Again, thank you to LilyQuidditchEpic Story (did I get the name right) for the review! I agree, Alan is terrible and unfortunately he isn't going away yet. Also, thank you to mockingjaysapprentice for the review, your question shall be answered and I agree I want to punch Alan as well. :) I thought that I would try something a little different with this chapter. Let me know what you think, and as always, please R/R! Enjoy the chapter!
She almost blended in with the white sheets surrounding her in the hospital wing. The only thing that stood out was her blood red hair, making her appear even paler. Her chest moved with small little puffs that showed how hurt she really was.
In all the time I knew Lily, she was not one to show pain. Even when she dated Alan and she was first abused, I did not find out until much later. She simply did not like to show weakness. It was a strong attribute of hers to be brave.
I didn't know how I was to explain the absence of Laurence to the others yet, mainly James, Peter, and Remus, as the girls already knew. They would help when the time came. I had been watching her in her coma-like sleep for a long while now. Giving the nurse a chance to check on other patients and me the chance to make sure she was as all right as she could be.
It was a miracle that she was found as quickly as she was. The nurse was woken in the middle of the night by a knock on the hospital wing doors. And there was Lily lying peacefully on the ground with her hands crossed over her chest like a corpse. The matron immediately was kicked into her must take care mode, and Lily was put through all the tests to find out what was wrong.
A broken shoulder, split cheek, head cracked open and possibly a concussion, and a broken ankle. All being taken care of as she slept. Half of it was the spell that was used to knock her out and the other half was the magically induced sleep that the nurse put her in. She said something like it was better for her body to recuperate while sleeping than it would be for her to be awake.
I was the only one that was allowed to wait for her to wake up. The nurse told me that it could be anytime. Whether an hour from now, a minute, a day, or even a few weeks, I could be waiting for a while. I had alternated between pacing, sitting beside her, and annoying the matron for updates on her health. I think she was going to be glad to be rid of me. Although, with Remus' visits for his 'furry little problem' and James and my own mishaps, I was sure to be in here many more times during the year. Especially with the Quidditch season coming up.
I sat on the edge of her bed. I glanced at her and saw that her breathing had sped up a little bit. "Nurse? I think something is happening!" I alerted the nearby matron. She gently pushed me out of the way to examine my friend.
"I think she may be waking. If she does she will be very disoriented. Please, excuse me for a moment while I get the necessary potions. I will only be a second." The nurse disappeared into her office. I looked at Lily again.
"Please wakeup. Please." I whispered to her. Lily groaned. She was waking. "Lily? Lily? Are you awake? Lily? How are you feeling?" I said with increasing urgency. The nurse was back at my side with an armful of various potions and magical salves. I took some from her and set them on the small table beside the bed. "Is there anything I can do?"
"I'm sorry dear, but I'm afraid that you'll only be in the way. You could go and alert Dumbledore though, Mr. Black. The password is 'Mars Bars'. Please hurry." She said distractedly while waving her wand over Lily. I gave one last glance at the pair before leaving the wing; I knew that I would be back soon.
I practically sprinted to Dumbledore's office. I told the password to the gargoyles standing guard at the entrance and I rushed up the moving staircase. Now that I knew Lily was awake I was even more anxious to be near her. She was so much like a sister to me. I knocked on the door to the headmaster's inner office. It swung open and I rushed inside. He was sitting at his desk calmly, but one look at my face he seemed to grasp the situation fairly quickly.
"She is awake?" He asked. I simply nodded. "Wonderful, let us go see her." He stood and swept out of his office ahead of me. I spared one glare for the portrait of my ancestor on the wall and went after him.
When we arrived at the hospital wing the nurse was still by Lily's bed. The only difference was that she was sat up, leaning up against some pillows. The look of pure exhaustion on her face was just proof of how hurt she really was. She looked up at our approach and smiled weakly.
When we got close enough to the bed the nurse said, "She needs rest. You have ten minutes." Then she got up and left. Why she was saying that Lily needed rest after being in the magically induced coma was beyond me, but this is what she got paid for after all.
"Hello Lily, how are you feeling?" Dumbledore asked, always being one for pleasantries.
"Tired, but better. Thank you for asking."
"I must ask. Who attacked you? You were in quite a state when the matron found you." He asked calmly. I stood off to the side a bit, so as not to be in the way.
