Chapter Twelve
"Recovery"
Hayden barely slept that night. Every few hours it seemed, he would have waking dreams about Lizzie; Dreams about her riding Flicka, figure skating, and all the fun bonding time they had with each other this year. It seemed so hard to believe that yesterday, he came so close to losing her forever.
He reached over to his bedside table and held Lizzie's broken necklace in his hands, thinking back to the day he first saw her skate. At the time it seemed so counterintuitive that someone with her disabilities would be capable of doing something like that, and yet she had done it. But what Hayden couldn't understand is why people like Hermione and McGonagall were so willing to believe that she could figure skate, but unwilling to believe that she was able to drag herself two hundred feet. It just didn't make any sense to him.
As the sun rose over the castle, Hayden got out of bed and got dressed in silence before exiting the Room of Requirement.
He walked down the marble staircase into the entrance hall, trying his best to ignore all the stares and whispering he was attracting. As he sat down at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, all four House tables were buzzing with excitement. Apparently the word that Lizzie was in the hospital wing had already spread and rumors abound about her condition. One Canadian fifth year was whispering that Lizzie had actually died, a fourth year Ravenclaw said that Lizzie was brain damaged. "How would we know the difference?" Malfoy sneered from the Slytherin table as the rest of the Slytherins howled with laughter.
What bothered Hayden the most, was the fact that if Lizzie did indeed wake up, he would eventually have to break the hard news to her that she wouldn't be competing in the horse show in two months. And it wasn't even certain if she would recover in time to take her O.W.L.s either, he realized as he was helping himself to toast and pumpkin juice.
He looked down at his plate, suddenly not feeling hungry as he pushed it away. He had lessons today, but it was the last thing he wanted to do. But he didn't really have a choice. Lizzie wasn't the only one who had exams coming up, he did too, so he couldn't afford to fall behind any more than any of the other students.
"You look terrible, " said Hermione, pouring herself some coffee. "Couldn't you sleep?" "No," said Hayden glumly, setting his fork down on his plate with a loud clatter and holding his head in his hand, running his fingers through his hair. "I couldn't stop thinking about Lizzie…."
Suddenly he slammed both his fists on the tabletop so hard that it made the surrounding cups, plates and cutlery rattle and several students to look up.
"Hayden, what's up?" asked Harry, not used to seeing Hayden act like this. "I should have done something!" Hayden growled. "I should have been there for her!"
"You were," said Hermione. "You saved her life! She's alive because of you!" "But I never got the chance to apologize for our fight! I should have done it yesterday morning! If I had just said something – said I was sorry then wouldn't have gone out riding alone!" "You don't know that," said Hermione. "Hermione, she rode into the forest and just lied there for hours, thinking that I was still mad at her! I should have forgiven her when I had the chance! She's not going to ride in Nationals either! Her one chance to compete after losing Raven, and now…"
He sighed heavily. "It's over…All our hard work…It was all for nothing…"
"It's not the end of the world, Hayden," said Ron, who didn't understand the importance of this given that he didn't ride horses. "No?" asked Hayden. "This show was really important to her. What am I supposed to tell her when she….if she ever….."
He broke off as he reached across the table for a jug of pumpkin juice and began to pour himself some, but missed his goblet and spilled it all over the floor. He was clearly taking this whole thing harder than anyone imagined.
Word about Lizzie continued to spread around the school and by the time Hayden sat down for Transfiguration, the room was buzzing excitedly with rumors and stories. "As many of you are already aware," said Professor McGonagall as the class began. "Miss Elizabeth Brooks was taken ill late last night, and is in the hospital wing in critical condition. Molly Cobb raised her hand. "Yes, Miss Cobb?" asked Professor McGonagall. "What happened to her, Professor?" asked Molly. Hayden hadn't gone into detail on what he had been told the previous night. In fact he didn't tell anyone. The only other people apart from him, Professor McGonagall, and Madame Pomfrey that knew the true extent of Lizzie's condition were Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
"Appendicitis," said Professor McGonagall. Immediately, the classroom started chattering again. Many of the students were glancing at Hayden. "That's…..really serious, isn't it?" asked Molly. Professor McGonagall nodded. "Yes, Madame Pomfrey along with a Healer from St. Mungo's operated on her, but by then it was so critical it nearly killed her, and now she's on a ventilator to help her breathe."
Everyone in the classroom gasped in shock. Hayden was barely holding back tears. "She's not breathing on her own?" Molly gasped. "She also developed pneumonia in both of her lungs, and she also suffered some broken ribs." "Broken ribs? How?" asked Molly. "Mr. Chamberlain saved her life," said Professor McGonagall smiling approvingly at Hayden. Everyone was whispering and gazing at Hayden. "But, how did she get pneumonia in both her lungs?" asked a blonde fifth year girl. "We…..do not have an explanation for that at this time," said. McGonagall.
Hayden stared up at McGonagall in furious disbelief. Why was she telling them that they had no explanation for Lizzie having pneumonia when he had told her the cause last night?
But then he was reminded that McGonagall had not believed his version of events, and Lizzie couldn't corroborate what he said, even though the words had originally come from her.
Everyone in the classroom was staring around in stunned disbelief. By now many of the Canadian students had gotten to know Lizzie quite well, and liked her very much, and those that didn't know her, had heard wonderful thing about her from Hayden.
Hayden had a very poor time concentrating during the lesson, but still managed to turn his teacup into a gerbil nonverbally. He was one of the very few in the class who succeeded in doing so, and when the bell rang, Hayden was the first to rise from his desk as he crammed An Advanced Guide to Transfiguration, his quill, ink, and parchment back into his bag and was almost out the door when Professor McGonagall called him back. "Mr. Chamberlain! A word, please," she said.
Hayden could see the flood of students in the corridor outside, and was reminded with a gut wrenching feeling that he wouldn't be meeting up with Lizzie to take her to her next class, as he had become accustomed to doing.
"Yes, Professor?" asked Hayden as he approached her desk. Professor McGonagall sat down at her desk and began to rifle through a large stack of papers that looked like homework for grading. "I wanted to congratulate you," she said. Hayden frowned in confusion. "Professor?" he asked. "You saved Miss Brooks' life," said Professor McGonagall dipping her quill into her ink and began marking the stack of papers before her. "You resuscitated her, and kept her alive. That was very quick thinking on your part." Hayden smiled quickly. "Thanks," he said. "How did you know to find her, may I ask?" asked Professor McGonagall. Hayden glanced at the door. He didn't want to be late for History of Magic, but at the same time, he felt that he needed to tell her. She was Lizzie's Head of House after all.
"We….got into a fight….It was so stupid…" said Hayden. "What was the fight about?" asked Professor McGonagall. "I was annoyed with Lizzie because she was acting strange," said Hayden. "Strange, in what way?" asked Professor McGonagall. "She seemed fine at breakfast, but then it was like – I dunno – like a switch flipped, and she started acting strange, she wasn't eating, she was sick during History of Magic, and she was complaining that her stomach was hurting her."
"Did she go to Madame Pomfrey?" asked Professor McGonagall. "She said she did, but she said that whatever Madame Pomfrey gave her wasn't working."
"That's unusual," said Professor McGonagall. "That's what I thought," said Hayden. "And she kept downplaying it, too. Like there was nothing wrong, but I just knew that there was something going on. She didn't eat again during lunch, and she snapped at Ron, when he made some comment about her not looking well."
"What did she say to Mr. Weasley?" asked Professor McGonagall. "I think she might have said something like, like she didn't ask for his opinion, and that kind of surprised me because I know Lizzie doesn't talk like that – especially to her friends – She got up and left and I followed her out into the entrance hall, she looked really tense. She kept rambling on and on about how Umbridge was out to get her and trying to kill her….."
