A Change of Heart
Chapter 37: Lost and Found
A/N: I know I'm the worst person in the world and I deserve about eight TRILLION flames for not updating since bloody JULY! But I'm not asking for any flames so don't take that as an invitation to give them. I understand why I keep getting reviews or e-mails yelling at me for not updating and taking forever. And I'm sorry for all those people who felt the need they had to do it. But if it helps any (which I'm sure it must not help much) I've updated now. Sure, it's almost been seven or so months, but it is an update.
I apologize as sincere as they can come. Really. Honestly. No joke. That apology must mean crap to a bunch of you but know that I really am sorry.
So now...onto the actual chapter, huh?
Since I know all of you must have forgotten what happened and some of you are too lazy to go read the last few chapters over I will just write a little recount here:
Remus is a no show anywhere and no one can find him. This makes James freak out like crazy.
Sirius is upset with James and Lily because James is being "whipped" in Sirius' opinion and Lily is hurting James' poor widdle heart.
Cat (If you don't remember who this is than you REALLY should go back and read some), Maria (Same here), and Lily were all locked in the Quiditch guy's changing room.
Maria is being tortured by some guy, who you don't really know actually who he is yet.
Cat is unconcious through the whole thing in there.
Lily has just passed out when James burst into the changing room to help her.
Sirius is off trying to find Dumbledore.
And finally no one knows where Peter is but hasn't noticed and I don't think anyone much cares at this point.
Okay NOW onto the actual chapter...
"Dammit, Dumbledore! How the bloody hell did you think we were gonna react to that! I swe-"
"Mr. Black, I understand that you must be aggravated at the moment but you must try to stay calm."
"Calm! Did you just tell me to stay calm! How am I supposed to stay calm when you won't answer any of our damn questions! I'm sorry, but I'm not exactly seeing the part where I calm down and I just find everything all fine and dandy!" At the sound of Sirius' yells, a tired, confused Lily opened her eyes to discover she was in the Hosptial Wing with a throbbing headache.
Sirius was yelling at Dumbledore, his hands in fists and his shouts echoing in the room. Cat, she noticed, was sitting on the bed next to her own watching their scene intently. James was beside her bed too, but on an uncomfortable looking chair. He was staring at the floor in almost a determined looking glare; he was hunched over a little with his elbows resting on his knees and his fingers fidgetting.
"I'm not trying to interrupt," James spoke, keeping his same position, "but Lily's awake finally."
Lily's eyes snapped to him confused. How could he have known she was awake if he hadn't even glanced up to look at her? "How did y-"
"Lily!" Cat cut Lily off, rushing off the bed she was on and over to Lily's pulling her into a tight hug. "Finally! Do you have any idea what they tried to do to wake you up!"
"No, afraid not," she said quietly. "What are you yelling about, Sirius? What's wrong?"
Sirius glared at her crossing his arms as he did. "You're seriously asking what's wrong? Where have you been? I know you've been asleep for quite some time...but don't act like you weren't even there when it all happened!"
Cat, ignoring Lily's uninterested tone before, continued on with what she had been saying, "They did spells! And potions! And...well...James and me eventually dumped a whole bunch of ice water on you an--"
James spoke in, however, cutting her sentence short. "Hey Cat...you know you're my cousin and I love you...but I swear if you don't shut the blood hell up I'm going to--"
"Mr. Potter, I understand that you are all frustrated at the moment but you must stay calm and not get upset with one another," Dumbledore said in a voice, not so loud but still very able of quieting anyone.
James still hadn't looked up from the floor, Lily noticed. He made a short, quick nod in no particular direction, to show Dumbledore he was just going to stay quiet...and yet...through it all he still was in his hunched position, elbows on his knees...glaring at the floor like it had just done the unspeakable.
"Is someone going to tell me what's going on?" Lily asked, confused more than ever now.
Sirius looked as if he were going to comment rude or sarcastically to this, but instead let Cat speak. "You mean...you really don't remember what happened the other night, Lils?"
"The other night? What? Hey...where's Maria...and Peter...and Remus? What's going on?"
"We sent Peter off to go looking for Remus..." James answered in a soft tone.
Lily let out a quiet laugh. "Heh...yeah, well I'm sure if you go look in all the broom closets or bathrooms you'll find Maria and Remus snogging like crazy." She looked around the room, like she was expecting everyone's spirits to just brighten and get a chuckle out of someone. No one did. If anything, everyone's faces were grimmer.
"...She really doesn't remember, you guys...she doesn't remember..." Cat whispered out to the room, sliding off Lily's bed and moving back to her own.
"Remember what? You guys are really starting to worry me..."
"Worry you!" Sirius spoke, ignoring the fact Dumbledore was still present in the room, "We're starting to worry you, huh Lily? Ohh well poor bloody you. That must be just terrible having to worry so much. What is your problem! You don't even remember your own best friend has been taken away? You don't care she could be dead!"
"What are you talking about, Sirius? That's not funny. Don't talk like that," Lily spoke out with a look of disgust plastered on her face as she stared into Sirius' dark eyes.
