Chapter 10: Wednesday

Lily insists on going to the Hospital Wing with Dumbledore and McGonagall, who had levitated Mary's body onto a stretcher and floated her up four flights of stairs.

"I found her in the hallway," Lily makes up on the spot. "I had gotten up, I couldn't sleep. Nervous about exams, I guess. I thought I walk might clear my head—I know I'm not supposed to, Professor, but it's lucky I did because I heard commotion from the end of this hallway and I ran to see what it was, and Mary was lying by herself on the floor, Petrified."

Dumbledore, who is in a long dark blue dressing gown and fluffy purple rabbit slippers, nods at her.

"It's quite alright, Miss Evans," he says. "I appreciate, this time, that you chose to take a midnight walk."

"Did she say anything at all to you?" Professor McGonagall is wearing a tartan dressing gown and a very serious expression. Lily meets her eye.

"She said it was Mulciber, Professor. That was all, then she fainted." McGonagall and Dumbledore exchange a look, but by now they've reached the Hospital Wing. Madame Pomfrey has apparently been warned by the portrait to expect them, because she's bustling about and all the lights are on.

"Come in, come in," she ushers the floating stretcher over to a bed in the empty wing, and she and McGonagall carefully lift Mary onto it. She stirs slightly. Pomfrey takes her pulse, gently lifts one of her eyelids.

"She's in shock," she announces. "And I'm sure she was hexed… you undid the hex, Miss Evans?"

"Yes," Lily is hovering anxiously by the bed.

"Well, she'll live," Madame Pomfrey says. "She'll need to rest for the night. I can give her something for any pain."

"Poppy," Dumbledore says quietly. "Miss MacDonald told Miss Evans she may have been attacked by another student. I am, of course, not sure of the curse, but I have my guesses, as I'm sure you do too."

Madame Pomfrey's eyes are cold. "She shows all the signs of being subjected to the Cruciatus Curse, Albus."

"As I feared," Dumbledore sighs. "Minerva, if you can escort Miss Evans back to the dormitory…"

"No!" Lily shouts, then catches herself. "I have to know if she's going to be alright," she pleads.

"She needs rest!" Madame Pomfrey says sternly. "And so, might I add, do you. You do have an exam in the morning, don't you?"

"Please," Lily says. "She's my friend. Please."

Madame Pomfrey considers her. "You may come back and check on her first thing in the morning, Miss Evans," she says. "I do understand—must have caused you quite the fright, finding her, poor dear. You may come back before breakfast and see if she's awake, if you like."

"Thank you," Lily says.

McGonagall walks her back to the portrait hole and opens it for her, then catches her arm. "Miss MacDonald is very lucky that you stumbled across her," she says sternly. "But do try and avoid any further night wandering, Miss Evans."

"Yes, Professor," Lily says meekly, and climbs through the portrait hole. She drops into her bed almost immediately, and sleeps fretfully for a couple of hours.

Lily wakes around six and changes her clothes, then scribbles a note to Dorcas which she leaves at her bedside table, letting her know what's happened. She slips out of the dorm and then out of the common room and heads back to the Hospital Wing.

Madame Pomfrey is up, and ushers her inside with a wave of her hand.

"She's sleeping," she says. "Peacefully enough. I've done what I can for now. I can do more when I know if anything else has been done to her. I don't think it has, though."

"Thank you," Lily says, and takes a seat next to Mary's bed. She's curled up on herself on her side, looking very small and frail.

"I have to run out," Madame Pomfrey is slinging a cloak over her shoulders. "I'll be back in a few moments, dear."

"You're leaving?" Lily says, startled. "You can't just leave her here!"

Madame Pomfrey gives her a look that clearly says You're pushing your luck, Evans. "Sorry," Lily mutters. "I'm just worried, I guess."

"Quite alright," Madame Pomfrey strides towards the door. "I won't be long."

Lily rests her head on Mary's bedsheets and lets her eyes droop closed; she's resigning herself to the fact that she isn't going to be fully conscious for her History of Magic exam in two hours and she doesn't really remember anything about the International Warlock Convention of 1298. She's trying, halfheartedly, to dredge something up out of her brain when Madame Pomfrey comes back into the room with her arms around a figure wrapped in a rather ragged cloak.

"We'll get you lying down, almost there dear," she's saying in a soothing voice, "You've lost quite a bit of blood. I don't know how you managed to do that to your own stomach, it hasn't been this bad in quite a while…" and they vanish into a small back room, which clicks closed behind them. Lily remembers the not-quite-wolf, and wonders.

