Jane and Bingley came to the hospital wing with Mary after dinner.
"Kitty and Lydia wanted to come," said Jane as she perched herself on the end of Lizzy's bed, "but we have some very important things to discuss, and I thought it might be better they went to the library and got some work done."
"Perhaps that's for the best," Lizzy sighed. "We can figure out exactly what to tell them later."
"I think there's something else to tell first," said Mary. Her face looked remarkably like Lizzy's with a smirk and a quirked brow over dancing eyes.
Lizzy glared playfully at Mary, then felt her expression slip to mild shock as Darcy grabbed her hand. She admitted to herself that she had rather enjoyed his attentions when they were alone, but had not thought he would continue in the presence of others.
"Elizabeth has agreed to court me," Darcy said with no shortage of pride.
Lizzy felt her heart warm as Bingley offered his enthusiastic congratulations and Jane quickly wrapped her in a hug.
"I am so very pleased for you, Lizzy," Jane whispered. "He's a good man, and you'll only improve each other."
"It is just a courtship, Jane," Lizzy said into her sister's ear with a chuckle.
"I may not be Mary, Lizzy, but I know you well enough to be able to predict the results in this instance," said Jane. She released Lizzy, raised an eyebrow, and then moved on to express her happiness to Darcy.
Lizzy felt herself blush violently. She did not think she could possibly get redder. Not until Darcy looked at her questioningly, anyway. Then she was quite certain she could have melted anything brought near her face.
"Tell us what has been going on today!" Lizzy cried enthusiastically, eager to be distracted and have attention drawn away from the novelty of her courtship.
Jane and Mary exchanged sly smiles, renewing Lizzy's blush that had only just started to fade, as Bingley delved into the details of the day.
"Is something wrong?" Darcy asked lowly, coming to Lizzy's side as Bingley carried on and Jane began to clear the table.
Lizzy easily broke into a smile as she met Darcy's concerned eyes. "I am perfectly well."
The five students crowded around the small table and chatted amicably for several minutes until Dumbledore and McGonagall entered the room.
"Have you news for us, Professor Dumbledore?" Lizzy asked after exchanging pleasantries and assuring her professors she was suffering no lingering effects of the curse that had been cast on her.
"The Malfoys have been most sincerely urged by the Ministry to stay in the area, and for Ursus Malfoy to remain at home as much as can be managed," said Dumbledore. He drew his own comfy-looking chair and joined the gathering of students before connecting his fingertips and beginning to look over them. "Have you written a statement yet, Miss Elizabeth?"
"I have not," Lizzy sheepishly confessed.
"It must be done, and tonight," said Dumbledore. "In an hour or so, a representative from Magical Law Enforcement will come by to examine your wands, Miss Elizabeth, Mr. Darcy. Would it be safe for me to assume they have not been much in use today?"
"Very safe, Professor," Lizzy answered.
"Good," Dumbledore said.
"When is the hearing to be, Professor?" Darcy asked. His face had become hardened.
"It is, as of yet, unscheduled," Dumbledore answered. "The lot of you are mature enough to understand that, with young Mr. Malfoy as the object of the hearing, there is quite a bit of nervous flittering and political games occurring."
"But a hearing will be held?" Darcy insisted.
"I intend to see it done," Dumbledore assured.
"Is there no way to keep this from progressing any further?" Elizabeth asked. She felt her chest growing tight again at the talk of a hearing. "Can it not just be handled quietly and forgotten?"
"I'm afraid not, Miss Elizabeth," said Dumbledore with a mixture of gentleness and firmness. "I will not tolerate an attack on Hogwarts grounds. I understand your predicament, truly, but I cannot allow the incident to go without being properly addressed."
Elizabeth felt her breath quicken. When Darcy took her hand, however, Lizzy immediately relaxed. She did not have to deal with this on her own.
"Now," said Dumbledore, his tone lightening slightly as he adjusted the topic, "as for what shall become common knowledge among the student body, I must say I admire your quick work this morning. I see no reason to hide the truth, however. It will come out soon enough, and it might as well come from the sources directly involved, rather than speculation of others as facts filter their way through various channels."
"The façade is starting to crumble already, anyway," Mary offered.
Lizzy huffed. She did not like the idea of being looked at as a victim again.
"You have nothing to be ashamed of, Elizabeth, and have done nothing wrong," Darcy assured. "I was advised only hours ago that all blame should rest on Malfoy, and Malfoy alone."
"It is not guilt or shame that I feel," Lizzy bit out.
"When might you allow Lizzy back to class, Professor?" Jane asked, eager to disrupt the tension she could see building on her sister's features.
