Molly awoke some time later; she couldn't be sure how long she'd slept, but it must have been hours. The dull gray light of day had deepened into the blue-black of night. She lay motionless and stared up at the ceiling, feeling empty as the cavernous black dome that stretched above her head. How was she supposed to pretend to be just another student? She was an interloper, a trespasser, an alien; she didn't belong in this time, she felt that distinctly. Wouldn't everyone else feel that too? Wouldn't they sense her otherness?
Molly's reveries were interrupted by the sound of furious whispering nearby.
"No, no, here, take this – "
"ARGH WORMTAIL THAT WAS MY FOOT – "
"Keep a hold on the cloak, you wanker, Pomfrey'll skin us alive if she catches us in here after hours again – "
"Shut up," came a quiet voice from the other side of the room. "Pomfrey's already turned in for the night, but with the noise you lot are making she'll be back out in a second."
"Moony, absolutely spiffing to see you, old boy!" Said one of the nearby voices, and from the corner of Molly's eye she saw the air at the foot of her bed glitter and wrinkle. She raised her head from the pillow just the slightest bit to watch in astonishment as three teenaged boys materialized out of thin air in front of her. They were facing away from her, but the one nearest – the one who had spoken – seemed to have sensed her movement and his head shot around. Alarmed, Molly shut her eyes and fell back into the pillow. Best not to interact with anyone until she had some semblance of a plan. She lay very still and listened as they shuffled away towards the other end of the wing.
"What in Merlin's name are you three doing here at this hour?" Asked the one called Moony, sounding annoyed.
"What in Merlin's name's got your panties all in a twist over it, eh? Can't we pay a to visit our dear ailing comrade whilst he lies wasting and alone in this desolate Hospital Wing?"
"Wasting, yes. Alone, not quite," Moony responded. There was a beat of silence and ruffling of cloth; Molly presumed they had all turned back to look at her. Even from the other side of the room she could feel her face growing red. "And I suspect that's why you're really here, isn't it?
"Oh, come off it, Moony, you're being dramatic – "
"Yeah, 'course we're here to see you, we felt badly we couldn't make it up earlier – "
"Although, you know, we might have been a bit curious to see – "
"Yes, just a bit, I mean, we were the ones who saved her, for God's sake – "
"Merlin, Moony, it was wild, you should've seen the corridor we found her in – like Filch had taken a blood-soaked mop to the floor – "
"Enough," Moony interrupted. "I was here when you brought her in, I saw how close to death she was, I don't need the gory details."
"Right, well, anyway, we thought for sure she was a goner. What the bloody hell – pardon the expression – happened after McGonagall kicked us out?"
"To be honest, I don't know much more," Moony said with a sigh. "From what I could tell she suffered a massive wound on her chest, but Pomfrey put a screen up around her bed before I could get a good look. Dumbledore spent about an hour working on her, mumbling strange incantations – you know how he gets. When he was finished they took the screen away and he and McGonagall started talking to her…"
Molly felt her whole body tense. Had her secret been revealed so soon?
"And?"
"…And they cast a Muffliato charm so I couldn't hear a word they said."
Molly was so relieved she let out a small, inadvertent sigh. Not small enough, apparently.
"Hang on," said one of the voices, and a set of footsteps broke off and approached her bed.
Shit, was the only thought that Molly's brain could muster as she felt a shadow loom over her. Something warm hovered above her cheek for an instant, then slapped her lightly. Molly gasped in surprise and her eyes shot open.
"Hah," said a satisfied voice. "Knew you were awake."
Indignant, Molly squinted up at the figure standing over her bed. It was impossible to make out his features in the darkness, but his silhouette in the dim moonlight was tall and wiry.
"That was rude," she said, "and unnecessary."
"Sirius, did you just slap her awake?" Came Moony's voice from the other end of the room.
"Relax, mate, she was already awake, anyway. Just calling her on her bluff. Eh, love?" There was a glimmer of white in the darkness as Sirius flashed what Molly presumed to be a charming smile at her. She was not charmed.
"Look," she said through clenched teeth, "I'm exhausted, I've nearly bled out, I'm not in the mood for this right now – "
"What, not in the mood to thank your noble, selfless saviors?" He exclaimed, clapping a hand to his chest in mock outrage. "I'll have you know that your blood ruined a perfectly good set of robes – "
"Oh, I'm sorry about your robes," Molly began scathingly, but stopped in surprise when Sirius lowered himself to sit on the edge of her bed.