Professor McGonagall dropped her quill, as a splotch of ink fell on one of the pieces of paper she was marking. "She said that Professor Umbridge was trying to hurt her?" she asked. "Yeah," said Hayden. "She was ranting so loud, I had to tell her to keep her voice down because Umbridge or someone from the Inquisitorial Squad could have overheard." Professor McGonagall nodded. "So she believed that Professor Umbridge was doing something to make her ill?" she asked.
"That's what it was starting to sound like," said Hayden. "I know it sounds like a serious accusation…" "She came to see me a few weeks ago," said Professor McGonagall, picking up her quill and continuing to write on each piece of paper on the stack in front of her. "She did?" asked Hayden. "What did she want to talk to you about?" "Her detentions," said Professor McGonagall. "With Professor Umbridge." "You know about that?" asked Hayden.
Professor McGonagall nodded. "She came into my office, and said she had something important to tell me but I could tell by the look on her face that whatever it was, she was terrified to say anything – I don't think I have ever seen her that scared before. Once I had her sitting down, the poor girl suddenly burst into tears, and wasn't making any sense in what she was saying, I had to make her a cup of tea to help her calm down. And that was when she told me everything that had happened to both her and Potter during their detentions, but she seemed to get the worst of it."
"So I take it that means that you know that she developed nerve damage in her hand?" asked Hayden. "Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "It was only when Professor Umbridge tore Miss Brooks' hair out when Dumbledore's Army was discovered….." "She scalped her!" Hayden said fiercely. "It took me almost half an hour to grow her hair back!" Professor McGonagall nodded curtly. "When that happened, it was only then that I began to suspect that Professor Umbridge might have more than just a dislike for Miss Brooks."
"She also had a really bad fall in the corridor the other day when I was walking her to physical therapy," said Hayden. "Though she didn't tell Madame Pomfrey about it."
"How bad was the fall?" asked Professor McGonagall. "She tripped, and didn't even throw her hands out to break her fall. She landed really hard on her stomach," said Hayden. "Madame Pomfrey mentioned something to me last night about her abdomen being rather badly bruised when she and Sapphire were preparing her for surgery," said Professor McGonagall. Hayden closed his eyes as the memory of Lizzie fall in the corridor replayed in his head, almost in slow motion…Lizzie dragging her foot across the floor as she tripped and fell, landing hard on her stomach…hearing her crying out in pain as she rolled over on her side, curling up into a ball and refusing to move for several minutes.
He sighed as a tear rolled down his face and he opened his eyes. "I had no idea she was going to ride yesterday, I was so angry with her over our fight that we weren't speaking to each other…"
Hayden sniffled as he turned around and sat down at one of the desks.
Professor McGonagall gazed at him sympathetically before taking a large tartan tin of cookies from her desk, removing the lid, and offering it to him.
Hayden shook his head and waved it away. McGonagall nodded insistently, thrusting the tin at him.
Hayden shrugged as he reached into the tin and took a Ginger Newt. "Thanks," he said. "How did you find her?" Professor McGonagall repeated. Hayden swallowed his mouthful of Ginger Newt before responding. "I wanted to patch things up with her – Hermione and I had a discussion in the common room the night before where she told me that she didn't understand half the things that Lizzie says or does, but that didn't stop her from loving or caring about her, and that I shouldn't either. I took that to heart and decided to track her down and apologize, so I went to the Gryffindor common room after classes, and she wasn't there. Hermione was though, so I asked her if she had seen Lizzie, she told me she hadn't seen her since Potions, and suggested I check the stables. When I got there I saw that Flicka's stall was empty and her stuff was missing from the tack room, I checked the arena and she wasn't there. I thought that was weird. Molly was sitting outside her stall cleaning her saddle, I asked her if she had seen Lizzie, and she said that she had taken Flicka out for a ride in the Forest, and that she'd be back in an hour."
"And how long before you arrived did this occur?" asked Professor McGonagall. "I asked her the same thing," said Hayden. "She looked at her watch, got this really worried look on her face and told me that she had been gone for three hours. That was when I really began to worry that something might have happened to her."
Professor McGonagall nodded. "Because Miss Brooks likes to stick to a routine, and gets upset when they are broken," she said. Hayden nodded. It felt strange hearing Lizzie being addressed in this way. "And that was my thought. If she was really going to be back in an hour, she would have returned already."
"Of course," said Professor McGonagall. "So I tacked up Jedi and began to search for her. I think I must have searched for her for nearly five hours. I didn't want to be out of the castle after dark….." "Well, given the circumstances you didn't have much of a choice did you?" asked Professor McGonagall. "No, Professor," said Hayden. "Anyway, I was getting really close to giving up when Flicka appeared out of nowhere, and the first thing I noticed was that Lizzie wasn't with her and she was spooked. I walked over to her, and after she started to calm down, I asked her where Lizzie was."
"You did not expect her to answer back, I assume?" asked Professor McGonagall. "No, but I was sure she knew where she was," said Hayden. "I asked her 'Where's Lizzie? Where is she Flicka? What happened?' Suddenly she turned and galloped away. I got on Jedi and followed her into this clearing about two hundred feet away and that's where I found her."
Professor McGonagall nodded. "I should get going. Professor Binns will wonder where I've gone," said Hayden. "Yes, do," said Professor McGonagall as Hayden stood up and began to make his way out of the classroom.
He was halfway to the door when he was reminded of what Professor McGonagall had said to the class earlier about there being no known cause for Lizzie getting pneumonia. He knew that she had lied to the class. McGonagall knew why Lizzie had gotten pneumonia because he had told her. Why couldn't she have just told the truth?
"Just one question, Professor, why did you lie to the class and tell them that there was no known cause for Lizzie having pneumonia?" asked Hayden. Professor McGonagall stared down at Hayden through her square framed spectacles. "I did not lie, Mr. Chamberlain," she said stiffly. "As of right now, we do not know the cause for it." "You know damn well what the cause was!" Hayden snapped. "I beg your pardon?" asked Professor McGonagall, her spectacles flashing. "You know what the cause of it was, I told you last night!" said Hayden.
"Mr. Chamberlain," said Professor McGonagall, with the same patient air she had the previous night only now there was a tone of condescension in her voice. "I know you are very fond of her, but you need to be realistic….."
"Realistic?" gasped Hayden. "Tell me, Professor, when you saw Lizzie figure skate did you believe that she could do it?" "I did," said Professor McGonagall. "And the two of you did very well together." "You never once thought that she could have been faking it?" asked Hayden. "No, not once. What are you implying, Mr. Chamberlain?" asked Professor McGonagall. "If you were so willing to believe that she could figure skate, then why won't you believe that she tried to drag herself out of the forest to save herself?" demanded Hayden. "This is different," said Professor McGonagall. "How?" demanded Hayden. "How is this different, Professor?" "Because what you described to me last night is impossible, Mr. Chamberlain," said Professor McGonagall simply.
"Did you ever stop to wonder why the Sorting Hat put her in Gryffindor, Professor?" asked Hayden. "It didn't put her there because she survived twelve leg surgeries, or managed to live her best life with the challenges that she had. I believe that it put her in Gryffindor because it knew just how much she was capable of!" Professor McGonagall stared at him, it was as if she had not considered this.
"Look," said Hayden. "You and everyone else in this school have underestimated Lizzie for far too long. I think it's about time you paid more attention to what she can do, and less attention to what she can't do. If Lizzie said that she attempted to drag herself out of the forest, I believe her!" "You really think she's capable of doing something like that?" asked Professor McGonagall, somewhat skeptically. "Absolutely," said Hayden. "But whether or not you choose to see that is up to you."