"Once your wand has been examined, your statement written, and you receive clearance from Madam Pomfrey, I think it will be quite safe for you, Miss Elizabeth, to resume your normal schedule," said Dumbledore.
"I thought you meant to have me hidden away several days yet," Lizzy said shrewdly.
"Excuse the indecision as being the result of an old man's whims," said Dumbledore with a twinkle in his eye. He rose from his seat and vanished it with a flick of his wand. "I am glad you are well, Miss Elizabeth. I fear Professors McGonagall and Flitwick would have become quite despondent if any lasting harm had been done to you." He winked conspiratorially as McGonagall muttered under her breath to his side. He bid his students adieu and made his exit.
"Bingley, Darcy, make yourselves scarce," McGonagall said without preamble.
Bingley exchanged a look with Jane, and Darcy with Lizzy, before the pair rose and made their way to the other end of the wing, though they kept their ladies firmly in sight.
McGonagall seated herself in one of the abandoned chairs and looked at the young witches before her. "I know my absence today has been a topic of great interest," she said.
"There has been a good deal of curiosity," Jane confessed.
"Kindly cease your attempts to enter my mind, Miss Mary," McGonagall said shortly, looking to the youngest Bennet in attendance. "I admit to being no great occlumens, and would rather present this information without your assistance."
"I can only promise to try, Professor," Mary said with a blush. "I'm still working on control."
"Where have you been, Professor?" Lizzy asked, though she feared she already knew the answer.
"As your Head of House, the duty to inform your parents of your having been attacked fell to me," McGonagall said flatly. While Lizzy put her face in her hands, the professor continued, "I know you would rather they not know, but it would hardly be right for them to be denied the information. It was a close enough call that I did not send them word about your Quidditch injury. I comforted myself with the knowledge that, if pressed, the whole thing could be explained as simply being the result of a tough game."
Lizzy felt dread building within her. She was not sure she wanted to know the result of McGonagall's interview with her parents.
"Please tell us what happened, Professor," said Jane bravely as she ran her hand across Lizzy's back.
"I met with them both," said McGonagall. A muscle in her jaw twitched before she continued. "They were shocked by the news, I'm sure you can imagine."
A humorless laugh bubbled from Lizzy. Yes, she could well imagine how her parents might have reacted. Mrs. Bennet likely flew into a bout of nerves and alternated between shrieking for Hill to bring her salts, insisting that the attack never should have happened if her daughters had stayed home as she often suggested, and demanding to know if any similar fate had befallen her other "dear girls." Mr. Bennet had probably drawn his brows together and asked for details, then inquired after what was being done to rectify the situation. Upon receiving knowledge that there was nothing for him to do, he likely bid McGonagall a good day and picked up whatever book he had been reading before she had intruded upon him.
"Rather than try to do their words justice, myself," said McGonagall as she began digging through her pocket, "I insisted they write them down."
Lizzy stared at the two letters that were placed on the table before her and her sisters with a slack jaw. Suddenly, she broke into hysterical laughter as she thought of Mr. Bennet and McGonagall staring each other down until her father finally relented and began writing with McGonagall looking over his shoulder. She clutched her sides as she imagined McGonagall's looks of disgust as the professor inspected Mrs. Bennet's ramblings put to ink.
"Lizzy's had a long couple of days, Professor," Mary said uneasily as tears began streaming down her sister's face.
"Yes, that is the explanation, I'm sure," McGonagall said drily. "I feel confident Miss Elizabeth would derive no pleasure from the imaginings, however accurate, of my interview with your parents." The corners of her lips twitched as though she was fighting a smile.
"You must tell me, Professor," Lizzy gasped as she wiped at her face, "if the grooms looked curiously through the windows when Mrs. Bennet started screaming."
"Lizzy!" Jane admonished. She turned to McGonagall before Lizzy could say more. "Is there anything else, Professor?"
"Mrs. Hill sends her regards," McGonagall said as she rose from her seat. "Do reign yourself back in before coming downstairs tomorrow, Miss Elizabeth."
Lizzy promised she would, and McGonagall left.
Darcy and Bingley were quick to rejoin the table. They looked at the envelopes, then took their respective lady's hand.
"Well, I think Lizzy should read them first," said Mary after a few moments of uncomfortable silence.
"I don't want to," Lizzy said quickly, pushing the letters away with her free hand.
"No, Mary's right, Lizzy," said Jane.
"If you insist I know the contents, we could very easily read them together," Lizzy countered.
Jane smiled sadly at her sister. "The words are meant for you, Lizzy, whatever they are.