"In all seriousness," he said in a gentler tone, "we were really worried about you. We thought you'd died. We had to come and see if you were alright."
"I – well – uh, thanks," Molly managed to stutter out. He slipped a warm hand into hers and shook it.
"Sirius Black, at your service," he said. Molly was glad for the darkness; it hid the look of shock that no doubt passed over her face. She had known Sirius Black in another life; or at least, had known of him. She shook herself mentally and forced a smile.
"Molly," she responded.
"Just Molly? Molly what?"
"I…erm…" Molly hesitated. Something inside her told her not to use her real name. "I've forgotten." Molly imagined, rather than saw, Sirius's eyebrows shift upwards.
" You've forgotten?" He asked incredulously.
"Yes, well, I've forgotten a lot of things," she continued hurriedly. "I can't remember anything from before I was hit with this." She slipped her hand from his and laid it over her heavily bandaged chest.
"Hm," said Sirius softly; he didn't sound convinced. He twisted his neck to turn back toward his friends, who were huddled together by Moony's bed.
"Oy, you lot," he called. "Come over and say hi to Molly, the Living Girl Wonder. No, not you, Moony," he added over a rustling of bed sheets, "you're ill, stay in bed. Just wave from there."
"Hi," Moony's voice echoed across the room as Molly struggled to prop herself up on her elbows. She looked over and saw a thin dark shape sitting up in one of the far beds, waving. "I'm Remus. Sorry about them, they're always like this," he said apologetically, indicating his friends.
"Shut up, you love it," came another voice, and two more figures approached Molly's bed. "James Potter," said the voice, followed by a silhouette with extremely untidy hair. Molly's stomach gave a sick little jolt; she recognized that name, and that hair.
"And this is Peter," James continued, jerking a thumb in the direction of the short boy at his shoulder. "He didn't help rescue you, he was too busy skiving off History of Magic – "
"I told you, I had to finish that Transfiguration essay for McGonagall – and anyway, I'm not stupid, you lot were skiving off too otherwise you wouldn't have found her in that corridor – "
Molly cleared her throat to remind them that she was still there. They all shut up and looked at her expectantly. She suddenly felt very awkward.
"Right, well, erm, it's very nice to meet you all," she managed to get out. "And – and thank you, I suppose, for finding me or, saving me, or whatnot – "
She broke off at the sound of footsteps approaching. The boys looked at one another in panic; then James whipped out a length of shimmering material and swept it over the three of them just as the footsteps entered the room.
"Remus?" A girl's voice called uncertainly. James whipped the cloak off just as quickly as he'd put it on. The girl clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a scream of surprise.
"Evening, Mack!" Said Sirius, bowing grandly. The girl removed her hand and aimed a kick directly at Sirius's head. He dodged swiftly.
"That was uncalled for – "
"You're uncalled for, Sirius Black – and you too, James and Peter – scaring the daylights out of me jumping out like that – "
"Oh, well, excuse us," said Peter, "we thought you were Pomfrey, we didn't expect to see you, of all people, sneaking around the Hospital Wing in the dead of night – "
"Hang on, he's right," James interrupted. "What are you doing here at this hour, Mack?" He asked with a note of glee in his voice, head swiveling back and forth from the girl to where Remus sat in his bed. Remus coughed loudly.
"As a matter of fact, I was just here to deliver a book to Remus," said the girl, striding over to Remus's bedside and drawing a book from her bag.
"What, at two o'clock in the morning?" Said Sirius indignantly.
"Yes, at two o'clock in the morning, I had to finish the book first and it took me longer than I expected, what with McGonagall's monstrous essay. Not that it's any of your business," she added haughtily.
"Hm, yes, good story, Mack – "
"Anyway, what are you lot doing here?" The girl asked in a clear attempt to divert the attention away from herself. She walked over to stand behind James and Peter at the foot of Molly's bed. Her frame was long and lanky; slightly shorter than James but a good deal taller than Peter.
"Paying a visit to a friend," James said, waving his hand airily. "This is Molly, she – er – well, she's ill at the moment and we thought she could use some company. Molly – this is Marlene McKinnon."
Molly shot upright so fast that dark spots swam in front of her eyes. Sirius swore and jerked back from the bed in alarm. Molly squinted in the dim light, trying to make out the girl's features, but the dark spots seemed to be expanding rather than contracting. Her head felt light and fuzzy and her stomach was swooping with adrenaline.
"Mum?" She said in a quavering voice.
Then she passed out cold.