He stood up from the desk and started to walk out of the room before Professor McGonagall called him back.
"I'm just curious, Mr. Chamberlain, how did you come to the conclusion that her appendix ruptured?" asked Professor McGonagall. Hayden walked up to her desk and sighed. "When I was a fourth year, there was this….this student that I knew. He was the most popular kid in school, got the best grades, he was on the equestrian team…Well, we have an end-of-year horse show like you have here, and he had been selected to compete in it, it would be the week after exams, I don't know how he managed to split his time between studying and riding but he managed to get by, until…."
"What happened?" asked Professor McGonagall. "Three weeks before the show he started complaining of feeling sick, but brushed it off as stress, and didn't think much of it. He had the same symptoms as Lizzie; stomach pain that wouldn't go away and got worse over time, nausea…anyway, one day he woke up and suddenly he felt better, so he decided to take his horse out for a ride, you know, get in some training time before the show. He was riding around when the pain he had felt before suddenly returned, and he nearly fell off his horse."
"What happened to him?" asked Professor McGonagall. "Oh, he got back to the school, but um, turns out what he thought was just a stomachache was more serious than he thought.
"Appendicitis?" asked Professor McGonagall. Hayden nodded. "His had ruptured like Lizzie's had. They said that if he had waited a day longer it would have killed him, and unfortunately he didn't recover in time to compete in the show."
"I'm sorry," said Professor McGonagall. "Was this student….a friend of yours? I mean, did you know him well?"
Hayden gave Professor McGonagall a steely look, his blue eyes flickering. "Yeah," he said. "I was that student."
A look of realization crossed Professor McGonagall's harsh face. "Merlin's beard!" she gasped. "Mr. Chamberlain, I had no idea!" "Yeah?" said Hayden coldly. "Now you do. So don't you dare lecture me on how painful it is to have your appendix rupture like I don't know!"
He glared at Professor McGonagall before turning on his heel and striding out of the room. Professor McGonagall watched as the hem of his navy blue robes whipped out of sight.
History of Magic droned on in ninety minutes of absolute boredom. As much as Hayden tried to pay attention, most of his fellow classmates were either struggling to stay awake or otherwise, dozing in their desks. Molly Cobb was struggling to keep her eyes open as her head fell to her desk, then jerked up suddenly as she struggled to stay awake.
He was grateful when the bell rang because he had a break after this, and that meant that he could go and visit Lizzie.
As he walked into the hospital wing, he saw that Lizzie still appeared to not have come out of the Sleeping Draught that was given to her as an anesthetic. He sighed heavily as he walked up to her bed, and sat down beside her and held her hand in his. "I missed you today," he said. "Why? Why did you do it, Liz?" He was, of course, wondering as he had been wondering since yesterday, why did she go out riding alone?
He had gone over it a million times in his head since last night and couldn't come up with an explanation as to why she would break school rules like that. It just wasn't like her to do that.
He also began to think about how she had gotten so snarky and uncharacteristically irritable, even paranoid, which eventually culminated in the fight they had. And still, no matter how many possibilities and scenarios he ran through his head, nothing made sense.
Madame Pomfrey walked over to replace Lizzie's IV bags. "Why isn't she awake?" asked Hayden. "She's experiencing what's called 'delayed emergence.' Basically it means that the sleeping potion that I gave her is taking longer than it normally would to wear off."
"Will it?" asked Hayden. "You said last night you didn't know if she would wake up?" "She made it through the night and her vitals are looking good. I'd say she has a good chance of waking up. Her body just needs to finish processing it," said Madame Pomfrey. Hayden nodded and Madame Pomfrey put a hand on his shoulder. "She's a fighter," she said. "She'll get through this," "Yeah," said Hayden. He would have felt a whole lot better if she was awake.
The bell rang as Hayden got up. "You'll let me know if she wakes up?" he asked. "You'll be the first to know," said Madame Pomfrey. Hayden nodded. "Take care of her," he said as he gave Lizzie a kiss on the forehead and whispered, "I love you," before walking out the door.
Hayden barely ate anything during lunch, and was confronted by Draco Malfoy in the entrance hall as he was coming out of the Great Hall. "I hear Brooks is in the hospital wing! Did she fall down the moving staircases again? What part of her brain did she damage this time?" Malfoy drawled in Hayden's direction. Hayden ignored him, as he continued to walk. "I don't even know what you see in her, she's not even good looking!" I mean, out of all the girls you could have chosen to fancy in the entire school, why did you pick her?" Malfoy called after him, walking close behind.
Again, Hayden ignored him. "I heard she actually died during surgery," sneered Malfoy. Hayden stopped walking. "Yeah, she was dead for nearly three minutes," said Malfoy. "If you ask me, they wasted their time trying to bring her back! What good are people like her in the Wizarding world anyway? And why did you bother saving her? Personally, I hope she does die. She'd be doing all of us a favor."
Hayden whirled around suddenly and grabbed Malfoy by the neck of his robes and threw him against the wall beside the giant hourglasses that recorded House points, glaring murderously at him. "Listen, you'd better hope that Lizzie lives through this, because if she doesn't, I am personally coming after you, and I promise I will make you live to regret every single thing you have done and said to her! If Lizzie dies, I – will – end you! You understand that?" he growled. Malfoy appeared momentarily stunned. "Hayden!" said Harry, who had just come out of the Great Hall, and had witnessed the whole scene, along with Ron and Hermione as they ran up to him. "Hayden, let him go! Let him go!" said Hermione.
Hayden stared at Malfoy with a venomous look in his eyes as though he were contemplating whether to follow through with his threat right here and now, or let him go. It was the first time he had ever been aggressive toward anyone in the school, and although Malfoy wasn't responsible for Lizzie lying in the hospital wing, he had made Lizzie's life a living hell for five long years, using her as a human punching bag and encouraging her to take her own life; there was a part of Hayden that wanted to make him pay for all of it.
But then he thought of Lizzie's reaction if she knew that Hayden had been violent toward Malfoy. As much as Lizzie hated him for all the things he had done to her and put her through since the day she first set foot inside the castle, she was not the kind of person who would wish harm on anyone. It just wasn't in her nature.
Hayden gave Malfoy one last icy look before letting him go, as Malfoy bolted, running full tilt up the marble staircase.
Hayden was breathing heavily as he turned to face Harry, Ron, and Hermione, his icy blue eyes still flashing dangerously. "If anything happens to Lizzie, I swear to God, I'm gonna kick his teeth in, see how he likes it!" said Hayden savagely. "Hayden!" said Hermione reproachfully. "I mean it, Hermione!" growled Hayden. "If he says one more thing about Lizzie, I'm going to…."
"Hayden!" whispered Hermione. Hayden wheeled around and saw Professor Umbridge passing the marbles staircase. Thankfully, she was a far enough distance away from them not to hear what Hayden was about to say. They watched as Umbridge trotted across the entrance hall into the Great Hall, Hayden watching her every move like a hawk.
"What did she do to Lizzie?" Hayden murmured. "You think Umbridge did something to put Lizzie in the hospital wing?" asked Hermione with the same tone of skepticism that she had shown the previous night when Hayden told her that Lizzie had attempted to drag herself out of the forest.
"Hermione, think about it," said Hayden, his voice now so low that he could barely be heard, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione had to inch closer to him to hear. Hayden looked up to make sure they were not being overheard before continuing.
"She got it so much worse than Harry did during those detentions, remember, Harry?" Even Harry couldn't deny this. "Yeah, she got nerve damage in her hand and I didn't," said Harry. "Exactly!" said Hayden. "And when the D.A. was discovered….." said Hermione.
"I hate Marietta for what she did!" growled Hayden. "Yes, but…." said Hermione.