"Ooh you think I'm trying to be funny, do you Evans? You were there. How do you not remember?" She looked away from Sirius, and over to Cat who wouldn't catch her eyes. She turn to James looking for some bit of hope that Sirius was just joking with her. He didn't look up at her. He didn't move an inch.
"Dumbledore...?" Her eyes moved to Dumbledore's, almost frightened to ask what she was about to ask, "He's...he's lying to me, right? Nothing's wrong with Maria, right?...Right, Professor?"
His eyes didn't drop to the floor or away like she thought they would, they kept a steady stare with her own. "No, Miss Evans...I'm sorry...I wish it weren't true...but I won't lie to you."
Suddenly it all came back to her. Remus missing, Sirius angry with her and James, getting locked into the changing rooms, the locker falling on her leg, Maria's screams for help, and James coming in at the last minute saving her.
"No...no, no...it's not true. That didn't happen. That was another nightmare. This is a nightmare..." Lily said in a panic.
"Lily...I...I'm sorry...I..." Cat began to say her words failing her and her sentence fading, "I guess I'm gonna go help Peter find Remus..." Cat got up from the bed, heading toward the doors leading out of the Hospital Wing.
"You're not going alone," Sirius spoke up quickly in a protective tone that Lily rarely heard him use anymore. He followed behind Cat as they both left the room leaving Lily, James, and Dumbledore alone in silence. The last thing Sirius heard as he made his way down the hall was Lily's shakey voice saying, "This is all my fault...I'm so sorry it happened..."
"Cat..." Sirius' voice trailed down the hall as he tried to catch up with her rushing down the corridor. "Cat..." he said again his voice echoing.
She turned slowly to face him, wiping at her eyes, tears starting to form more rapidly as she stood staring at Sirius, waiting for him to finally catch up with her. "Sirius...I..." he finally reached her, taking one look at the tear stains running down her cheek he pulled her into his arms in a comforting way, not having to say a word. "I feel so horrible this happened..." she whispered faintly, afraid if she spoke any louder her words would come out in sobs.
"I know, I know...me too...We'll find them though...we have to. Dumbledore wouldn't just let this happen and I'm not going to either..." he said to her in a soothing voice holding her close as he did.
"Cat? Sirius? What the bloody hell are you doing out in the corridor at this time of night?" Both Sirius and Cat looked up and down the hall toward the direction of where the voice was heard. They saw the image of someone drawing closer to them, their footsteps echoing and their outline slowly becoming more clear.
"Remus! Is that you!" Sirius yelled, still not letting go of his hold on Cat.
Remus sprinted the rest of the way to them and stood beside them out of breath. His hair was a mess, covered in dirt and leaves, his clothes were torn, stained with blood and mud, and a large gash was seen through the sleeve of his shirt where it looked like someone had taken a knife to it. He looked horrible.
"What happened to you Remus!" Cat asked in the loudest voice she could muster up.
"Yeah, mate, we've been looking all over the castle for you since the other night! Where in hell have you been?" Sirius looked him up and down examining the cut along his arm to his dirty hair, still only able to half-believe that he was there.
"I'm not even sure what happened...I went outside by the lake last night to clear my head..." Remus finally spoke up after regaining a steady breath, "and somebody snuck up behind me pointing a wand to my head asking where Lily was. I didn't get it. I didn't need to get it though...I tried to fight him, and it was looking good in my favor...but then something happened...he hit me with some spell I had never even heard of before...it knocked me unconcious. I never got a good look at his face too. I still am wondering why he didn't kill me...he just...dragged me under the Whomping Willow...who knows how he knew how to get past it...I just now woke up and finally made my way back up to the castle trying to get to the Hospital Wing..." He noted the look on both of their faces. Sirius looked angry and like he wanted nothing more but the seek revenge, and Cat looked horrified that any of it happened her tears still falling silently down her cheeks. "There's something wrong...isn't there...?" Remus asked, afraid of the answer he might receive.
"We should uh...ummm...go back...to the...Hospital Wing..." Sirius said slowly in a nervous voice. He couldn't tell Remus the truth; he couldn't lie to him either. Sirius couldn't stand the thought of being the one to break the news to him. It looked like Cat wasn't willing to do it either. Instead she just turned back around to head for the Hospital Wing, having Sirius drop his grip around her but still grabbing his hand to hold in her own. Sirius and Remus followed, no words spoken between any of them.
"I'm so sorry...this is all my fault," Lily said in a voice that rang throughout the entire room.
"Miss Evans, that's no--"
"It's all right, Dumbledore, I know it is...you don't have to try and comfrot me or make me feel better. I'm just sorry that any of this happened."
James, finally, for the first time since Lily had awoken to glance up at Dumbledore. His words seemingly were spoken for the Headmaster, but were instead addressed toward Lily, "It's not your fault, Lils. It's just not. It was my idea to look for Remus, it was my idea to get you girls to help us...you did nothing wrong. I'm to blame that Maria's gone. Hell, she's probably de--"
Lily stood up quickly like she was about to sprint out of the room. She didn't want to hear this, she didn't want any of this to be true. She wanted to run and forget. She never wanted to remember any of this. "Don't say that, James. Don't."