The expression on her face was pained. "I…I…I can't remember. That entire night is a blank spot in my memory. I remember being at the dance, dancing with James, then…nothing. It all goes black after that." She blushed a bit a James' name. I would have to ask her about that later when she hadn't just woken up from the brink of death.
"Are you quite sure that is all you can remember? Any feelings or brief scenes could help put together the pieces." Dumbledore said soothing yet urgently.
"I remember… uhm… dancing like I said… before I remember feeling scared. Really scared, but I can't remember why. Its like even memories before have fallen out of my brain." She got a very strained look on her face and the nurse stepped in.
"This young women has been through a very traumatic experience and she needs rest. I'm sorry headmaster, but I must insist that you and young Mr. Black leave now." She said sternly. The care of her patients was always her main concern.
"I understand. Mr. Black, let me accompany you out if that is okay."
"That's fine, Professor. I'll see you later, Lily. Okay, I'll come visit. I promise." She nodded and snuggled down into her sheets. She was asleep in a second. "Let's go, Professor." He nodded and we walked out of the wing together.
"I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening Mr. Black. If there are anymore concerns that you have feel free to come to my office anytime. Goodnight." He said.
"Thank you. I will." I waved goodbye and turned to walk back to Gryffindor tower all the while feeling Professor Dumbledore's eyes on me.
I was bombarded with questions the second I climbed through the portrait hole into the tower.
"Is she okay?"
"Does she know who attacked her?"
"Is she going to be alright?"
"Has anyone told the girls, yet?"
"Has anyone told Laurence, yet?"
"Has anyone found Laurence, yet?"
"Wait. I can only answer one question at a time." I took a deep breath. "She just woke up and she's super tired and disoriented. No, she doesn't know who attacked her. She barely remembers the dance. No, I have not contacted the girls or Laurence. And he, ugh, snuck into the village during the dance and apparated home to talk to his parents for a bit while everyone was distracted here. He should be back soon, he was only going to stay for a few days." I took another breath as the answers tumbled out just about as fast as my brain could put them together.
Everyone, almost simultaneously, let out a relieved sigh. And suddenly, it was like a weight had been lifted off all of their shoulders and they could relax. Except one person.
I knew that James would feel guilty and I figured he would blame himself, but I had been hoping that Remus had talked him down a bit. However, it seemed to be on the contrary. With the girls gone back to their homes, no one else had been there to convince him it wasn't completely his fault. He had been unconscious with the force of the blow the boy had hit him with.
I looked at him and judged his facial expression. His eyes were grim and there was still tape around the middle of his glasses. He had been too distraught to fix them and he refused to go to the nurse with a broken nose since he had learned the spell to fix it. One too many fistfights when he was back home he had said.
He didn't seem to have relaxed with the news that Lily was okay. The blame he was putting on himself must have been pretty strong. However, there was nothing he could do.
"Prongs. Prongs." He didn't respond. He just stared at the floor with a despondent look. "Prongs. James." He looked up at the name he had been given at birth. "Look, mate, it's not your fault. There was nothing anyone could do. No one knows if it was that twat ex anyway. It could have been anyone." I don't think he believed me. I sighed; nothing could make him think otherwise. "Just don't be too hard on yourself."
Even if no one knew exactly for sure who it was that attacked Lily, I was almost positive that it was her ex. I had no definite proof for it, so there was no way I could go to Dumbledore with my suspicions. I hope that she remembered quickly. I sat back.
I observed my friends around me. James was just staring at the ground while Remus and Peter were having a quiet conversation about who it was that attacked Lily. I sighed again. It had been a long time since I got a decent nights sleep, it seemed. "Right, well, I'm going to crash if I don't go to bed now. Night all." I stood and walked up the tower. I changed into some pajamas and was asleep before my head even hit the pillows.
I'm a horrible person. I know. I'm so sorry. I'm such a terrible person. For making you wait so long and for giving you such a short update. I'm so sorry. Thanks to LilyQuidditch for reviewing, it was you that kicked my arse in gear. If there are any mistakes I'm sorry cause I wrote the last half of this just now and its 2:30 in the morning. I'm going to attempt to give you guys another chapter of this tonight. If you would like my tumblr is lifeoutontheocean I spend most of my time there. Feel free to send me an ask telling me what a horrible person I am there. Also if there is too much time between updates you can yell at me so that I write. Anyways enjoy. R/R even though I don't deserve it.