Sirius, James and Remus were settled on the fifth floor of St. Mungo's, in the small visitor's area where a few other witches and wizards talked in low voices around them. They occupied three plush green chairs, ignoring the magazines and copies of the Prophet on the table a few feet away. They each held a cup of tea, long forgotten and now cold, while they fidgeted restlessly, knees bouncing up and down, knuckles cracking, hands running through hair at the top of their heads.

Dumbledore had shown up right after receiving Remus' message about Natalie and had asked them a few questions before tending to other business within the hospital, saying he would need to speak to her as soon as she was awake and able to have company. That was several hours ago, and the more time that passed without any word from the Healers the more anxious the boys became.

"And where did you find her?" Sirius asked. They had been over the details of Remus' morning a few times already but Sirius couldn't seem to stop trying to unearth something new.

Remus sighed lightly but tried to be understanding. They were all stressed at having to wait to hear how she was doing and to talk to her, plus he knew Sirius must be feeling guilty that he wasn't the one there for Natalie the second she reappeared. "I didn't find her anywhere. She found me. She was waiting for me at the little cafe I go to." He paused, a terrifying thought suddenly developing in his brain. "Bloody hell, what if I hadn't gone?"

James stopped him, shaking his head. "Don't do that to yourself, mate. You were there and she found you, that's all that matters." The tea he held absentmindedly almost tipped and spilled from the speed he was shaking his knees up and down. He caught the cup just in time and set it down on the table.

Remus nodded his head, bits of sandy colored hair falling forward to touch his forehead, seeming to agree that there was no point in agonizing over what-ifs. The door to the visitor's room opened behind them and they all turned to look, just as they had done every time the door opened since they gathered in the fifth floor room. This time, however, Remus stood, immediately recognizing the Healer he left Natalie with. She was still in her lime green robes with the little name tag pinned to the front, but she looked a bit more tired. Some other emotion could be seen in the way her features fell on her face, the way she looked at the three boys in front of her...concern, maybe?

Sirius saw his friend stand and jumped to his feet as well, James only a second behind him. The Healer acknowledged all three of them but only spoke to Remus. "You're the one that brought in the young woman earlier today?" Her accent was heavy but Sirius was hanging onto every word, not wanting to miss a thing she said.

"Yes," Remus answered. "How is she?"

"She's awake and you lot can go see her, but," the Healer told them, her voice was kind but laced with concern. She held out a hand when she saw all three boys take a step forward as if to dash over to the lift immediately, stopping them from racing past her. "There's something I'd like to talk to you about before you do."

Sirius' eyebrows drew together. He glanced at his friends in front of him and their faces echoed his, etched with confusion. "What is it?" Remus asked, sounding almost hesitant, as if he feared what the Healer would say.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It was obvious she was choosing her words carefully. "I'm not sure what happened to that girl, but I can tell it was something absolutely horrendous. I've been a Healer for a very long time, boys, and I've seen many a witch and wizard come through these doors with ailments far worse than your friend's. Nevertheless, her injuries are some of the most appalling I've witnessed."

The boys stared at her in disbelief. Sirius' hands were shoved nervously in his pockets. "What are you saying?" he questioned quietly.

"I can tell that someone did those things to her and that they did them over a long period of time. Some of her injuries had healed over already, but some of them were still rather fresh. I'll tell you, her leg had been broken what seems like months ago and never treated, so it mended itself incorrectly. We had to re-break it so that the Skele-Gro would work the right way." The Healer didn't seem to notice the shocked looks on her audience's faces. She continued, unfazed, "Both her thumbs were broken, one of her shoulders was dislocated, she had several cracked ribs, she was severely concussed and had a large laceration across the back of her head. Not to mention, I lost count of how many cuts and bruises I saw. Literally, I lost count."

Sirius felt sick. He hadn't seen Natalie yet, didn't know all these details until this very moment. A voice deep in the back of his mind said to be thankful he didn't see her when she first arrived at the hospital. He wasn't sure he would have been able to handle seeing her in such a state. No one said anything for a long moment, none of the boys knowing quite what to say in response to the Healer's words.

She spoke again, this time even more tender if it was possible. "The reason I'm telling you all this is because I want you to be gentle with her. She's in very fragile shape right now, and I don't just mean physically. This kind of...of torture," she almost whispered the word and it twisted Sirius' stomach in a knot. Torture? "The effects don't just go away when the body heals. Try to remember that."

