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Last chapter - Eva was found and brought to the Hospital Wing. Everyone believed her dead but Luna noticed her breathing. Now she lies there, motionless and eyes open
Madam Pomfrey approached the bed, having recovered herself from the weeping fit. She placed her hand on Eva's chest. "Yes, she's alive." She confirmed.
"Then what's wrong with her?" Ron asked. "Why isn't she awake?"
"Is she alright?" Ginny spoke simultaneously with Harry.
"Of course she's not alright," Hermione snapped. "Does she look alright to you?"
The discussion was about to degenerate into an argument. Lupin and Tonks stayed well out of it, standing by Bill's bed. Then Luna spoke. Her voice, although quiet, cut through the babble.
"Was it a curse?" She asked seriously. "Or something else?"
Not sparing the time to wonder about what Luna's idea of 'something else' might be, Ginny turned her attention to Madam Pomfrey. The room filled with an expectant silence, awaiting the nurse's reply.
"A curse, I believe…" she murmured, running her wand up and down Eva's body as she cast diagnostic spells. She was speaking half to herself, too caught up in her patient for the moment to think about bustling them out of the Hospital Wing. "Some variant on Petrificus Totalus."
Hermione's mind moved quickly. "So she just can't move? She can hear us, and everything?"
This provoked another chorus of voices, all of them speaking to Eva, to reassure her that they were there for her, that she'd be okay.
"She won't be helped by you disturbing her," Madam Pomfrey said sternly. "One more outburst from anyone and you're out."
Another silence fell, broken only by Madam Pomfrey's spoken thoughts.
"Her eyes aren't responding……yet her brain is apparently active….. It's almost like…..she's dreaming?" The nurse frowned and performed yet another spell over Eva's motionless form. "Narratis Quaestis!"
A colourful mist rose from Eva's chest. It began to separate and change colour. A fog coalesced over Eva's head, coloured the deepest blue. It was almost black – the colour of raven feathers. Meanwhile a cloud engulfed the rest of her body, with the dull hue of grey, insensible rocks.
"So, she's definitely been frozen……don't know what that is. First things first though." Yet again, the nurse raised her wand. "Finite Incantatum."
No change was immediately visible. Then, Eva moaned and rolled on her bed. The students rushed forward.
"Eva!"
"Eva, can you hear me?"
"Are you awake?"
"Eva!"
But she didn't respond. She continued to cry out, but only in meaningless babble. Her movements were disconnected as she thrashed about as though in the midst of a nightmare.
Madam Pomfrey watched her patient with a critical eye. "Didn't affect the brain spell then……" She bustled off to her room suddenly.
"What do you think's wrong with her?" Ginny muttered to Hermione. Before the older girl could respond, Luna spoke up again.
"A Gytrash."
This seemingly random outburst provoked much head turning among the others. They silently asked each other if anyone else had heard of this creature, or why Luna had mentioned it. When the general consensus was no, Ginny took the bait.
"What's a Gytrash? And what do they have to do with this?"
"That cloud is the exact same colour as Gytrash fur." She said this with an air of surprise, as if everyone knew this. "If you see one, then you start to see your worst fears – your worst nightmares. And you might not even realise. After all, they just look like big black dogs." She paused, then added, as if as an afterthought. "But with glowing, malevolent eyes."
"But that's a Grim!" Ron exclaimed.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "We've been over this before Ron, there's no such thing as Grims."
"No, there isn't." Luna agreed. Surprised by the unexpected ally, Hermione stared at her. But then she continued. "Grim is just another word for Gytrash."
Hermione sighed despairingly. However, Ginny had picked up on something different.
"Does that mean what Eva's seeing is her worst nightmares?"
Struck by this new horror, their attention turned once more towards their unresponsive friend. Yet not for long. Madam Pomfrey soon returned, her expression one of triumph.
"A compound spell," she tutted. "Now why didn't I think of that before. Using a potion to help you to modify your spell to the desired effects. So all I need to do is…." She lifted up the potion vial she was holding and held it to Eva's lips. "This should neutralise the effects of the potion…." But Eva writhed away from the glass. Sighing, Madam Pomfrey looked to the students. "You're both strong," she told Ron and Harry. "Hold her down."
It felt odd to be restraining a friend against her will, but they did as they were told and at last every drop of the potion had been drained. Eva went rigid for an instant, eyes bulging from their sockets. Then she slumped down. Her eyelids drooped and her body relaxed.
"Could she hear us?" Hermione asked worriedly, thinking of how awful it must have been if she could. After all, Harry had told the whole story of what Draco had done, not to mention what Neville had said.
"Yes," Madam Pomfrey said thoughtfully, "but only as a part of her nightmare. But now she should be in a nice, natural sleep." Her expression turned severe. "Like you should all be having right now. Why aren't you in your beds?"
She seemed to have completely forgotten the previous events. The teenagers in front of her looked at each other uncertainly, unsure whether or not to remind her of what had devastated her so greatly. But it made no difference. Just then the door to the Hospital Wing opened and Professor McGonagall entered. She seemed as battle-weary as the rest.
"Molly and Arthur are on their way." She said, her voice just about under control, though it nearly shook with fatigue. She turned to Harry. "Harry, what happened? According to Hagrid you were with Professor Dumbledore when he – when it happened. He says Professor Snape was involved in some-"
"Snape killed Dumbledore," Harry interrupted flatly. McGonagall's composure seemed to desert her at this point. She swayed, barely staying on her feet. Madam Pomfrey quickly conjured a chair, which McGonagall fell into gratefully.
However, she wasn't the only one to react. Woken by the slam of the doors opening, Eva had heard Harry's statement. "No," she whispered, her voice barely audible. But Luna and Ginny both heard it, and turned to her.
Her pallor was even greater than usual, and her tangled black hair stood in stark contrast around her face. Her eyes seemed huge, their blue incredibly light. With an expression full of horror as she realised that a part of her nightmare had been true, she murmured "No," once more.
Okay, this definitely isn't a cliffhanger, so people can stop chewing me out about that now! I promise not to use a cliffhanger for a while now...at least three chapters.
Because yes, this story is being continued. I'm not sure yet whether it'll be as a separate sequel, or just whether I should put it in and make this a super long story. Please tell me which, in your opinion, is better! I like having your opinions!
Thanks for reading this far - please review, with whether you think I should write the next bit as a sequel, or just extend this.
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