"D'you realize that Lizzie nearly got expelled for that, and she wasn't even the leader of the group! I could've gotten sent back home too!" said Hayden "Anyway," said Hermione. "Remember when the D.A. was discovered, Umbridge didn't try to detain any of us, she went straight for Lizzie!" said Hermione. "I should have tried harder to protect her," said Hayden sadly. "Hayden, she threatened you," said Ron. "Yeah, it's not your fault," said Hermione. "As I was saying, remember when she grabbed Lizzie and she couldn't keep up with her and she fell….." "And Umbridge kicked her," said Hayden. "Right, and then she pulled her up by her hair and dragged her out of the room…" said Hermione. "Now she keeps it as a trophy," said Ron. "And let's not forget that educational decree saying that anyone with a diagnosed learning difference will be expelled," said Harry. "And that time she inspected Lizzie's riding lesson," said Hayden. "She did what?" asked Hermione.
Hayden told them how she had shown up during Lizzie's riding lesson and behaved very inappropriately, talking to Lizzie like she couldn't understand her, infantilizing her, and falsifying her inspection results.
"You can't tell me after all this that Umbridge doesn't want to get rid of Lizzie!" said Hayden. "I think she wanted to do more than that though."
"What do you mean, Hayden?" asked Hermione. "What if Lizzie was right?" asked Hayden. "What if Umbridge was trying to kill her?"
Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked intrigued at this concept, yet very, very scared. "Right," said Hayden. "So, here's the deal: If Lizzie was right, and Umbridge was trying to kill her, the most important thing to do now is make sure that she's kept safe," "I agree with Hayden," said Harry.
"And if that means I have to skip out on classes, that's a price I'm willing to pay for her safety," said Hayden. "How noble of you," said Hermione, smiling. "Thank you," said Hayden. "But you can't skive off lessons!" said Hermione, her tone turning suddenly serious. Hayden groaned. "Should've seen this one coming," he said. "Have you told Madame Pomfrey about any of this?" asked Hermione. "No, not yet," said Hayden. "You should tell her!" said Hermione. "That way she can watch Lizzie for you, and make sure Umbridge doesn't get near her and you can still go to your lessons!"
"Great!" said Hayden sarcastically. I would much rather protect Lizzie from that old toad than go to class, he thought irritably.
The rest of Hayden's day droned on like watching paint dry. He was given an armload of homework including a two foot long essay from Snape on Everlasting Elixirs, another essay from Professor McGonagall on the Principles of Re-Materialization, and to practice the Aguamenti Charm for Professor Flitwick.
He decided to do his homework by Lizzie's bedside in the hospital wing. Lizzie may not have been the best company, seeing as she wasn't speaking to him, but it at least felt a little less lonely than it would have been without her.
Lizzie, by this point still hadn't come around, which was beginning to worry Hayden. He missed the sound of her voice.
He attempted to concentrate on his homework, but the hissing sound of the ventilator with the persistent beeping of Lizzie's heart monitor became very distracting very quickly, his homework becoming very dull and boring and even though Hayden knew that Lizzie couldn't hear him, much less speak to him, he soon found himself talking to her.
"There's a lot I've been wanting to say to you since yesterday, and I know that Madame Pomfrey might think it's kind of pointless for me to talk to you since you can't answer back, but…I don't care." He took her hand and held it tight in his. "Lizzie, I'm – so, so sorry for the fight that we had. I shouldn't have pushed you so hard to talk me when you clearly didn't want to, and I should never have given up on you like that. I still don't understand why you went out riding alone, but…" he sighed. "That doesn't really matter anymore, does it? You know, I kept thinking about, the day that we met. I had absolutely no idea that you would become such – such a big and important part of my life. I am so, so grateful that I met you. Coming to Hogwarts was the best decision I could have made."
He stopped, thinking carefully about how he wanted to word his next sentence. "The truth is, Lizzie, I don't want to stop being your trainer or giving you lessons, you were doing so wonderful, and Flicka – the two of you were so great together. When I first started training you, I told you that I wanted to help you reach your goals of making it to the Grand Prix, and I fully intend to see that through. I don't think I will ever forget the first day I saw you ride. You told me that you felt like for a long time a part of your life was missing, and when you were on Flicka you got it back, I could see that."
He sighed as he held her hand a bit tighter. "Come on, Lizzie, you've gotta come out of this," whispered, almost to himself. "Flicka needs you…..I need you…and I love you."
Lizzie's middle finger twitched slightly. At first Hayden thought he must be imagining things. Until he slowly felt Lizzie's fingers curl one by one around his hand. Hayden stared at her. He could see her eyes darting back and forth beneath her eyelids as they began to flutter. "Lizzie?" he whispered as Lizzie's eyelids continued to flutter before slowly opening.
Her vision was blurry and at first she didn't know where she was. She blinked hard, trying to refocus her vision, but it took her a couple more seconds for her to realized that the reason her vision wasn't clearing was because she wasn't wearing her glasses, yet she could still make out the blurry outline of Hayden. And what the heck was shoved down her throat?
Immediately she began to cough violently because of the ventilator. Hayden stood up from his chair and faced Madame Pomfrey's office. "Madame Pomfrey!" he called as she came bustling out of her office and hastily injected a short-acting sedative into Lizzie's IV so that she wouldn't feel any pain or discomfort as the ventilator was removed from her throat.
After the ventilator tube was removed, Madame Pomfrey replaced it with a nasal cannula, and checked her vital signs. All appeared normal.
Lizzie was moaning in pain, and didn't say anything at first. For a second, she thought that no time had passed and nothing had happened to her because of the pain she was feeling. Her chest felt congested and it felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to her ribcage.
"What happened to me?" Lizzie moaned, as she winced. Her voice was wheezy and barely audible. "Your appendix ruptured," said Hayden. "Madame Pomfrey did the best she could for you, but…..you're in pretty bad shape."
Lizzie lied there thinking. The Sleeping Draught must have done something with her short term memory because she couldn't remember a whole lot.
"I remember…..going out for a ride on Flicka….horrible pain…I don't…remember. Why can't I remember?"
"You don't have to," said Hayden. "Why does it hurt so much?" Lizzie moaned. "You developed an infection when your appendix ruptured. I could ask Madame Pomfrey to give you something?" asked Hayden. Lizzie nodded as Madame Pomfrey bustled over with a syringe and injected its contents into Lizzie's IV.
Instantly, Lizzie felt her pain dull as she sighed. "Why aren't you in class?" she asked. "Finished," said Hayden. "Everyone was asking about you today. They're all worried about you."
Lizzie smiled but it turned almost immediately into a grimace of pain. She sighed and all of a sudden, burst into tears. "I'm so sorry!" she sobbed, tears running down her face. "Hey, hey, Lizzie, look at me," said Hayden, still holding her hand in his, and using the other to brush her tears away. "It's okay….It's okay….."
He was afraid that her getting this emotional would destabilize her condition. "I'm sorry for everything….." Lizzie sobbed. "The fight we had…..all the things I said…I didn't mean any of it…" "I know," said Hayden softly. "But you can't get this worked up right now, okay? Just take it easy…"
Lizzie sniffled and nodded.
"Professor McGonagall wrote a letter to you mom," said Hayden. "She's coming to see you."
"Oh, God!" Lizzie moaned as she coughed. The last thing she wanted was for her mother to see her like this. "It'll be okay," said Hayden, as he turned towards the door and saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione walking in.
"Hey," said Lizzie as she wiped the rest of her tears away so that they wouldn't see that she had been crying. "How are you feeling?" asked Hermione tentatively. Lizzie sighed and shook her head. "She's in a lot of pain," said Hayden as he turned back to Lizzie. "Everything's gonna be okay, Liz. You're gonna get through this."