"Come, Charles. While Lizzy reads, we shall start looking over that potion for tomorrow," said Jane, her voice back to normal as she popped out of her chair. "Mary, you brought your bag along. Join us."
Lizzy watched helplessly as her sisters and Bingley made their way across the wing.
"What would you have me do, Elizabeth?" Darcy asked gently.
Lizzy reached toward the letters and was disturbed to see that her hand was shaking. "I – I don't know," she answered as clasped the envelopes.
"I will join your sisters, then, and be available if – "
"No, stay!" Lizzy burst, and impulsively gripped his hand to keep him from rising any further from his chair.
Darcy resettled his weight. "I'll get back to work, then, unless otherwise directed," he said.
Lizzy felt her breath hitch as she looked at the familiar writing of both her parents. Which letter should she deal with first? Could she tolerate the reactions of her sisters and of Professor McGonagall if she were to simply rise and throw the letters in the fire, rather than read them?
Darcy's hand entered her vision and grabbed the two letters. He shuffled them behind his back and then put one in her hands and the other on the opposite side of the table.
Lizzy examined her mother's writing on the address of the envelope. Deciding to just get the business done and over with, she gritted her teeth and ripped through the seal.
Mrs. Bennet's letter was full of the empty words of a nervous and thoughtless woman. After denouncing Lizzy's attacker as the worst kind of scoundrel, she apologized for her treatment of her second daughter. Lizzy did not feel the slightest bit of comfort from reading the words as she did not believe them. Bitterly, Lizzy wondered if her mother would have written that such an attack served her right for throwing away an opportunity to secure her family's future if McGonagall had not been present. Mrs. Bennet went on to say that she expected Lizzy would return for Easter with her sisters and closed by inquiring after Lydia.
Lizzy tossed the letter away from herself with a scoff.
"Is it as you expected?" Darcy asked.
Lizzy breathed heavily as she considered how to respond. She could very well say nothing and felt confident that Darcy would not press her for details, nor mention the letter ever again. As she considered the honesty and care he had displayed to her, however, she realized she wanted to give him the same. She picked up the letter and slammed it in front of Darcy. He looked to her questioningly and waited until she nodded before picking up the writing.
Hardly any time passed before the haughty mask of indifference Lizzy had come to recognize as a defense slipped onto Darcy's face. When he was done, he simply set the letter in front of her and made to turn back to the essay he had been working on.
"No, you don't get to get out of it that easily," Lizzy said.
"Please read your other letter, Elizabeth."
"And then?"
"And then I shall do as you wish," Darcy promised. He grabbed her hand and kissed it quickly before picking up his quill again.
Lizzy was so upset with the whole situation she was unable to enjoy the open affection Darcy displayed. She opened her father's letter and felt all the resentment she had been fighting come to the surface.
Mr. Bennet wrote that he was truly sorry Lizzy had been ambushed and that he wished he was able to offer her some comfort. He went on to say he knew Lizzy was aware of the letter Mrs. Bennet had sent Jane, and the letter Jane had sent to him in return. He had been deliberating over a response for quite some time and declared he might as well put the response to Lizzy, as Jane would see it anyway. He claimed regret for allowing them to leave so abruptly and for not interfering more forcefully on Lizzy's behalf. He promised he would make sure Mrs. Bennet never mentioned the incident with Mr. Collins again and begged all his daughters would return to Longbourn for the next holiday.
Lizzy felt her resentment crack somewhat at reading the expressions of remorse from her father, but it would not go away completely. What he was offering was too little, too late. She believed he would try to curb Mrs. Bennet's exuberance, but was not hopeful he would maintain the effort for long before giving it up as hopeless. She stared blankly at the pages before her as she leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms.
"Elizabeth?"
Lizzy nodded and continued to stare at the spot where the letter had been, even after Darcy had taken it.
"Shall I bring these over to Jane and Mary for you?" Darcy asked in a cool voice after he had finished.
Lizzy nodded again and, while Darcy took the letters and moved away, abandoned her chair to go gaze out the window as she processed. She was aware that Darcy joined her, but was relieved he did not try to engage her in any conversation just yet.
"I feel I should write to Charlotte and tell her I won't be visiting for Easter, after all," Lizzy said when she finally felt ready.
"I believe you would be perfectly justified in maintaining the trip," Darcy answered. His façade was still in place.
"You're hiding."
"Please let me for just a little longer," Darcy requested.
Lizzy shrugged. "I will never be comfortable again at Longbourn, and I shall never look at either of my parents the same way," she said. She was less surprised than she felt she ought to have been at speaking so freely with Darcy. "I feel I can't trust them, and do not really want to try fostering a close relationship, even with my father, as I once had."