"Don't say what?" They all turned at the sound of Remus' voice at the door. James bit his lower lip nervously, running a shakey hand through his hair. His eyes traveled from Remus and his dirty, torn wardrobe to Cat's tear stains along her pale cheeks, still clinging onto Sirius' arm like she was never planning to let go of it.
"Don't say what, James?" Remus, again, asked pulling a leaf out of his hair looking James up and down, worry shown in his eyes. Had James not been so shocked by the sudden appearance of Remus after searching for so long, he would've thought of a better lie to tell, "Nothing...nothing at all...I'm so glad you're back. Where in hell have you been, Moony?"
At James' words, Remust felt a sudden rise of panic and anxiety appear in his chest. His breath grew sharp and he clutched at the stitch in his chest slightly. "Just tell me I'm sure nothign can ruin the past few days for me even more..." he said faintly his breath running short.
"Wanna make a bet?" Sirius said under his breath from beside him.
Remus looked at him confused as if he his look were to get Sirius to give an explanation. He got none. "Professor Dumbledore...what's freaked them all out like this?"
Throughout the night Dumbeldore had been watching the scene with narrowed eyes in a corner, like he was only a shadow who spoke little only to calm another. None of them had given him much thought or cared about his presence in the room in the least; most of the time they had forgotten, through arguing, that he was in the room to begin with.
"Mr. Lupin," Dumbledore began, "I dread being the bringer of terrible news, but since it seems no one will be able to do it, I will step up to this duty," again he paused, "Ms. Santana, Maria, has been...taken."
"Taken? What do you mean by 'taken'? Taken where? Is she all right? Is she in a hospital?" Remus asked, urgency in his words for an answer.
"He means:" James stepped in, finding the courage some how, "Maria's gone...somebody took her last night when we were all looking for you. She's gone...I'm so sorry..." James looked down to avoid the look in Remus' eyes at the sound of his voice.
"You're lying..." Remus said with a shakey voice, his hands slowly gripping the sides of his robes to keep his hands from shaking as well. "It's not true...it's not possible...no one has ever been taken from Hogwarts...not as long as Dumbledore has been here...it can't be true...it's not true. You're lying..." His eyes looked up to Dumbledore, who kept his head up looking Remus in the eye. Dumbledore said nothing to help ease the pain that was shown in his eyes. He spoke no strong, deep moving words, he had no optimistic smile or nod of encouragement, the only thing spoke from his mouth was a sorrowful "I'm sorry," where he then laid a hand on Remus' shoulder in a fatherly manner.
Remus moved away though throwing Dumbledore's hand off of him and returning his appology with a look of horror and anger. "Don't do this. Stop saying that. You're not sorry!"
"No one is lying to you, Remus...we wouldn't lie to you about something like this..." Sirius said with his voice holding fear.
A deep breath passed and left Remus' lips before he spoke again, "I...I don't understand how this could've happened...It...it couldn't have happened...What'd I do to deserve this...?"
Lily got up from her seat on her bed and moved to Remus' side...she being the only one, besides Dumbledore, to have any courage to look him in the eye. "Remus...this is hard on all of us...not just you...she was mine and Cat's best friend...I've gone through everything with her..." her voice was weak as she spoke, but her eyes never left Remus'.
"It's different with me, Lils..." Remus said in a voice hardly above a whisper his eyes watering the slightest bit, "I know she's your best friend...but I love her..."
"We all love he--"
"No, Lily...you don't get it...I'm in love with her...she's everything to me...without her I'm nothing...I am nothing. She's gone and there's nothing I can do about it, huh...?"
She didn't say anything...her eyes watered and she pulled him into her arms to hug. They stood there for a moment before he found his way out of her grasp. "I can't be here..." and with this as his last words to anyone for the night, he turned on his heel and left the Hospital Wing.
"What is wrong with you! Can you do nothing right! Get out of my face before I remove yours permanetly..." a snake-like voice hissed through gritted teeth.
"Y-y-yes...wh-whatever y-you say..." a quivering voice responded to this soon departing out of the room with great speed.
A tall deathly thin figure raised himself from a deep red velvet chair that sat high on some platform. His steps down toward the tied form of a girl in a uncomfortable looking wooden chair. He reached the girl's stuggling body and a smile reached his lifeless lips. A long, bony and pale finger slid along her cheek where the tear stains still showed clearly. Her watery eyes moved where his finger's path was, leading her to the lock of her hair wrapped around it.
"So...Maria, is it?" a laugh escaped his lips, "I know you know, Lily Evans my dear dear girl...and since my soon-to-be-deceased servant cannot get the right girl...I'll just have to find another way to retrieve Lily, now won't I?"
No words would escape Maria's lips as she tried to fight her way out of the ropes that bound her to the chair and strangle the man. When her attempts failed more tears fell between deep sobs.
"No worries...I'm not going to kill you..." he chuckled, "...not yet at least."
A/N: Okay, I'm so sorry this is so late and it's not even that long. But I wanted to get SOMETHING out. I felt so terrible. Hey and thanks to Mariam too! You always pushed me. lol I probably would've quit this entire story if it hadn't been for her, you know?