Hey two chapters in one day! Who's happy I'm back? Hope you enjoy. R&R Please. I may be more inclined to update more often then 😉

Chapter 23

Aries rushed into the Hospital Wing barely managing to stop himself from crashing into Madam Pomphrey.

"Where is my sister?!" He demanded breathlessly anxiously looking around. He sees Slytherin robes and darts to the bed next to them.

"Wait that's not your sister Mr. Granger. She's over there." Madame Pomphrey points to the other side of the room but Aries's gaze is frozen on the girl in front of him.

Her dark red hair is a stark contrast from her ghostly pale complexion. She seems so small in the big hospital bed. Her breathing is so shallow he could barely make out her chest rising and falling. A large pink scar marred her right cheek and down her neck.

"Mr. Granger your sister is over here. Please leave Miss Graystone alone she needs her rest." Pomphrey's sharp tone broke Aries out of his trance and he nodded heading to his sister's bed.

When he looked at her face his stomach rolled, and bile rose in the back of his throat. Gemini's face was a mass of healing bruises and dried blood. Aries fell back into a chair and grabbed her hand.

"What happened to her?" He asked as tears started to trek down his cheeks.

"We aren't sure. Professor Slughorn found her in his office and brought her here. She's in pretty rough shape but we are very hopeful for a full recovery. Your mother will be arriving shortly and will decide if Gemini will stay here or be transferred to St. Mongol's. There was some swelling in her brain so we aren't sure if she will be able to remember what's happened to her." Pomphrey stated giving his shoulder a short squeeze before walking away.

"Who did this? Who hurt my sister?" Aries demanded in a broken voice as he pressed a kiss to her still hand.

Anger began to swell in his chest, and he tightened his grip. He wracked his mind trying to figure out who would do this. He knew it had to be a Slytherin but which one? Was it only one? How were her hands completely unharmed? Gemini would have given them a run for their money in a real fight and would definitely have caused some damage to her hands. Was she unable to? But how? So many questions swirled around in his head.

Aries heard Alec and Scorpius arguing to see Gemini with Pomphrey. He takes a deep breath and stands up pressing a kiss to his sister's swollen cheek before walking towards the group.

"Guys she's still asleep. Let's let her rest okay. We don't need a scene," Aries stated trying to keep his voice level.

Alec and Scorpius meet his gaze and nod. The three of them leave the hospital wing but as soon as the round a corner Alec grabs Aries arm.

"How did she look?" Alec's voice trembled slightly.

"Like she had been someone's personal punching bag. And I intend to figure out who." Aries replied with a growl.

"We'll help. After all it was probably a Slytherin. We will find them, and I promise you Aries they will regret ever laying so much as a glance on your sister." Scorpius promised holding his hand out for Aries to shake.

Aries nods and grabs Scorpius's hand in a firm almost crushing hold.

"Just to be clear if it ends up leading to one of you I will not hesitate to destroy you. No matter how powerful your families may be you don't mess with a Granger." Aries stated holding both of their gazes.

"Agreed. But just so you're aware if it ends up being someone in a different house, say Gryffindor, we wont hesitate either." Scorpius pointed out.

With that settled the boys split off to gather information. Aries mentions including Albus and both Alec and Scorpius agree immediately.

Hermione arrived in McGonagall's office and doesn't even look around for the headmistress before taking off down the stairs. She is practically jumping down them in her speed. The only thoughts propelling her forward are of her daughter. Her heart is pounding a mile a minute and it felt like all the air was being sucked out of her lungs.

Her baby girl. Attacked. Unconscious. Vulnerable. These thoughts were a vortex pulling her down deeper into a crushing sense of fear and loss. She couldn't move fast enough. It was like everything was moving in slow motion around her. Nothing felt concrete and tangible. It couldn't be real.

After what seemed like an eternity she saw the door. Her hands trembled as she opened it. As she entered the silence was deafening. It clung in the air like a dense fog filling all her senses. Her ears started ringing and all she could focus on was a bed with a curtain pulled around it. She approached it slowly fighting to stay in control of her rising hysteria. She pulled back the curtain and a sob clawed its way out of her throat.

Gemini looked so small and frail. So broken and Hermione felt her own heart shatter at the sight. She threw herself on the ground next to her daughter and buried her face in her daughter's hair. Her sobs wracked her body in unending waves.

A soft hand pressed against her back and began drawing small circles. Finally, the sobs began to subside as her tears dried out and Hermione glanced upward to meet Pomphrey's kind eyes.

"My dear I wish I could say something. Give you something but we don't know what happened and given Gemini's condition we don't believe she will be able to remember it on her own. I am so sorry Ms. Granger." Pomphrey's words just add another wave of helplessness to crash over Hermione.

"When will she wake up? Can you tell me that?" Hermione pleaded her voice barely above a whisper.

"Hopefully as early as tomorrow but unfortunately we can't be sure. There was significant damage done not only to her body but to her head especially. There was significant swelling when she was brought in and we are unsure how long she was left without care after the incident." Pomphrey replied with a sad smile as she gazed at the young girl in her care.

"The attack." Hermione murmured in a voice that was so soft it was almost inaudible.

"I'm sorry what was that?" Pomphrey asked.

"The attack. Not an incident. An incident is when a student falls down a flight of stairs this is an attack. A brutal violent assult against a little girl. She's 11 years old Pomphrey. A whole life ahead of her. Who would do this to a child?" Hermione practically screamed before pulling a chair over so she could sit and hold her daughter's hand.

"I didn't mean to make it less than it was, and I assure you we are doing everything in our power to find out what happened to your daughter. There is one thing we could do to find out, but it is dangerous and possibly harmful for Gemini." Pomphrey stated.

"What could you do?" Hermione asked as she reached out and stroked her daughter's face.

"We could look into her mind with legilimency. However, in her condition it could cause damage to her mind to attack it with the amount of force that would be required. Her memories could mix and collide to the point of her not knowing what is real and what isn't." Pomphrey clarified hoping Hermione would understand the serious dangers that this course could cause.

"She could forget her whole life? Would it be reversable?" Hermione asked as an internal battle to find the person who hurt her daughter and the need to protect Gemini from further harm.

"It wouldn't just cause her to forget Hermione. It could cause fantasy and reality to collide to a degree that it would be next to impossible for Gemini to live in the magical world. If it were to happen she would have to have her mind completely erased and be placed far away from the magical world. Far away from any reminders or she could face deadly consequences." Pomphrey stated. "But it would give us her attacker."

"What about waiting for her mind to be stronger? After she wakes up? Could we do it then?" Hermione asked.

"If we wait there is a chance the memory will be gone, and we may never find out who did this." Pomphrey stated matter of factly.

"I need to think on it. Please leave me alone with my daughter." Hermione replied just staring down at her broken child and wondering what she would do. Find the person responsible and maybe save another parent from this and risk losing her child or risk letting the person who did this get away.

Authors Note: Thoughts? Ideas? Hating it? Loving it? Let me know.