At her side, Darcy nodded mutely.
"All the same, I do not want to be the cause of a rift in my family," Lizzy said decidedly. "I will go back for my sisters. It will never again be home for me, but that does not mean I should take that from them."
"And Mr. and Mrs. Bennet?" Darcy asked, still using his well-practiced tone of indifference. But Lizzy knew better.
"I will be polite and act much the same as I ever did, at least in front of company," Lizzy answered, "but I will not seek them out, nor ask for any sort of permission for whatever I might wish to do. They believed me cast off for good, and so I will behave as a fully independent young woman.
"There, now will you come out?" Lizzy asked.
Darcy shut his eyes tightly and seemed to fight with himself for several moments before he looked at Lizzy again. His eyes were filled with incredible fury, yet he took Lizzy's hands tenderly and kissed them both.
Lizzy squeezed Darcy's hands in appreciation and encouragement. He breathed heavily for a few more moments before attempting speech.
"I'm just so angry, Elizabeth," Darcy said finally.
"I know," Lizzy came back with. "I remember what you said about Mr. and Mrs. Bennet in London, when I was trying to write my mother."
"And all that still stands," Darcy said. "Now there's an extra layer, however. They don't deserve you, Elizabeth, and I don't understand how it is that someone like you came from such parents."
"Deserve me?" Lizzy asked. She raised a brow and could not resist the opportunity to tease. "Come, Darcy, you of all people know how dreadfully frustrating and headstrong I can be. No, I think my birth to Mr. and Mrs. Bennet was quite carefully thought out."
Darcy's grip on her hands increased dramatically and any vestiges of an attempt to make light of the situation fled Lizzy's mind instantly.
"You are not frustrating and headstrong," Darcy said fiercely. "You are cautious and defensive, and I should think that is the result of your parents' treatment. As they are responsible for your development of those characteristics, they have no place to be upset over them. No, your parents do not deserve you, Elizabeth, because you are still willing to be civil to them for the sake of you sisters when you could very easily ruin them in the eyes of their society by exposing their cruelty and then never deal with them again."
Lizzy blinked several times as she tried to process what Darcy had said with such conviction. "Even if what you say is true – "
"It is."
"Even if what you say is true," Lizzy started again, "I will not throw away the opportunity to mend the break." Lizzy felt nervous to voice her next thought, but was determined not to hold back. "Even if you knew your father had done something less than honorable, Darcy, wouldn't you want to speak to him again?" she asked gently.
The longing look in Darcy's eyes was answer enough.
"As I said, I can never trust them again, but they are my parents and I would have them be some part of my life," Lizzy concluded.
"And as I said," Darcy said hoarsely, "they do not deserve you."
"They have finished," Lizzy said, glancing toward her sisters. "Shall we join them?"
The students recongregated around the small table and drew up battle plans for the Easter holidays. It was decided that all the Bennet daughters would return to Longbourn and that Bingley and Darcy would take up residence at Netherfield again.
"I think I would like to keep our attachment a secret in Meryton," Lizzy said quickly to Darcy and then held her breath anxiously.
"I should very much like to show your parents how they should have treated you," Darcy said in a dangerously light tone.
"Think first, Lizzy," Mary quietly cautioned.
Lizzy took a deep breath, rather than spitting out a quick response as she had intended. She did not hide her gaze from Darcy as she considered her next move, though she was aware of Jane and Bingley looking around uncomfortably.
"If you would like, we can tell my father," Lizzy said finally, causing Darcy to nod slightly in approval. She hesitated a moment longer before continuing. "I do not want to deal with my mother's congratulations on snagging such a 'rich, handsome young man,' nor do I want to listen to her advice on how to keep you from losing interest in me."
"I could never lose interest in you," Darcy said quickly. Assurances given, he smirked. "You think me handsome?"
Lizzy rolled her eyes. "I said she would declare you handsome. I am, as of yet, undecided, but I thought I might as well accept your offer."
A wickedly mischievous glint came to Darcy's eyes, but he turned back to the table at large rather than respond.
"How do you intend to keep Kitty and Lydia from blurting out the news?" Jane asked. "They are still young and excitable."
"I will tell them I don't wish to take any attention from you and Bingley," Lizzy readily answered. "That will win Kitty's silence on the matter easily enough. Lydia may require some further convincing, but I believe I can manage in the end."
"Perhaps you might bribe her with the opportunity to spread the news here," Mary suggested.
"Would she want to?" Darcy asked. At Lizzy's inquiring glance, he told her, "Lydia gave me a stern talking to this morning when she saw I was still here."
