, and after a while, he felt her finally begin to relax.

They remained silent, the bone-aching tiredness settling in. They'd talk about it, but not now.

After an hour or so, the doors swung open, and Evan and Zoë were guided in.

"What's happening?" Evan choked out.

With hindsight, the symptoms were laughably obvious.

"We've just conducted a small set of spells, nothing to worry about," the Healer said smoothly. "It's all over now, so you can go ahead and relax. There will be someone arriving in a little while to question you, but don't worry, Professor Dumbledore will be with them. If you need anything, please just ask."

"A—Alright," Zoë's scratchy voice was as scared as he'd ever heard it, but she seemed placated upon seeing her friends.

The Healer quietly slipped out of the room, and both of them turned their wild eyes to Caleb who, for once, was not in the mood for a discussion.

"Rowan was with us, but the hospital sent them home once they'd realised they were fine," Zoë explained quietly.

Evan lowered himself onto the end of one of the crisp duvets, and Caleb could see the cogs turning in his head.

Zoë frowned but she copied Evan's actions anyway.

"Where's Ian?" Evan asked slowly, and Caleb would never forget what it was like to see the realisation form on Evan's face.

Caleb would blame the smoke later, but in reality, he couldn't move the truth past the lump in his throat. Instead, he simply shook his head.

At some point, someone from the Ministry came in with a clipboard and an overload of questions, wanting to confirm the nature of the death and the actions that led up to it.

Dumbledore stood a few paces behind the official, nodding his head serenely in a way he must have thought was helpful.

To Caleb's surprise, Winnie adjusted her position to have her back against the wall, threaded her fingers through his, and answered the interrogatory questions as smoothly as she could.

Selfishly, he felt relieved that she had taken control of the situation, offering her a reassuring smile when she looked to him to confirm her words as true.

The Ministry Official made a few pointed notes and left, assuring them they would "be in touch".

Dumbledore lingered, and Caleb could tell a speech was on its way.

"I hope you do not blame yourselves," he began in that wavering voice of his.

"Of course I do. It was my fault," Winnie interjected, lip trembling.

Caleb shook his head. "No, it wasn't. Remember what he said, minutes before he— before? He said it was fate, remember? That there was nothing you could do to stop him following you into that Vault."

Winnie nodded slowly. "I—I guess he did say that."

"He was stubborn anyway," Zoë whispered. "He insisted on going up the chimney second, and wouldn't take no for an answer."

"Stubborn to the core. We can't deny that he truly was a member of our team." Evan cracked a small smile which Winnie tried her best to return.

"It doesn't change the fact that he—" Winnie swallowed. "He died, but it makes it easier to deal with, doesn't it? Hating whoever made the Vaults rather than hating yourself."

"It does."

"I hope this means you will not go looking for the next Vault," Dumbledore's voice sounded in the doorway, making them all flinch.

"It's not as simple as that, Professor," Evan spoke up, regretting it as Dumbledore's eyes snapped to him. "There was a warning on the Vault. It told us 'open the first vault, the others will open themselves'."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "I told you not to look for it, not that it won't look for you."

"What does that even mean?" Zoë scoffed.

"You'll see." Dumbledore turned to leave. "Your parents have been contacted and they will be arriving soon. I do hope you'll promise me one thing, though."

"Depends what it is." Zoë tilted her chin up.

"When help is needed, you will seek it out."

Zoë blinked, surprised. "I—I guess we can do that."

After Dumbledore's departure, their parents visited in turns, making sure they were okay and fussing over them.

Zoë's father came to see Zoë and Evan with Maddie and Achilles in tow, holding a letter from Evan's father and offering to file a legal complaint against the school.

Winnie's grandfather arrived with flowers and cookies (Caleb didn't tell him she threw them up later), and thanked Caleb for looking after her. He got Winnie to laugh and distracted her by getting her to complete that day's crossword with him.

Caleb's dad was the last to make an appearance, complaining about how difficult it was to get into St Mungo's. He hadn't brought Caleb's stepmum or Anna, but he did have a teddy bear he'd purchased from a petrol station on the way. (It was holding a lopsided heart with the word 'love' stitched onto it.)

After a few more days in the hospital, speaking to Healers about their physical and mental state, and reassuring Caleb's dad the hospital staff were not "out to get him", they were discharged to Hogwarts for the memorial ceremony.

Ian's family held their own service away from the school, but Ian's mother came to visit them anyway, wanting to thank them for trying to save her son.

She seemed so small and sad, but when she noticed them her eyes brightened and she wrapped each of them into a hug.

Opening her bag, she produced a small python and offered it to Winnie, saying it had been Ian's pet and she wanted the girl to have it.

Winnie burst into tears, but took the creature in her palm and let it snake up her forearm.

Mrs Wilczek chuckled and said, "I think he likes you."

When they'd finally arrived in the hall, the teachers turned a blind eye to Winnie sitting at the Gryffindor table.

Professor Dumbledore gave a very pretty speech, considering how little he had to have known about Ian before his death, and asked the students to raise their wands in memory of Ian.

"As much as I want to forget about the message on the door, we owe it to him to see this through." Winnie murmured to Caleb.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean we owe it to him to close the rest of these damned Vaults." 

A/N

this is basically just the fallout of Ian's death, a bit of a filler chapter but stuff needed to be said so we move

it will be fluffier next chapter, with the presence of the side cast too so please tune back in if that's your oc

I'm sorry this took a while! school starts again for me next week, I'm hoping it won't impact my activity too much, but we'll see what happens

my selection apply fic is closing tomorrow, and while I will be writing that too, hogwarts mystery will always be my top priority on this account so don't worry

<3