She drags herself reluctantly away from the bed and to her exam, not bothering to go down to breakfast. She sits in the front next to Dorcas, who looks over at her in alarm, her eyes rather bloodshot.

"I'll explain later," Lily hisses. "We'll go up to see her once this is over." Dorcas nods tightly.

The exam isn't as bad as Lily had imagined, and she finishes it rather quickly, around the same time as James. He follows her out of the classroom and into the hallway, where Sirius is already waiting for them. Peter and Dorcas come out a few minutes later.

All three boys look exhausted. Peter's hair is disheveled and he yawns widely and sighs.
"Couldn't remember a bloody thing about the Giant's Rebellion in the 1440's," he mutters.

"I don't even know what I wrote down," Sirius snorts. His shirtsleeves are rolled up and he's got a heavy white bandage rolled around his right arm and a few scratches on his face. There are dark rings under his eyes.

James looks even worse. The cut over his eye that was bleeding last night has closed, probably with the help of a spell, but he's got an enormous purpling bruise over his left eye that's spread up his forehead.

"What on earth happened?" Dorcas rounds on Lily.

"I couldn't sleep last night," Lily repeats the story she told Dumbledore. "Pomfrey says she's going to be alright, but I still want to go up and see her."

"We do, too," Peter says. And they troop off together.

When they get up to the Hospital Wing, Mary is awake, if bleary. She smiles wanly when she sees them, and they hurry to surround her bed.

"McGonagall and Dumbledore've already been in," she says, as Dorcas grasps her hand. "They said that you found me in the Great Hall, Lily, but I know I was out on the Quidditch pitch. And I remember you lot, too. And the forest."

"I may have, erm, fibbed a bit," Lily says. "To keep us all from getting into even more trouble."

"Don't worry, I went with it," Mary smiles wryly. She's pale, and her hands are trembling slightly, but Lily can see a fire smoldering in her eyes.

"Do you remember what happened?" Lily says. Mary nods.

"Sure. I was out playing with Jiejong and a few others—new broom, you know. Wanted to break it in. They left around a quarter to nine, and I flew for another half an hour, maybe. It was a nice night."

Sirius snorts, and Lily smacks him in the knee.

"Anyway, I went to lock my broom up in the furthest shed, the one closest to the forest. I'd done that and I heard this horrible shrieking noise coming from the Whomping Willow. I can't even explain it, it was awful. I walked over there to investigate and Mulciber appeared from among the trees. He chased me, and I ran. I'm a lot faster than he is so I thought I'd gotten away from him but he hit me with something from behind and knocked me over."

"Fuck," James mutters.

"And the rest is pretty much what you imagine," Mary says. She closes her eyes. "He used the Cruciatus Curse on me, quite a bit. And he laughed about it, and he said I deserved it. And then he Petrified me and left me there."

"It wasn't your fault," Dorcas murmurs. Mary opens her eyes and glares at her.

"Yeah, I fucking know. He's a monster. And I'm going to, I'm going to make him pay for this," she grates out, raising up both her hands, which are trembling. "I'm gonna strangle him."

"Not if I do it first," Sirius growls.

"Oh no, Black," Mary snaps. "He's mine."

Lily takes her hand and grins rather violently. Good old Mary.

James gets up and is striding around the Wing restlessly. Peter chews on his thumbnail.

"Madame Pomfrey says I'll be alright in a few days, physically," Mary says. "I've arranged to take the rest of my exams next week if I'm up to it. I feel up to it now, mostly. I feel like I could wrestle a lion, that's how angry I am."

Behind them, Lily hears James whispering something to Madame Pomfrey, who replies, "No boys, he's still asleep. He lost a lot of blood. G[o]uged himself in the stomach, somehow. Come back this evening, I suspect." James turns around and runs both his hands over his face, then sits back down next to Mary's bed.

"I'm glad it wasn't worse," he says.

"I'm glad you found me," Mary smiles up at him. "Thank you, all of you."

"Don't you even mention it, MacDonald," Sirius says.

"We've got our Herbology exam in twenty minutes," Dorcas says, regretfully. "Sorry, Mary, we'll be back tonight alright?"

Mary grasps her hand. "It's fine. I'm off to sleep again, anyway. Good luck with the test, you all."

Lily straightens the covers around Mary's waist, and leaves reluctantly, her mind whirling.