Lizzy laughed and patted Darcy's arm before turning back to Mary. "I am agreeable to the scheme," she said. She cocked an eyebrow at Darcy. "Do you think you could bear to let someone else make it known to the world that you have attached yourself to me? Once I give Lydia leave to do so, there is no turning back." Lizzy felt a fluttering of anxiety as the words spilled from her mouth. She said them teasingly, but she feared the truth of them.
Darcy's response was to kiss Elizabeth's hand. "I imagine allowing Lydia to lord over the chain of gossip in Hogwarts will rather endear her to me, and perhaps I need not be so fearful she will turn on me."
The tightness in Lizzy's stomach melted away at Darcy's easy reply.
Before much more discussion could be had, the promised representative from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement came. Lizzy and Darcy's wands were weighed and measured, then checked for their most recently cast spells. All this information was put into a rather official looking document, and Lizzy's statement was asked for.
"I shall begin work on that as soon as Mr. Darcy goes to lie down," Lizzy said, turning slightly narrowed eyes toward the man.
"Charles and I both plan to stay here through the night," Jane said before Darcy could object. "You have no leg to stand on, Darcy, so you might as well get to sleep."
Darcy sighed heavily and looked far from happy with the edict issued by the Bennet ladies, but did as he was ordered.
Once certain that Darcy had settled himself, Lizzy sat down at the table and began writing. The Ministry worker pulled a book from her pocket and made herself comfortable, as she was not to leave without Lizzy's report.
When at last Lizzy threw her quill down and the Ministry worker left, Mary offered to stay awake for a time.
"You have all slept much less than I did last night," Mary reasoned. "I can tell how tired you are, Jane, Charles. I may not have any skill at dueling, but I can detect a threat sooner than either of you. I will wake you when I become tired enough, or sooner, on the off chance it proves necessary."
Jane settled herself on the bed next to Lizzy's while Bingley made his way across the wing to bunk by Darcy. Lizzy had made up her mind to start her letter to Charlotte when Mary climbed into her bed, drew the curtains, and placed several spells on them.
"I want to talk to you, Lizzy," Mary declared.
Lizzy found herself feeling nervous. Mary was not known for her delicacy and, as content as Lizzy felt, she knew it was a tenuous thing. She did not want to lose control of herself again.
"Calm down," Mary chided. "I only want to tell you how very pleased I am that you finally stopped being such a thick-headed dunce in relation to Darcy."
Lizzy burst out laughing from the shock of Mary's blunt declaration. She was very grateful Mary had the foresight to soundproof the curtains, or she would have woken Jane.
"Well, Mary, I'm glad you have grown so comfortable with me that you can pay me such a glowing compliment as calling me a thick-headed dunce!"
Mary grinned sheepishly. "Well, you were one."
"You could have helped me along, you know," Lizzy pointed out.
Mary shook his head. "You only would have dug your heels in further, just like you did every time Jo and Phoebe brought it up."
Lizzy groaned and put her face in her hands. Josephine and Phoebe would never let her live this down. They would tease her mercilessly for her courtship.
"Lizzy, I know your insecurities," Mary said quietly.
Lizzy felt her heart catch in her throat and blushed horribly. Of course Mary knew. Mary could see Lizzy's concern that Darcy would grow bored of her, that she could not bring as much to their relationship as he could. Worst of all, Mary could see Lizzy's fear that, if her relationship with Darcy progressed, he would develop much the same attitude toward her that her father had developed toward his wife and daughters.
"I will let Darcy soothe most of your fears away as you get to know each other better," said Mary kindly. "Just know this, Lizzy. I have been able to hear Darcy's thoughts quite clearly since he walked through the doors to be Sorted. He has never been so happy as he has been tonight, and that is because he knows he has you."
"I am glad to hear it," Lizzy said truthfully, "but still – "
"Tell the part of your brain that's been trained by Mama to shut up," Mary snapped, causing Lizzy to start. "Darcy has wanted you for a long time and it just took him a while to stop being such a dunderhead, though not quite as long as you. Lizzy, give him the credit he's earned through his actions with you since the day you met each other in London. He does not attach himself to people lightly. He knows exactly what he's getting into, and rightly believes you are worth it."
Lizzy smiled in open gratitude for a few moments before her teasing nature made a return. "Does this count as you breaking someone's confidence?"
"Hardly," Mary said dully, pulling back the curtains and hopping down from the bed. "All I did was point out the flamboyantly obvious for my excessively stubborn sister."
Author's Note
Ah, the cuteness of Darcy and Lizzy continues along with the frustrations provided by Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. I hope you enjoyed the Mary bit at the end!