Sirius swallowed, his throat dry like he hadn't had water in days. Maybe he was just trying to save himself from his own thoughts but somehow he never imagined this, that the Death Eaters would have spent all these months torturing and hurting her, that she would come back and not be the sweet, funny, sarcastic, happy girl he remembered. The Healer moved aside and let them walk past her, each of them lost in their own thoughts and setting off towards the lift with more nervousness in their steps.

They got to her room a few moments later but no one opened the door, the three of them stood in the hallway and glanced at each other with worry in their eyes. James looked at Sirius and said, "You go in first, Padfoot. Moony and I can stay out here and give you two a second." James clapped a hand onto Sirius' back reassuringly, knowing his friend well enough to tell that the Healer's information left him feeling daunted. Sirius nodded then turned towards the door, pushing down the cold, silver handle to enter the room.

The door shut behind him quietly. Natalie was there, tucked under a few white knitted blankets, looking up as soon as she heard him come in. Sirius' breath caught as his throat constricted. She was impossibly small, so frail and thin that he was almost amazed that she wasn't breaking in half just from the weight of the bed covers. She had cuts and bruises scattered across her face and arms and her hands were wrapped in long strips of bandages. He could tell her leg was, too, as it looked awkward and much bigger under the blankets than her other leg. Her hair was damp and hung limp around her shoulders - the Healers must have washed it for her. It was longer than he'd ever seen it.

He was horrified at her appearance as deep waves of grief and anger slammed into his chest, making him dizzy. But as he looked at her, even with her bright blue eyes ringed with dark circles and blue bruising, all he could think about was holding her in his arms. She was back, she was sitting right there in front of him and he could reach out and touch her after seven excruciating months of not knowing where she was or if she was okay or if she was even alive.

Sirius took the few steps across the room to her bed and reached out to hug her, to feel her against his chest where he could keep her safe and warm. But when he lifted his arms up she flinched, her whole body recoiled as if she had been hit and her head turned away, her eyes closing as if she couldn't bear to see what was in front of her. He took a step back immediately, hands held out in front of him in what he hoped was a non-threatening way. His chest was tight and he felt tears burning at the back of his eyes. What did they do to her?

"I-" he started, not knowing what to say to her. When he stepped away from her she relaxed slightly, her shoulders dropping back to their proper height instead of up by her ears. She cradled herself in her hands still, he noticed, though she turned her head back towards him, glancing at him through her lashes. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you. I'm not going to hurt you."

Natalie swallowed and nodded, looking at him again briefly. It seemed like she was having a hard time keeping eye contact with him. "I know. I'm a bit jumpy." Her voice was quiet and sounded different, though he couldn't place what the difference was.

Sirius wanted to joke with her, to make her laugh and see her smile, but he knew better. That was what he was used to, mixing humor into a situation to ease the tension, that's what he was comfortable with. But this whole situation was uncomfortable and he guessed trying to lighten things up would just make him look foolish and uncaring. Instead, he spoke like he'd always been able to speak to her and no one else, with a sobering honesty that just felt awkward with anyone else. "I tried to find you. We all did, for months. From the second they took you, we tried to get you back."

He saw a muscle twitch in her jaw at the mention of the Death Eaters. It was something he knew would be awful to talk about, but he needed her to know that he tried to rescue her, tried to get her back to safety and away from the things they had done to her. She nodded again, not looking at him this time. Her gaze was fixed on the stark white fabric of the blanket covering her legs. "They would have never let you. They would have never even let you get close to finding them."

Sirius' mouth opened to respond when he heard the door unlatch behind him. He turned around and saw Dumbledore in his deep purple robes standing behind him. James and Remus followed closely, shutting the door again as they set themselves against a wall in the room.

The old wizard came up to the side of Natalie's bed and sat gingerly next to her feet. Sirius could see her discomfort at Dumbledore's close proximity but she said nothing. It wasn't just him, then. She didn't want anyone touching her. The fact made him miserable, not being able to stop the thoughts of Death Eaters cursing and hexing and hitting and kicking and putting their hands on her from rolling through his mind.

"My dear," Dumbledore said, his voice low and full of sorrow. "No words can ever express how deeply sorry I am for what has happened to you." Natalie said nothing, her eyebrows were drawn in towards each other. Dumbledore continued, "I want nothing more than for you to be able to rest and recover, and I do regret having to ask you anything about your experience so soon, but it is important that I know."

