Raingirl4513: Jeez, no need to get violent! Here's the next chapter for you!:)

Luise_Mau: It was meant to be a shock, so I guess I succeeded:) And I agree, Sirius and Emmeline are way too adorable! Lol enjoy this next chapter!

EmmaMabel: Aw thanks!:) But you'll have to wait and find out! (Sorry) Anyway, hope you like this next chapter!

glazedwater: Oh boy, hang in there!:( Here's the next chapter for you!

iceandfire 105: Yeah… sorry about that:( Hope I didn't keep you in suspense too long. Anyway, here's the next chapter!

Tuesday

February 6th

3:05 am

Boys Dormitory

Scrubbing out all the troughs in the greenhouses took a ridiculously long time, and as a result, Sirius didn't get back from his detention until about three in the morning. He began to trudge sleepily through the castle and up to Gryffindor Tower, too exhausted to even feel resentment anymore towards his brother for landing him in this situation. He pulled himself through the portrait hole and crossed the common room, which was dark and empty due to the late hour. He climbed sullenly up the stairs to the boy's dormitory, and once he had reached the familiar room, shuffled toward his bed, kicked off his shoes, and fell face-first onto his covers without even changing into his pajamas. In a matter of seconds, he was fast asleep.

~/~

In what felt like the next minute, however, he was being rudely awakened:

"Sirius!"

Someone had switched on the light to the dark dormitory, causing all the guys in the room to wake up and groan as the brightness seared at their tired eyelids. Sirius blinked blearily, lifting his face up from his pillow.

"Sorry guys," a girl's voice spoke up from the doorway, and Sirius dimly realized it was Marlene. "Where's Sirius?"

"Whuz happ'ning?" Sirius propped himself up on his right elbow, rubbing his eyes with his left hand. A cursory glance at his alarm clock told him it was barely 6 am.

Marlene quickly dashed to his bed. "Sirius – are you awake?"

Sirius glared blearily at her. "I am now. What on earth are you doing?"

"You have to come with me. Right now."

Sirius blinked up at Marlene, her face finally coming into focus. He saw she had dark circles under her eyes, and her expression was pale and frantic, as if she had been up half the night worrying about something. Sirius had only ever seen her like this when Emmeline had gone missing that one time a few months ago.

He pulled himself up slightly, frowning. "Why? What's wrong?"

Marlene gazed at him, her tired eyes wide and anxious. Her voice shook slightly as she spoke: "It's Emmeline. We had to take her to the hospital wing last night."

All of Sirius's sleepiness evaporated. He sat up completely, a panicked edge to his voice. "What?"

"It was last night, after everyone else went to bed," Marlene sounded like she was on the verge of tears. "Lily and I found her unconscious on the floor of our dormitory. We brought her straight to the hospital wing, and Madam Pomfrey has been keeping an eye on her all night. But she…" Marlene hesitated, looking extremely worried. "She hasn't woken up yet. We still don't know what's wrong with her."

Sirius was on his feet in an instant. He scrambled to his dresser, pulling open all of his drawers in search of a clean shirt. "Well, it had to have been something! How was she at dinner? Did she seem okay?"

"Yes," Marlene said, her voice quivering. "As far as I remember, she was completely fine. She was a little quiet after dinner, but… I dunno…" her voice broke as she gasped out a dry sob. "I don't know how this happened."

"Everything okay, guys?" James peered sleepily out from behind his four-poster's curtains.

"Emmeline's really sick. I have to go to her," Sirius unembarrassedly stripped off the robes he wore to bed so he could pull on a clean shirt and pants. Marlene glanced away modestly. "If I'm not back in time for Charms, tell Flitwick where I am."

"Sure thing…" James blinked, looking mildly concerned. "Hope everything's okay."

"Yeah, me too," Sirius, now fully dressed, quickly grabbed his wand from his nightstand and turned to Marlene. "C'mon, let's go."

The two of them dashed down the stairs and out the portrait hole, making their swift way through the dark and silent castle toward the hospital wing. Sirius began badgering Marlene for information as they hurried along:

"How has she been? You said she hadn't woken up yet?"

"No," Marlene said as they rounded a corner. "She's been unconscious, but she's been having strange fits all night. Madam Pomfrey doesn't even know what's wrong with her, so she's gone to get Professor Dumbledore."