Lizzie moaned in response. "How's Flicka? Is she okay?" she asked. "She's fine," said Harry. "I checked on her this morning. Hagrid's looking after her." "Give her a hug for me," said Lizzie. "I will," said Harry. "There are some…..butterscotch horse treats in my tack trunk – she really likes those," said Lizzie. "Hey, you'll see her again soon," said Hayden. "When?" asked Lizzie with a moan of longing.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione glanced at one another. They knew that now wasn't the right time to break the bad news to Lizzie, but they knew that eventually she would have to know the truth.
As reassuring as it was for Hayden to know that Lizzie was awake that that her condition was stable for the time being, nearly losing her made him not want to leave her side. He stopped by the Room of Requirement to deposit his schoolbag before bypassing dinner and going straight back up to the hospital wing. "How is she?" he asked Madame Pomfrey as he walked through the doors to the hospital wing. "Not good," said Madame Pomfrey sadly. "I've been trying to get her to breathe on her own, but it's been difficult. She either can't, or won't."
Hayden walked over to Lizzie's bed and sat down. She appeared to be asleep, each breath coming out raspy and congested. Hayden reached over and held her hand as Lizzie turned her head to look at him. "Hey," she breathed as she winced and coughed violently. "Madame Pomfrey says you're not doing too good," said Hayden. "It just hurts…." Lizzie moaned. "What about the painkillers she's been giving you?" asked Hayden. "Not good enough," said Lizzie. "Everything just…hurts….."
Madame Pomfrey came over and pulled a stethoscope out of the pocket of her apron, put the earpieces in her ears, and the chest piece to Lizzie's heart. "Take a deep breath for me," she said. Lizzie tried, but it felt like her lungs were being torn apart and pain seared across her ribcage. It was excruciating. "You've gotta breathe, Liz," said Hayden soothingly, stroking her face. "I can't….." Lizzie moaned. "It hurts too much." "I know," said Hayden. "But you gotta try, okay? Please, for me?"
Lizzie nodded as she tried again and immediately began coughing and wheezing violently. "Okay," said Madame Pomfrey putting the stethoscope back in her pocket. "We'll try again later," she said as she walked back to her office, and Hayden could have sworn he heard Lizzie whisper, "God, is this why you bought me back? For this? How could you….?"
Hayden frowned at her. What was she talking about?
He looked up at Madame Pomfrey who was tending to another patient across the room as he got up and walked over to her. "I don't think you're going to have much success trying to get her to breathe on her own. It's too painful for her," said Hayden sadly. "Well, if she doesn't, I'll have no choice but to put her back on the ventilator. And I don't think she'd be too keen on that," said Madame Pomfrey. "What Umbridge – what she went through in the Forest….It traumatized her," said Hayden.
He wasn't about to tell Madame Pomfrey his suspicions about Umbridge, just on the off chance she may report him. Then he would be in serious trouble.
"Well, then unfortunately, there is no spell or potion I can give her that can remedy that." "Will she ever recover from this?" asked Hayden. "She made it through surgery," said Madame Pomfrey. "All we can do is wait and hope at this point."
Hayden nodded as he walked back over to Lizzie's bedside and sat next to her. "Why aren't you at…..at dinner?" asked Lizzie. "Not hungry," said Hayden. "And I wanted to see you."
Lizzie smiled slightly. "You've….always been so sweet to me, Hayden," she said. Hayden smiled. "Madame Pomfrey says that if you don't start breathing on your own soon, she's going to have to put you back on the ventilator. Is that what you want?" he asked.
Lizzie slowly shook her head. "No," she said. "Okay, I'll try."
Hayden nodded, squeezing her hand. "Why didn't you tell me you were going to ride?" he asked. "I could have gone with you!" "You weren't…." Lizzie wheezed. "…..talking to me, remember?" "'I was meaning to apologize to you," said Hayden. "Why?' asked Lizzie. "I was such an arse to you." "And I wasn't any better," said Hayden. "So, I went up to Gryffindor Tower after lessons to look for you, and I noticed that you weren't there, so I asked Hermione if she had seen you, and she told me to check the stables. And when I noticed you weren't there either, that's when Molly told me that you had gone out."
"I wish I hadn't," said Lizzie. "Where did you go?" asked Hayden. "You know the – the area…..in the Forest…with the cross-country jumps where we go to practice?" asked Lizzie. "Mm-hmm," said Hayden. "Well, at first I planned on just staying there, but…" she sighed. "I can't remember." "It's okay," said Hayden as Madame Pomfrey came over with cloth and a bowl of some yellow liquid that Hayden immediately recognized as essence of murtlap. He had used it to heal Lizzie's hand after her detentions with Umbridge.
She put the bowl and towel on Lizzie's bedside table, pulled back the covers, and pulled up her pajama top to reveal her open incision, which was red and oozing plasma, the edges of the wound tinged purple and blue. Hayden cringed; it looked really nasty and really painful.
"What are you doing?" asked Lizzie. "I need to check your drainage tube and clean your incision," said Madame Pomfrey as she soaked the towel in the murtlap essence and carefully applied it to Lizzie's open incision. Just like when Hayden had treated her hand, she experienced a wonderful feeling of relief. "We need to do this treatment twice a day," said Madame Pomfrey. "It'll help your incision heal faster." "At least it doesn't hurt," moaned Lizzie as she wheezed. Madame Pomfrey retreated to her office to retrieve some additional meds.
She came back thirty seconds later and injected the contents of the syringe into Lizzie's IV, and Lizzie immediately felt herself become drowsy as her eyelids slowly began to droop as she nodded off.
Even after she had fallen asleep, Hayden stayed with Lizzie. He felt horrible for giving up on her as her trainer, and felt even worse knowing that she wasn't going to be competing in Nationals when she had worked so hard for it.
He returned to the Gryffindor common room ten minutes later as he climbed through the portrait hole, everyone was staring at him and whispering. Clearly, word had gotten around about how he had found Lizzie in the Forest, brought her back to the castle and resuscitated her. Even Luna Lovegood stopped him in the entrance hall to kiss him on the cheek.
"As far as the school is concerned, you're a hero for what you did to help Lizzie," said Hermione as Hayden joined them in front of the fire as they settled in to start on homework. "You said you told Lizzie you loved her?" asked Harry, pulling One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi out of his bag. "Yeah, but she wasn't conscious," said Hayden. "How long has that been going on?" asked Ron. "A while," Hayden admitted. In all honesty, he had been in love with Lizzie since Christmas, when they did their figure skating show together.
"So why haven't you asked her out yet?" asked Harry. "It's complicated," said Hayden. As much as he loved Lizzie, there was still something – he didn't know what – that was holding him back and keeping him from asking her out.
But what was also continuing to eat at Hayden was the fact that he couldn't seem to figure out why Lizzie had gone out riding in the first place when she knew full well that doing so was against school rules. The way she had acted during their fight didn't seem normal for her either. For the umpteenth time, he recounted Lizzie's strange behavior to Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
"I keep going through it over and over in my head, and none of it makes sense!" said Hayden. "Has Lizzie ever acted like that with any of you?" he asked. "Yeah, now you mention it, I've seen her like that a couple of times, but it doesn't happen often," said Harry. Both Ron and Hermione nodded. "When does it usually happen?" asked Hayden. "Usually when she's been off her tablets for a while," said Hermione.
Hayden froze. Could it be possible that Lizzie had stopped taking her bipolar medication? And if so, why and for how long?
"Hayden?" asked Hermione as she watched him anxiously stare into space, openmouthed and in deep thought. "Hayden, what's up?" asked Harry.
