A/N: Let me know what you all think of the story so far and enjoy the chapter!
"Where the hell am I?"
Kirsten Black opened her eyes just moments ago to find herself in a bed that somewhat resembled one like she had seen in the hospital wing at Hogwarts. Her eyes landed on a plaque that read Janus Thickey ward.
Ward?
A hospital.
The double doors opened and a motherly looking woman entered looking at her with wide eyes.
"Kirsten! You're supposed to be in bed, dear!" she said, grabbing hold of her arm with a smile. Kirsten eyed the woman in confusion. "I can't believe you're awake!"
"I — what? Where am I?"
"You are on the fourth floor of Saint Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries," she told the young witch, a wide smile still on her face. "My name is Gladys."
Kirsten gave her a small smile in return only to make sure the woman wouldn't attack her out of nowhere.
She did look a bit psychotic.
The grey eyed witch was confused and looked at the blonde woman.
"You look much better now! And standing! Do you feel comfortable enough to walk? Maybe stretch your legs for a minute?"
Kirsten nodded her head in response to Gladys's questions. She felt completely fine besides her body feeling quite stiff. She had a feeling she was unconscious for quite a while.
Before another word could be said, another figure emerged from within the ward. Kirsten eyed the new person cautiously and curiously. He was a handsome man with a thick head of wavy blond hair, bright blue eyes, and a broad smile that revealed dazzlingly white teeth.
The young witch tried to take a step back away from the man but Gladys held onto her arm tight.
"It's alright, Kirsten. This is Gilderoy Lockhart!" she said, beaming fondly at him. The woman practically dragged her down and out into the hall. "He was rather well known some years ago…would you mind coming with me to put him back. He's in a closed ward so I should make sure he gets back since the door's usually locked. He's not dangerous. He's more of a danger to himself, bless him….Doesn't know who he is, wanders off and can't remember how to get back…."
"Is he stable?" Kirsten asked, watching the lost looking man.
Gladys's smile widened at her question. "Of course!"
That didn't exactly sound truthful to Kirsten's ears but she was able to shake the woman off her arm due to her trying to grab a hold of Lockhart. His name sounded familiar. It was definitely someone Harry, Ron, or Hermione mentioned.
The Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione!
At the thought of her friends, memories started to flood Kirsten's mind. Memories from when she was last awake.
The Quidditch World Cup, the attack on the Muggles, the woods, Malfoy, the strange mark in the sky, Winky, the man —
Kirsten shuddered involuntarily at the thought of the man. He was the reason she was in the hospital.
The pain he caused her. She involuntarily flinched at the thought of the pain she endured and was surprised.
This man seemed to have scarred her. Like the boy at the orphanage years ago. Patrick.
Anger began to seep into her mind at the thought. Whoever that man was tortured her and she wanted to know who he was. She wanted to know the reason why he did so.
Thump, thump. Thump, thump. Thump, thump.
The heartbeats pounding in her head didn't seem to bother her as she had one thought on her mind.
She wanted to kill the man.
"This is the long-term residence ward."
The voice cut into her mind so suddenly heartbeats vanished from her mind and the sharp pain from the pounding sensation dulled at the sound of the woman's voice.
Kirsten was glad Gladys spoke to her. To interrupt her from her dangerous thoughts.
She needed to keep herself in control.
She needed to keep her temper in check.
She will not be giving into the darkness and bloodthirstiness that wanted to consume her. It seemed to be just waiting for a moment of weakness.
Breathing deeply and attempting to calm her mind, the young witch looked to see that she was in large room. Beds were placed along the room with other furniture and belongings placed here or there giving the room a more homey look. Her eyes landed on a large curtain that covered a section of the room in the corner.
Long-term residence ward...
The woman settled Lockhart in his bed and looked back at Kirsten. "Luckily, your condition was not as severe or permanent than everyone else in here.
"But we should be getting you back to your room, dear. Your godfather was planning on staying the night with you again. He must be worried, I managed to tell him to get a cup of coffee for himself."
Kirsten frowned at the Gladys and was about to ask her what she meant by again but was interrupted by the sound of the curtain being pushed back. Her eyes widened as she saw Neville Longbottom standing there with an elderly woman. She had not seen Neville since the end of the school year and was surprised to see he had grown a bit taller. She didn't miss the fact that his eyes were downcast and he appeared to be sullen.
What could he be doing here?
"Mrs. Longbottom, leaving so soon?"
The old witch standing next to Neville, who must've been Neville's grandmother, nodded her head. The outfit on the woman was vaguely familiar as she remembered it to be the getup placed on boggart Snape almost a year ago.
"Yes, Frank and Alice have both fallen asleep," she said to Gladys.
Frank and Alice?
Kirsten was curious as to who Frank and Alice were and with Neville looking so down, she had a clue that they were family of some sort.
"Hey, Neville."
Neville's eyes shot up and his eyes widened as he looked Kirsten up and down. Kirsten looked down to see that he was staring at the same lilac gown that Lockhart was wearing.
"A friend of yours, Neville?" the old witch asked her grandson. The woman's eyes examined Kirsten's face and a look of recognition crossed her features. A small smile spread onto her lips. "Yes, I know who you are…. Neville speaks highly of you and your other friends."
