Challenge info:Sophie's bookshop Challenge
Prompts used: Zombie!AU, (plot theme) wakes up in a hospital, no one around,(word) Survivor, (dialog) "In a world ruled by the dead, we were forced to finally start living." (briefly mentioned: finding lost family members)
Pandora Lovegood woke up with a blinding headache and even worst mood. She was used to her mind being fuzzy since she slowly came alive after three glasses of water. Xeno would be beside her, holding her waist, as she laid her head on his chest. There was no arm holding her waist and she couldn't hear a steady heart beat. Looking up she saw that she was alone in what looked like Saint Mungo's. Her wrists were loosely tied and she slipped out of the restraints. She found the washroom and cleaned up before leaving the room. The door seemed resistant to opening but after a moment she opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.
She was definitely in Saint Mungo's. It was silent and the hallway was empty. She tried to open the other doors but they were locked tight. Pressing her head against the door she heard some movement as if someone was thrashing around in a bed and muted screams. Frowning she tried to open the door but as she tried to unlock the door a harsh shock ran through her and she let go and fell to the ground. It took a few moments to stop herself from twitching and regaining control over her physical movements. She tried the other doors and they wouldn't open so she walked until she found one that did.
A man in a robe stared at her and flicked through a folder, "Miss Lovegood. Please go back to your room with the rest of your kind and leave the doors that don't open alone. Since you are clearly awake, the situation will be explained to you, in a few hours. I'll have a nurse leave you some reading material."
Pandora considered arguing but he leveled his wand against her and glared. She nodded and left the room and wandered until she found her room. There was a table with something that resembled food and a pile of The Daily Prophet greeted her. The first one was clearly old- and she paled as she saw the date was 1998 and about the defeat of Lord Voldemort. The next one was dated 2014 and in bib bold letters read, "Lord Voldemort and other dark wizards revived! Ministry in a panic and unable to deal with onslaught of the undead."
She lifted the paper up and a recent magazine fell from it. She picked it up and on the cover was a woman with a large font reading, "Luna Lovegood exclusive interview- she tells all about her discoveries with her husband, Rolf Scamander and her experiences through the second wizarding war."
She read the table of contents and flipped to the article. It was the same woman on the cover with a man and two children. If the woman on the cover was her daughter then the man was the Scamander heir with her grandchildren. She tried to remember the last time she saw her daughter and the blurry image of her spell casting barn collapsing with Luna running away as her world was filled with red and black and she experienced sharp pains before death took her. She felt sobs build up and tears fell.
Pandora looked around and tried to think of a way to escape. She had to see Luna- and confirm that it was all just a horrible needed to see Xeno, her husband, and Luna would still be nine years old. The door opened and Luna came in. She had grown and Pandora didn't know what to say or think. Luna took a deep breath, "This isn't normally done by family but I requested it. I wanted to see you for myself… Mom. I'll do my best to get you out of isolation and free- but don't try to find or contact me or my family."
"What is freedom if you can't attain what you need most?" Pandora whispered.
"You'd be free- which is more than what the recently revived can say. I will make sure you stay off the registers as long as I can. Your kind have wrecked so many lives that odds are if you are still here in six months you'd be… dealt with." Luna said.
Pandora looked up and approached Luna but the woman shook her head and put her wand between them, "All interaction between the dead and living are forbidden. Stay back or I'll have someone else do this… Pandora."
Pandora hung her head between her legs as her hands beat uselessly against her bed. Luna stood a few feet away, her face cold and stony, as she looked in pity and and sadness. Luna wanted nothing more than to hug the woman for so long and she was only a few feet away from her. She had a family to consider and looking at the broken woman and her wand she approached the bed silently. The dead were known to be aggressive to the living but she had her wand and Pandora didn't. She reached the bed and in a pained voice spoke, "Mom… you'll be a survivor." as she made her decision. In a world ruled by the dead, we were forced to finally start living… but I'll always love you, Mom.