"Her meds," Hayden whispered. "Sorry?" asked Harry. Hayden licked his lips before continuing. "Did any of you three go with her to the hospital wing after breakfast day before last?" asked Hayden. "No, she usually goes alone," said Harry. "What did she do after she finished her classes that day?" "She was absolutely beside herself after the fight the two of your had. After Care of Magical Creatures, she went straight to Gryffindor Tower and started on homework….."
"Then I came in after dinner, and Lizzie was still there," said Hayden. "Mm-hmm," said Hermione. "And she stayed there until after midnight, so she wouldn't have been able to go to the hospital wing to take her meds that night," said Hayden.
"And I didn't see her head in the direction of the hospital wing to take them the next morning after breakfast either," said Hermione.
Suddenly, Hayden got up and started to run towards the portrait hole when Hermione called him back. "Wait! Hayden, where are you going?" she asked. "To talk to Madame Pomfrey! I know why Lizzie was acting so weird the other day!" said Hayden as he climbed out of the portrait hole.
As Hayden ran down the corridor, he thought about all of Lizzie's strange behavior since before her surgery. He knew that Lizzie's bipolar disorder was quite serious, and taking her medication on time was vital to managing her symptoms. Without it, she would become severely manic or depressed, or sometimes both.
Either way, not taking her meds was a very dangerous thing for her to do, even for a short period of time, and Lizzie was smart enough to know that just because she experienced a relief in her symptoms while on her medication, did not meant that she was cured and could stop taking them without telling Madame Pomfrey or anyone else.
So what could have driven her to stop taking her meds?
He made it to the hospital wing ten minutes later, but Madame Pomfrey stopped him at the door. "I'm afraid you're going to have to wait until morning, Mr. Chamberlain. She's already asleep."
"I need to talk to you," said Hayden urgently. "All right," said Madame Pomfrey nervously. "When you took Lizzie's bloodwork before her surgery, did you check it for Lithium and Tegretol?" asked Hayden. Lithium Carbonate and Tegretol were the two antidepressants that Lizzie took.
Madame Pomfrey frowned. "No, I didn't think to," she said. "I mostly screened it for infections."
"Did she stop by to take her meds the night before her surgery?" asked Hayden. "No, now that you mention it," said Madame Pomfrey. "What about the next morning?" asked Hayden. "No…she didn't stop by then either. Mr. Chamberlain, what are you getting at?" "Lizzie and I had a terrible fight the day before yesterday. Things were said and feelings were hurt on both ends, but what really bothered me was how she was acting before the fight. I tracked her down in the entrance hall after breakfast, and she was – erratic, on edge, paranoid, she was talking really fast about how Umbridge is out to get her – I assume you can't tell anyone I told you that, right?" "That's correct," said Madame Pomfrey.
"Anyway, she wasn't making any sense. Then we got into our fight after her physical therapy, and she started getting really aggressive." "You mean, physically?" asked Madame Pomfrey looking troubled. "No, no! not like that! She just…..wasn't herself. It felt like I didn't know her."
"Hold on a moment," said Madame Pomfrey as she walked back into her office. A few minutes later, she returned to where Hayden stood at the door. "Hmm, that's odd," she said. "What?" asked Hayden. "Both medications were below the recommended therapeutic dosage for her."
"So you're saying that Lizzie hadn't been taking her meds?" asked Hayden. "For at least a couple days," said Madame Pomfrey. "You said that she began acting strange the day before?" "Yeah," said Hayden. A look of realization crossed Madame Pomfrey's face. "Oh, dear….." she said. "What?" asked Hayden. "Oh, no…" moaned Madame Pomfrey. "Madame Pomfrey, what is it?" asked Hayden worriedly. "The morning before her surgery she came for her medication, and I was preoccupied with other patients, that I wasn't paying attention to how much Lithium I was giving her…" "You didn't give her too much?" asked Hayden, in a 'oh-my-god-you-didn't' tone of voice. "No," said Madame Pomfrey sadly, and sounding really ashamed. "I – didn't give her enough. Normally she takes two in the morning and one at night, and I gave her one that morning instead of two. From what you described, it sounds like she was in the middle of a manic episode when the two of you had your fight."
"Oh, no!" Hayden moaned. Now he was feeling somewhat responsible. He could have done something more to help her. He could have asked her if she was taking her meds, or gotten her help.
But he didn't do either of those things, and that could have caused Lizzie to go out riding alone and now she was incapacitated with an open wound in her right side, pneumonia in her lungs, on oxygen, her will to live was all but zero, she wasn't going to ride in the Nationals in the few months, and it was still unknown if she was going to get better in time for her O.W.L.s.
"Could a manic episode have led to her to go out riding alone in the Forest, despite it being against school rules, and her knowing that?" asked Hayden. "Impulsivity is a common symptom," said Madame Pomfrey. "Has Lizzie ever done anything like this before?" asked Hayden. "Never," said Madame Pomfrey. "I informed her of the risks of what would happen if she did go off her medication without any supervision, and she understood that completely. Even skipping just one day is potentially dangerous for her. She was always diligent about taking them."
Hayden thought about this for a moment. What could possibly drive Lizzie to stop taking her meds when she would otherwise be so committed to taking them?
He thought about all the weight that she had been carrying – O.W.L.s, riding lessons, and preparing for the horse show, the ever-increasing homework load that she never seemed to be able to complete, even with Hayden's help, and the insurmountable stress, anxiety and fear she must have felt, knowing that Umbridge was trying with everything in her power to get rid of her, and one of Lizzie's strongest advocates, Professor Dumbledore was gone. She had never been more vulnerable in her life, walking around the school every day feeling like she had a target on her back.
Hayden slowly began to realize why Lizzie had been so hostile the other day – to him, and to Harry, Ron and Hermione. It was a simple combination of being off her medications – which he surmised had been nothing more than a careless mistake brought on by everything she was going through – and fear due to Umbridge's vendetta against her. Nearly scalping Lizzie and carrying around her hair as a trophy had instilled an intense fear in her, and she had been desperate to live up to her reputation as a Gryffindor, so she hid her fear from everyone, including him.
He told Harry, Ron, and Hermione about this when he returned to the common room fifteen minutes later.
"It was an accident. She just – forgot," said Hayden, shrugging. "But it's not like her to forget!" said Harry. "At first one of the three of us would remind her so she wouldn't forget to take them, but then she got annoyed with us, and asked us to stop," said Hermione.
Hayden got up and began to pace the floor, looking furious with himself, running his fingers through his long hair.
"I should have stopped her!" he growled. "If I had just apologized to her that morning instead of ignoring her and making her think I was still mad at her…." "Hayden," said Hermione gently, walking over to him. Hayden stopped pacing and looked at her. "Hayden, you can't blame yourself for this. This is not on you! There was nothing you could have done!"
"You're wrong," said Hayden. "There was plenty I could have done! I could have tried reassuring her, I could have just let her vent, rather than try and fix her! I should have seen her symptoms for what they were!" "But Hayden," said Harry. "How could you possibly have known that?"
"Because I went through it too," said Hayden. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all looked stunned. "You did?" asked Harry and Ron together. "Two years ago, yeah," said Hayden. "And I almost died too."
"Oh, Hayden!" gasped Hermione. "When we were in Hagrid's hut, Lizzie told me that her pain began in the middle of her stomach and had shifted to her lower right side….I should have known!"
Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged surprised glances. They had no idea that Hayden had gone through this. He had a lot more in common with Lizzie than they had thought.
Lizzie slept badly in the hospital wing that night. She kept having vivid reoccurrences of her ordeal in the Forbidden Forest that she previously could not remember.
She dreamt that she was cantering on Flicka through the trees, having the time of her life feeling the wind on her face and in her hair, going over jumps, then suddenly she felt the most horrible excruciating pain in her stomach that came on so suddenly that she nearly fell off Flicka.
