Chapter 36 – "Way to go, Padfoot"

Grace woke up to the sound of shouting. It seemed to take a long time for the words to sink in. Her body was stiff and sore but she managed to claw her way into a sitting position. As her eyes focused, she saw the destroyed remnants of the room; tables had been overturned, the tank had cracked and was slowly leaking water and broken glass littered the floor. Before she had time to look more carefully around the room for the rest of her friends, Harry rushed past and she heard the shouting again. She stood up awkwardly; her head was still spinning and her whole body was protesting but she had to find a way to help him. Somehow she had to follow him. That's when the words sunk in.

"I KILLED SIRIUS BLACK!"

Grace stopped dead. Vaguely, she was aware that more people were coming into the room; whether they were friend or foe, Grace didn't know or care. Swaying slightly from side to side, she felt someone lean in close to her and looked up to see Remus holding on to her to stop her from falling.

"Grace, I'm so sorry..."

"No..." She shook her head. "No... He can't be..."

Pulling away from him, she clumsily made her way through the door that she had seen Harry come out from. She heard someone say her name but she kept pushing herself forward until she found herself in a large room with a stone archway in the middle. She kept moving, working her way down the steps, occasionally stumbling and tripping over her own feet.

"Grace, no!"

From the top, it had looked like a long way down but she seemed to reach the bottom of the steps in no time at all. Slowly, she held out a hand to touch the archway. She just wanted to feel it.

"GRACE!"

That's when she fainted.

...

For a while, Grace faded in and out of consciousness. Sometimes she would see Remus sitting in the chair by her bed, looking so tired and forlorn. Other times she would see her dad wiping her head with a damp cloth and whispering words of comfort to her. Sometimes she would even catch snippets of conversations.

"We'll have to break it to her gently..."

"How could she have done that...?"

"We can't let them find out..."

"She's lucky it didn't kill her..."

Gradually they all merged together and she tried to tune them out. She found that she didn't really want the voices to make sense; she couldn't remember why but she knew she couldn't face them yet. Her body felt heavy, like she was just too weak to move it on her own but she found that suited her too. Again, she knew that if she was forced to wake up, the aches and pains would surely follow.

Unfortunately for her, the voices all seemed very determined to wake her up; to pull her out of her fairly blissful semi-conscious state.

"Grace?"

"Come back to us now, love."

"Grace, please wake up."

Steadily, it became harder to block everything out; no matter how hard she tried to drift off, she kept getting pulled back. Eventually, it became impossible and with a small groan, she opened her eyes.

"Grace!"

Slowly, Remus' face came into focus. She looked around but there were curtains around her bed so she couldn't tell where she was. Everything seemed slighlty distorted. It was a weird feeling that she had come to associate with a hangover; like her body was awake but her brain hadn't quite caught up yet.

"Where-" she started to ask.

"Don't worry; you're safe in the Hospital Wing back at Hogwarts. Fudge wanted you taken to St Mungos but Dumbledore wouldn't hear of it."

"What happened?"

"Sshh let me go get Madam Pomfrey and then we'll talk, okay? Just wait here."

He ducked out between the curtains and she could hear the muffled voices start again. She lied still in the bed, looking at the ceiling and wondering where it was that Remus expected her to go. Suddenly, it all started to come back to her; she remembered being at the ministry, the fight and how her dad was...

She tried to move, but it hurt so badly and she groaned again.

"Gracie?"

She had thought she had dreamed her dad at her bedside before but now his worried face peered over her. Grace screamed.

"Way to go, Padfoot," said a voice at the foot of her bed.

"I thought we were going to break it to her gently?" another voice said.

"Sirius!" scolded Remus. "We had a deal!"

"But she was hurt..."

Remus ignored him and bent next to her. "Grace, it's okay."

Madam Pomfrey appeared at his side with a potion in her hand. "Miss Blackseyer, I need you to drink this," she said slowly and clearly. Grace just backed up away from her, shaking from head to toe. Her brain couldn't process what was happening and as a result, her body was pretty much going into full 'flight' mode. Desperate, she wanted to run, but Remus was blocking her exit and she knew there was no way he would let her leave.

"Grace, please drink the potion," encouraged Remus. "It will make you feel better..."

But Grace had just seen who was at the end of her bed and she started to panic even more. She had seen pictures of James and Lily Potter and there was no mistaking them now. Both of them were looking concerned but Grace was quickly becoming frantic. Pulling the sheets with her and ignoring the pain, she stumbled out of the bed and away from everyone. By the time Dumbledore entered, she was curled up against the wall with her bed sheet still clutched in one hand and she was screaming hysterically at all the people around her.

Swiftly he crossed the room, gestured to everyone to give her some space and knelt down in front of her. "Grace," he said firmly. "Deep breaths remember?"

He waited until her rapid breathing slowed a little and her trembling faded slightly.

"Grace, look at me," he said as her eyes darted everywhere. "What is the difference between the charms Ascendio and Wingardium Leviosa?"

"What?" she said, struggling to get her focus. She kept looking at her dad and James and Lily; the people she knew in her heart were dead.

"What is the difference between the charms Ascendio and Wingardium Leviosa?" he repeated.

Still confused, Grace answered. "Wingardium Leviosa is used to lift objects. Ascendio is used to lift the caster."

"Good, what is the purpose of a non-verbal spell?" he continued as if they were in class and he was testing to see if she had been listening.

"So your opponent doesn't know what spell your trying to use."

"How would you escape a grindylow?"

"You break its grip," she said. "Remus taught me that one."

"Grace, I want you to drink this potion now." He reached for the goblet that Madam Pomfrey was still holding but Grace started to shake uncontrollably again.

"What will happen if you do not take this Calming Potion?" he asked sternly.

She hesitated for a second.

"Usually stuff explodes."

He handed it over to her without another word.

"I'm sorry, Gracie," said Sirius, looking stricken as Remus helped her back into bed. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"You get some rest now," said Remus, placing the sheets back on the bed.

Steadily and with everyone still watching her, Grace let the potion work it's magic and she fell back into a deep sleep. When she woke up next, there was only Remus sitting next to her.

"Where's-"

"Don't worry; you're safe in the Hospital Wing back at Hogwarts. Fudge wanted you taken to St Mungos but Dumbledore wouldn't hear of it."

"No – Where's dad?"

Remus looked at her with a mixture of pity and grief. "Grace – I'm so sorry – your dad...he's – he's dead."