Kirsten's eyebrows shot up as she looked at Neville. She liked Neville. They were not extremely close but as someone in her year and in her house she had gotten to be accustomed to his shy ways and would tease him lightly every so often. And of course, she would stand up for him whenever he had a run in with any of the problematic Slytherins. The two Gryffindors were not necessarily close to one another so what his grandmother said surprised her.
"Thanks," Kirsten said, smiling at Neville. She looked back at his grandmother. "And I think the same of Neville."
She didn't miss that his face turned a dark shade of pink.
"I suppose you are feeling better?" Mrs. Longbottom asked. The young witch nodded her head. "It must have been terrible, dear. Your condition was all over the Daily Prophet. That Rita Skeeter though… pmft!"
"I was in the Daily Prophet?" Kirsten was surprised. Her in the Daily Prophet?
"Of course," the elderly witch told her. "What happened at the Quidditch World Cup was mayhem. With You-Know-Who's Mark in the sky and you being tortured with the Cruciatus Curse, almost everybody in the wizarding world knows what happened. The Ministry has a lot to deal with."
Cruciatus Curse? Voldemort's mark?
Kirsten's head was reeling at the new information.
"Neville, why are you quiet, dear?" Mrs. Longbottom asked. Neville shrugged, his shoulders slumped as if he didn't want to be seen and his grandmother glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. "I guess it is late then. It was very nice to have met you, dear. Perhaps some other time when it's not as late."
Mrs. Longbottom gave Kirsten a kind smile before she strode past with Neville following her. The odd look Neville through at her before he disappeared through the door threw her off guard.
She had never seen him so serious before.
Her eyes landed on two occupied beds where the curtain previously blocked her view. Lying in them were a man and a woman and Kirsten studied the sleeping faces. It didn't take Kirsten long to realize how they were connected to Neville and understood why he was so solemn. She couldn't help but feel a pang in her heart at the sight.
Kirsten returned back to her hospital room a lot quicker than when she was led to the long-term ward. Gladys had been chatting about how Remus had been by her side the entire time since she had been admitted into the hospital several days ago. As the young witch entered the room she found herself pulled into a hug.
"Thank goodness you're all right," a familiar voice muttered close to her ear.
Kirsten couldn't help the small smile on her face and she put her arms around her godfather in return. She was truly lucky to have Remus in her life. The sandy haired man had been there for her since she had met him and continued to be there for her.
Unlike her father.
She understood why he could not be there for her physically, however, she didn't understand why the man did not try to reach out to her as he did with Harry. Jealousy seeped into her thoughts as she pictured Harry and her father. He didn't care to ask how she was in the letter he sent her. Instead he was so focused on Harry.
Kirsten needed to stop. Harry was her friend. Her father was Harry's godfather.
The former Hogwarts professor pulled away and Kirsten saw the large bags under the man's eyes and the concern etched onto his face and her thoughts about her father and Harry completely left her mind. Remus looked even more exhausted and she hoped it wasn't because of her.
"I'm fine, Kirsten," he said, realizing the concerned look on her face.
Remus pulled Kirsten into the room and her eyes landed on Albus Dumbledore standing next to her bed. His twinkling blue eyes staring right at her with a smile on his lips.
What happened must have truly been serious. Serious enough for Dumbledore to come to the hospital to visit her.
"Hello, Professor."
"Hello, Kia," Professor Dumbledore greeted, settling down on edge of the bed.
"I'll leave you three, then," Gladys said, closing the door behind her.
Now it was just the three of them.
Kirsten was briefly reminded of her days during the summer and how familiar this felt. With Dumbledore visiting every so often to help with her power.
"How are you feeling?"
"I feel fine," Kirsten told Remus reassuringly. A thought hit Kirsten and she looked at the two men. "I met other Simurghs."
Remus's eyes widened and a look of interest appeared on Dumbledore's face.
"There was a group of them. I spoke to a man named Merhawi...he said they came from the Horn of Africa. And I met others from the United States. They — I felt drawn to them somehow. And Merhawi said he would contact you."
Kirsten saw Dumbledore nodding his head. "He has contacted me, Kirsten."
"Do you know him?" she asked, curious as to how this man from a different country would know her headmaster.
A smile graced the old man's features at the question. "I knew his father, who was a very respected elder in the community. Your mother was the first to make contact with this community while she attended Hogwarts."
Kirsten had a feeling her mother did. After all, she concluded the night of the Cup that her mother's features were similar to the group from East Africa. She mentally noted to look into that later in her mother's journal. Surely her mother would mention that.
"So… did that man in the forest get caught?" Kirsten asked. She hoped they had or she would try her hardest to find where he was.
However, Kirsten realized that the two wizards looked at her with alert eyes. It seemed as if they didn't have any idea what she was talking about.
"Man? Kia, what man?" Remus asked.
So they didn't catch him…he's still on the loose and unknown too.
"There was a man in forest and he was in the Top Box…I think…Nobody could see him during the match. But I saw him in the Box…well, I heard him," Kirsten said, both men nodded in understanding, though Remus looked uneasy and Dumbledore no longer had the amused twinkle in his eyes. "He was sitting next to that house-elf, Winky… and Winky was standing next to him in the forest with Malfoy and me."
"And was there a name for this man?" Dumbledore asked. For the first time, and Kirsten had the unfortunate feeling that this would not be the last, Dumbledore looked worried.
"The elf called him Master Barty."