Then she saw herself lying on the ground writhing in pain…..dragging herself across the ground trying to get out of the Forest…..Hayden moving her from her side to her back….She could hear a fast beeping sound from somewhere far away but didn't know where it was coming from…Suddenly she felt herself leave the forest and be surrounded by the most blinding, dazzling light she had ever seen, and was enveloped by its warm, loving presence….then hearing a voice in her ear, clear as day tell her, It's not you time and next second felt herself freefalling seemingly into nothing….
Lizzie yelled in pain as her eyes snapped open and Madame Pomfrey was standing beside her waving her wand across the holographic heart monitor beside her bed. The line that should have had a peak every second or so had one several every few seconds.
"Are you all right?" she asked, turning to Lizzie. "You sounded like you were in pain," "What are you talking about?" asked Lizzie, rubbing her eyes. "You cried out," said Madame Pomfrey. "Did I?" asked Lizzie. Madame Pomfrey nodded. "M'sorry," Lizzie mumbled. Madame Pomfrey chuckled. "Don't apologize," she said, taking a stethoscope out of her apron pocket and putting the chest piece to Lizzie's heart. "Deep breath," she said. Lizzie breathed in, and winced. "Try again," said Madame Pomfrey. Lizzie tried, but the pain was terrible. Yet she was reminded of what Hayden said was the alternative; be put back on the ventilator, and she didn't want that.
She took another deep breath, and despite the pain, powered through it. "Better," said Madame Pomfrey as she took a syringe from her apron. "What's that?" asked Lizzie, watching Madame Pomfrey tap the syringe with her finger. "It's just something to help you sleep," she said as she made to inject it into Lizzie's IV.
"No…..don't!" said Lizzie. She didn't want to go back to sleep. Not after the nightmare she just had. But she barely had time to protest as the potion was injected into her IV, and she instantly felt herself become drowsy, her eyelids began to droop as she nodded off once more.
As word continued to spread about Hayden's heroic rescue in the Forbidden Forest, more people began stopping him to ask him questions, either in the Room of Requirement, to and from lessons, or in the Great Hall, and ask him to recount the details of what happened. Something that Hayden was neither happy nor comfortable doing. The entire ordeal had been just as traumatizing for him as it had been for Lizzie, and before long, he simply refused to talk about it anymore.
Now Hayden was beginning to appreciate what Lizzie had to put up with from the rest of the student body, because he was now being stared at and whispered about wherever he went. Some people praised him for his actions. Some even said that he deserved a medal for what he did. Others, like Draco Malfoy who despised Lizzie, couldn't understand why so much time was wasted in saving her life, when in their opinions, she was better off dead.
There were countless times when Hayden had to keep himself from retaliating in response to these taunts. Professor Umbridge was another person who seemed to take delight in the idea that Lizzie had almost died, and didn't hesitate to rub it in Hayden's face one day during Defense Against the Dark Arts.
"It is my understanding that Miss Brooks will not be participating in the horse show in a few weeks," she said to the class at large with an expression of sadistic satisfaction on her wide toad mouth as she caressed the braid of Lizzie's hair pinned to her frilly pink cardigan.
Everyone in the room exchanged shocked and devastated glances. "But it is for the best," said Umbridge in her horribly sweet voice. "She should not be riding in such a – delicate state. Quite frankly, I am very surprised that someone with her deficits would be permitted near a horse. I am likewise quite shocked that the medical staff took such pointless measures to revive her when she died on the operating table. Quite unnecessary, quite unnecessary indeed…"
Hayden stared at her. She smiled that horrible smile at him, showing her pointed teeth. Hayden felt his face get very hot as he began to shake with rage, clenching his quill in his hand so hard it might snap in two. So Umbridge didn't just want Lizzie out of the school anymore – she wanted her dead.
Now more than ever, Hayden was convinced that Umbridge had done something to Lizzie, and came very close to achieving her goal of killing her, and even though she didn't succeed, she put Lizzie through a hell of a lot of pain.
In the beginning, he just thought that Lizzie was just being paranoid when she had brought it to his attention that Umbridge was trying to kill her, but now he was seriously beginning to wonder if she had been right all along, and he just hadn't had the sense to take her seriously.
As the bell rang, and Hayden met up with Harry, Ron, and Hermione in the entrance hall as they came back from double Potions, Hermione caught sight of someone near the hourglasses, gazing transfixed at them. "Who's that, do you wonder?" asked Hermione. Hayden stared and recognized Emma Brooks immediately. "That's Lizzie's mom," said Hayden. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stared.
They had never met Lizzie's mom before. All they heard were stories from Lizzie. They watched as Professor McGonagall came striding across the entrance hall toward her as they hugged and Emma was led up the marble staircase into the staffroom.
"Is Lizzie all right?" asked Emma tearfully, once they were inside. "Is my girl going to be all right?" "Mrs. Brooks," said Professor McGonagall, handing Emma a cup of tea. "Elizabeth…"
"Lizzie," said Emma. "She prefers to be called 'Lizzie'." "Yes, well," said Professor McGonagall.
"Lizzie's appendix ruptured when she was out riding Flicka in the Forbidden Forest. Madame Pomfrey has just informed me that apparently she had stopped taking her tablets a few days prior, and an unfortunate miscalculation of her medication was made…"
"Lizzie knows how important it is for her to take her medication on time!" said Emma "She would never do that!" "Unfortunately, Mrs. Brooks, she has been under a lot of stress lately," said Professor McGonagall. "Professor Dumbledore has left the school, and we have a new headmistress…."
"Will he ever return? Dumbledore?" asked Emma. "Lizzie always had so much…..so much respect for him."
Professor McGonagall smiled. "We are hopeful he will return," she said. "Mr. Chamberlain found Lizzie in the Forest, and brought her back to the castle. Madame Pomfrey was able to operate, and I am relieved to say that she is slowly getting better." "Is she critical?" asked Emma.
"Not critical, no. But her condition is still serious. Everyone in the school has been praying for her."
Emma smiled. "Thank you," she said. "May I see her?" "Of course," said Professor McGonagall. "Come with me." She helped Emma to her feet and the two of them walked out of the staffroom.
They met Madame Pomfrey at the hospital wing doors, and the first person Emma saw was not Lizzie, but Hayden. She flung her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "Thank you so much!" she whispered. "Professor McGonagall told me that you saved Lizzie's life!" Hayden smiled as he told her the story of how he had found Lizzie in the Forbidden Forest and brought her back to Hagrid's hut, and while they were waiting for help to arrive, Lizzie's blood pressure crashed. "That was when I realized that she wasn't breathing and I think I must've spent at least thirty minutes trying to resuscitated her," said Hayden.
Emma was looking relieved, grateful, and very impressed. "Thank you," she said. Hayden smiled and nodded. "I'll let her know that you're here," he said.
He walked up to Lizzie's bedside and sat down next to her. "Hey," said Lizzie. "How are you feeling?" asked Hayden. "I've had better days," said Lizzie. Hayden nodded. "There's someone here to see you," said Hayden. "Oh? Who?" asked Lizzie.
Hayden turned towards the hospital wing doors and nodded at Emma as she walked inside and Lizzie saw her approach. "Mum?" Lizzie whispered. "Oh, Lizzie!" gasped Emma as she began to cry all over again. "Mum, don't," said Lizzie. Emma leaned over Lizzie and hugged her.