He waited for some indication from her that it was okay to proceed. She cleared her throat. "It's alright," she said, giving him permission to ask his questions.

"Were Death Eaters the ones that captured you?" he asked, his voice was gentle despite the subject matter.

She nodded. "Yes."

"What did they want with you?"

Natalie paused a moment, her jaw clenching over and over. Sirius could see she was suppressing her emotions. "They wanted to know about the Order," she said, her voice was stiff.

Dumbledore nodded his head this time, accepting her answer. "Yes, I thought as much." His eyes searched her face through his half-moon spectacles. "Natalie, I have to know what you told them, for the safety of every member of the Order."

Her eyes met his, then, her gaze strong and steady for the first time since Sirius had come in the room. "I didn't say anything," she told him.

The room was silent. James and Remus had a look of slight uncertainty on their faces, a look that mirrored what Sirius was thinking. She hadn't said anything, not one thing? James spoke up after a few seconds, his words were deliberate and slow. "Nat, even the littlest thing could have a big effect on everyone in the Order."

Natalie's eyes flicked over to James. "I know that," she said, her tone harsh.

Remus chimed in, "No one blames you for anything you might have said, especially after what you've gone through."

She was angry now, Sirius could tell easily. Admittedly, it was hard to believe she hadn't let even one little bit of information on the Order slip after having been subjected to so much pain for so long. Dumbledore seemed to be thinking the same thing, as he said, "James and Remus are correct. Try to think back to anything they might have-"

"I didn't tell those bastards anything," she yelled, cutting Dumbledore off mid sentence.

She was fuming, glaring at the wizard sitting at the end of her bed. Gone was the timid glances and her bandaged hands held softly around herself. Now she had her arms crossed harshly in front of her, eyes darting around the room. No one said anything, not sure what to make of her response.

"Take them," she snapped. When no one spoke still, she looked at Dumbledore and said, "My memories. I know you can. Take them, all of you go watch and see for yourself exactly what I said."

Dumbledore looked incredibly sad. "Natalie-" he started, but she cut him off again.

"Just do it," her voice was cold and Sirius couldn't think of a time he'd ever heard her speak like that. Her eyes were like sparks of the hottest blue flame, holding so much more anger than he could have ever expected.

After a moment, Dumbledore nodded somberly. He took out his wand and moved towards the other side of the bed. His wand touched Natalie's temple and her eyes closed, whether voluntary or because of Dumbledore's magic Sirius wasn't sure. When he pulled the wand away, soft silvery strands were attached to the tip, falling away from Natalie gracefully as if they were underwater. The old wizard pulled a small glass bottle out from his robes, where no one noticed him carrying anything, and deposited the flowing threads. He pocketed it quickly again.

"Rest," Dumbledore said, then turned towards the door to leave.

James and Remus exchanged a quick glance and parted themselves from the wall they had been leaning against. "We'll check in on you tomorrow, Nat," James said, Remus nodding his agreement. They could tell nothing good would come from trying to push her into conversation anymore. Plus, Sirius thought they were probably eager to jump into her memories.

He was curious, of course. Anyone would be. But he wasn't sure if he really wanted to see what happened to her during those months in captivity. He knew, just by her injuries and the fact that she apparently couldn't stand the thought of being touched, that he would not like what he would see in her memories. And perhaps he thought it was a bit wrong, too, to dive into a part of her like that, without her no less.

When the door shut behind James and Remus, he took a cautious step towards Natalie's bed. Before he could even open his mouth to speak, she cut in. "If the other two are going, you need to as well." She wasn't looking at him but had her head turned in his direction. Was she angry with him? Her whole demeanor was confusing the shit out of him. Usually he could read her fairly well but now he had no idea what she might be thinking. "You should know what they know. Go, I need sleep anyway."

This was not quite the reunion he had envisioned so many times. Sirius felt dejected but had to remind himself not to be so selfish. After what he imagined she'd been through it was only fair that she should be able to act however she needed to. Well, he wouldn't have to imagine for long, he supposed. He took the hint to leave, trying to catch her eye and said, "I won't be long."

Whether she liked it or not he would sit with her in that plain hospital room, or at the very least sit in the hallway and make sure she was safe. He was not about to lose her again, that was not an option, so she would just have to learn to deal with him.