Sirius let out a guttural breath, almost like a sob. He quickened his pace. "Why didn't you come and get me sooner? I could have been there!" He tried not to think of what other horrors might have happened to his girlfriend while he was sleeping in peaceful ignorance upstairs.

"You were in detention, and Lily and I needed to stay with her," Marlene insisted, panting as she tried to keep up with him. "Also it was way past curfew, so we weren't allowed to be out in the corridors. I came to get you as soon as I was able."

They had finally reached the hospital wing, and Sirius and Marlene burst through the doors. The wing was empty, save for two people at the far end. Lily glanced up from where she was sitting near Emmeline's bed, looking just as anxious and exhausted as Marlene.

Sirius felt his heart stop in his throat when he saw Emmeline, and he dashed over to them. "Em!" He stopped at her bedside, gazing down at her with wide eyes.

There she lay, her body pale and unmoving – she was still in her robes from the day before, and her blonde hair fanned out over her pillow, snarled and unkempt. She lay slightly on her side, her knees bent and her face turned to the right, her mouth gaping open a bit. Her lips were pale blue, while her skin was white as a sheet. She was still breathing, though the sounds were faint and strained.

Sirius felt his heart break into about a million pieces – how did his sweet, kind, beautiful Emmeline become this broken?

"Careful," Lily whispered when Sirius dropped to his knees beside Emmeline, taking her pale hand in both of his. "She's been pretty unstable all night."

Sirius caressed her lifeless fingers, his throat constricting painfully. She was still warm, which he took a small amount of solace in. "Em…" he whispered shakily, willing her to hear him. He brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. "Emmeline, it's me. Say something."

Emmeline just lay there, silent and unmoving. Marlene and Lily looked at each other, their expressions solemn.

The hospital wing doors burst open again, and they all turned to see Madam Pomfrey in a tartan dressing gown striding into the ward with a fully dressed Professor Dumbledore. Marlene and Lily stood at attention while Sirius stayed kneeling at Emmeline's side.

"There she is," Madam Pomfrey said briskly, leading Dumbledore to Emmeline's bed. Marlene and Lily stepped aside to give them space. Dumbledore moved forward, gazing concernedly down at Emmeline's lifeless face, before reaching out and placing a comforting hand on Sirius's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Sirius," he said gently when Sirius didn't move. "I know you're concerned about Miss Vance – we all are. But Madam Pomfrey has asked me to examine her, and I need to if we are to figure out what is wrong. It should only take a moment."

Sirius really didn't want to let go of Emmeline's hand, but he understood that Dumbledore was only there to help. He reluctantly got up and moved over to stand beside Marlene and Lily. He saw Madam Pomfrey give him an odd look – she was clearly wondering why he was there, but he ignored her.

Dumbledore pulled out his wand and leaned over Emmeline, slowly sweeping his wand over her entire body and muttering some sort of incantation under his breath. He did this for about a minute before he brought his left hand up and gently pressed his palm to her forehead. The others all watched him work in complete silence.

After a moment, Dumbledore removed his hand, and Emmeline's body began to quiver and shake, her breathing becoming more ragged. Her limbs all shuddered and bent at odd angles before her entire body suddenly convulsed, her torso bucking almost completely off the bed. Sirius, horrified, gave a strangled cry –

"What've you done to her?!" he yelled, advancing toward the bed, but Marlene and Lily held him back by his arms. Just as soon as it happened, Emmeline's seizure had ended, and her body settled back into its dissociative state. She looked paler than she did before, somehow, and a frothy white substance was now trickling out of her mouth and down her cheek.

Sirius let out a stifled moan, and he buried his face in his hands, unable to look at Emmeline in such a wretched condition. That was horrible to watch, and he wished desperately he could wake up from this nightmare. Marlene and Lily were still clutching his arms, their faces somber.

"You were correct, Poppy – she has most certainly been poisoned," Dumbledore said quietly after a moment. Marlene and Lily gasped, and Sirius brought his face up to stare at him.

"But I had already given her a bezoar," Madam Pomfrey frowned. "If she really had been poisoned, why hasn't she responded to the treatment?"

"As for that, I cannot say," Dumbledore gazed down at Emmeline. "Her body does not seem to recognize the poison, and that most likely is why she is in this state. She cannot succumb to it, but she cannot reject it either."

"Well, just get it out of her!" Sirius shouted, desperate for a solution to this awful situation.

"Until we know exactly what has poisoned her, we cannot treat anything," Dumbledore said gravely. "We can stabilize her so that she does not proceed to get any worse, but until we find the antidote, she will have to remain asleep."

Lily let out a small whimper while Marlene pressed a shaky hand to her mouth, trying to quell her anguish. Sirius felt the heavy weight of hopelessness crush his heart into submission – if Dumbledore couldn't help her, who could?

Dumbledore then turned to Madam Pomfrey. "I will meet with Horace to discuss different poisons which might have caused this. Perhaps he will know of an antidote that I am yet unaware of. As for you three…" Dumbledore looked over his half-moon spectacles at Sirius, Marlene, and Lily. "You are excused from classes for today, that is, if you wish to stay here with Miss Vance. I will let the other professors know what has happened." He hesitated, then went on, his voice grave and quiet. "There is not any evidence of foul play. However, if any of you are aware of someone who may wish to harm Emmeline in some way, do not hesitate to tell us. It may just save her life."

Dumbledore gave a slight bow and left, leaving the others to stare after him or at each other while considering his words.

"Poisoned?" Marlene gazed uneasily at Emmeline as Madam Pomfrey strode into her office. "Who would want to poison Emmeline?"

"It could have just been an accident," Lily said reasonably, though her brow was furrowed. "Dumbledore said there wasn't any evidence of foul play."

"Not yet," Sirius said darkly. When Dumbledore had mentioned poison, a horrible notion had entered his brain. He grit his teeth, trying to suppress his mounting rage, while Marlene and Lily stared at him.

"Do you know someone who could've done this?" Marlene whispered, looking shocked.

Sirius nodded, scowling. "Regulus – my piece of shit brother."

Lily raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Regulus? Why would he want to poison Emmeline?"

Sirius began to explain the circumstances of his detention yesterday, trying all the while to control his anger. Marlene and Lily stared at him before glancing at each other.

"So…" Marlene frowned, turning back to Sirius. "Because Regulus insulted Emmeline, and you attacked him for it, you think he would try to get revenge on you by poisoning her?" Her expression was dubious. "That seems like a bit of a reach."

"He called her a Mudblood," Sirius insisted, his expression darkening further. "He's just like the rest of my family – he looks down on anyone who's even remotely Muggle-born!"

"But poisoning her?" Lily frowned. "Why would he do that specifically?"

"I don't know!" Sirius burst out, his frustration evident. He turned back to Emmeline, looking down at her unconscious form on the bed, and angry tears welled up in his eyes. "But it had to have been someone…!"

"Let's not jump to any conclusions," Lily placated him, her voice strained. "We're all upset and exhausted right now, but that doesn't mean we should let our emotions get the better of us. Dumbledore said Emmeline will be okay so long as she stays asleep – we should all just take a couple hours to regroup, and if you still think your brother had anything to do with this, Sirius, then we'll let Dumbledore know."

Marlene nodded in agreement. "Lily's right. We need to get our thoughts together before we do anything drastic."

Sirius said nothing. He walked over to Emmeline's bedside and sat down in the chair Lily had vacated, gazing down at Emmeline's tranquil face. He knew in his heart Regulus had something to do with this – since Sirius had walked out on the family, they all seemed determined to make his life as miserable as possible. This was just their latest form of attack, he knew.

Marlene and Lily began talking to each other in low voices, and Sirius didn't bother to listen; he took Emmeline's hand in his own once again, wishing more than anything he could find a way to make her better. Burning hatred for his brother and soul-wrenching sadness for Emmeline both fought for dominance in his heart, and so far it was a stalemate. Sirius closed his eyes, almost wishing he was back in bed so he could just forget everything.

Lily hesitantly approached him, and Sirius opened his eyes. "Marlene and I were going to go upstairs to wash and change. Maybe grab a little breakfast before we come back here. Did you want to–?"

"I'll stay," Sirius overrode her firmly, not looking up, and Lily quieted. There was a moment where neither of them said anything, and Lily silently retreated. He still didn't look up as she and Marlene walked out of the hospital wing and closed the doors behind them.

Once they were gone, Sirius immediately leaned forward and buried his face in his hands. Try as he might to keep the tidal wave of emotion he felt at bay, there was just no getting around one truly horrible notion he couldn't bring himself to tell even Marlene and Lily:

The fact that he, Sirius, was the reason Emmeline was like this made the tears spring unbidden to his eyes, permitting no comfort whatsoever to soothe his anguish.

Please leave a review and tell me what you think! Thanks a bunch:)