"I went to Heaven," said Lizzie. "What?" asked Emma. "I don't remember much after being put under, but then suddenly I felt myself floating up…..everything was really bright, and I sort of….well, you know the expression, 'seeing your life flash before your eyes'?" Emma nodded. "Well, it was like – like I was experiencing my life over…..getting Sorted into Gryffindor my first year here…..the first time I met Raven…..The day Cedric was murdered….my last show with Raven, and seeing him be put down…." She turned to Hayden. "The day we first met," she said, smiling at Hayden. He smiled back. "….The day you found out I was cutting myself…that figure skating show we did…..Then I heard this – this voice, clear as day tell me, 'It's not your time,' and next second, I'm freefalling into nothing, and…..the next thing I remember is waking up."
Hayden stared at her. Although not religious, he was spiritually curious. Now he understood what Lizzie meant when she was asking God why He brought her back only to endure more pain.
Emma seemed to understand too as she nodded. Madame Pomfrey came over with two new IV bags as she made to put them on the poles on the side of Lizzie's bed. "Let me do that," said Emma. Madame Pomfrey raised her eyebrows. "I'm a nurse," said Emma. Madame Pomfrey nodded and let Emma hook up the IV bags to the poles
"We need to start getting you to sit up," said Madame Pomfrey. "Your lungs are starting to clear up, but you can't stay lying on your back – you'll develop pressure sores if you stay in one position for too long." Lizzie nodded, not in the mood to protest about it. Being moved when her incision wasn't yet fully healed didn't sound pleasant, but having bed sores sounded worse.
It wasn't long before Madame Pomfrey couldn't keep the news that Lizzie wasn't going to compete in the horse show from her any longer. Partially because she kept asking about it, and also because Madame Pomfrey was running out of fake excuses to give her.
She finally broke the news to Lizzie one afternoon and Lizzie immediately broke down in tears.
Hayden had been walking down the corridor to visit Lizzie when he heard her let out a wail of despair and he ran up to the door and overheard Madame Pomfrey giving her a rather blunt talking-to. "If you had just spoken up during your physical therapy, I would have been able to fix you up and you would still be able to compete!" she said as Lizzie sobbed. She had to feel grateful that Lizzie was in stable condition, otherwise this sort of emotional reaction could very well have derailed her quickly.
"S-so you're s-saying this is m-my f-fault?" asked Lizzie, tears streaming down her face. "I'm saying," said Madame Pomfrey simply. "That bad judgement and poor decision making put you here. I thought you knew better!"
Deep down, Lizzie knew that she was right, but that didn't make this news any less devastating, and she certainly thought that rubbing it in het face wasn't helpful, regardless if it was true or not.
Hayden stood outside the hospital wing door continuing to listen to Lizzie sob. Madame Pomfrey turned toward the hospital wing doors and saw Hayden standing there looking really flustered. "Did you really think that was the best way to break the news to her?" he asked coldly, scowling at her.
He had really been hoping that it wouldn't have to come to this; certainly he had been hoping that Madame Pomfrey would be more delicate in telling Lizzie the news. She had already been through so much already.
"I had absolutely no intention of giving her false hope by lying to her if that's what you're insinuating, Mr. Chamberlain," said Madame Pomfrey sternly. "So you're solution to that was to tell her, 'Sorry, you can't compete in the horse show, but you brought it on yourself'?" Hayden snapped.
"I don't like it any more than you do," said Madame Pomfrey. "But she had to find out eventually. It would have been much worse for her if she had gotten her hopes up for nothing."
"You could have at least been easier on her," said Hayden. "She's already been through enough."
As much as he disagreed with how Madame Pomfrey had chosen to tell Lizzie that she wouldn't be able to compete in the horse show, he felt like he couldn't really bust her chops for it. And yet he still thought the way she had chosen to break the news to her was unnecessarily harsh.
He walked over to Lizzie who was sitting up in bed, crying. "Y-you heard then?" she wailed, sniffling when she saw him sit down. "You were right!" Lizzie sobbed. "I-I sh-should have t-told her when I was in ph-physical th-therapy! I'm so st-stupid!"
Hayden reached over to Lizzie's bedside table and grabbed a box of tissues and handed it to Lizzie. She took one and blew her nose loudly.
"Lizzie," said Hayden, reaching over and holding her hand. "Everything's going to be okay….." "How c-can you s-say that?" Lizzie bawled. "This one mistake has c-cost m-me everything I've w-worked at f-for the entire y-year! What am I g-gonna do?"
"You're gonna compete in Nationals, that's what you're gonna do," said Hayden firmly. Lizzie stared at him. "How can you possibly tell me that after Madame Pomfrey just said…" "I don't give a damn what Madame Pomfrey said," said Hayden fiercely. "If I have to strap you in that saddle myself, I promise you, you will ride,"
"How?" asked Lizzie, lowering her voice so Madame Pomfrey couldn't overhear their conversation. "Nationals are in two months! How do you expect to train me in time! I'm not nearly ready to get back on a horse!" "I have no idea," he said honestly. "But it's a promise. And promises are something I never break – especially to you."
Lizzie looked into his icy blue eyes, and knew that he meant what he said. He had every intention of getting her back on a horse as soon as he could, and getting her ready to compete in Nationals in a few months.
Lizzie continued to be plagued by the same reoccurring nightmare of her ordeal in the Forbidden Forest night after night, week after week. Pretty soon they had gotten so bad that she would wake up every night around two in the morning, moaning in pain and crying.
Madame Pomfrey attempted to ease her suffering by giving her a Dreamless Sleep Potion, to little effect. She had the nightmares anyway.
She told Hayden about this one day when he stopped by for his daily visit. She had been in the hospital wing for almost three weeks now. "Even a Dreamless Sleep Potion doesn't help," said Lizzie as Madame Pomfrey helped her to sit up. She winced and inhaled through her teeth. After Madame Pomfrey retreated back to her office, Hayden got up from his chair and sat on the edge of Lizzie's bed, and held her hand.
"I need to tell you about something that Umbridge said in class last week," he said. "Is it about me?" asked Lizzie, sounding unsure if she wanted to hear this or not.
Hayden nodded. "Yeah, it is," he said. "Do I really wanna hear this?" asked Lizzie. "I think you should," said Hayden. "Okay, go on," said Lizzie. "Do you remember what you said to me in the entrance hall the day before your surgery?" asked Hayden. Lizzie tried hard to remember. She seemed to recall saying that Umbridge was out to get her, but now that she was back on her meds and was mentally stable, she began to wonder if everything she had said that day was valid and could be taken seriously or if it was all just a product of her unstable mental state at the time.
But Hayden didn't seem to think so. The comments that Umbridge had made just seemed too – coincidental to ignore. Naturally, word would have spread around the school that Lizzie's condition would not permit her to ride in the horse show, but it was a revelation to everyone else that Lizzie had actually died during her surgery and although she was successfully revived, the fact that Umbridge expressed delight at the idea that Lizzie could not compete in the show and even extreme disappointment at the fact that she was alive, had told Hayden that Umbridge didn't just dislike Lizzie, she hated her, although this had been evident for quite some time, and clearly her measures of trying to boot her out of Hogwarts were not working out in the way she had anticipated, so who was to say that at some point she got desperate and rather than try harder to expel her she decided the best way to get rid of her was to kill her?
It certainly seemed to make sense to Hayden, because he had witnessed during Umbridge's inspection her disdain for disabled people, and her strong opinion that people with disabilities should not be allowed to attend Hogwarts, or be taking up air space for that matter.
And she almost succeeded too, if it hadn't been for Hayden's knowledge of emergency first aid, and Madame Pomfrey and Sapphire's valiant efforts to revive her when she flatlined during surgery.
"I'm taking a huge risk telling you this, but I don't care. You need to know," said Hayden. "Hayden, what's up?" asked Lizzie. "I don't think it was a coincidence that this happened to you," said Hayden. "What are you saying?" asked Lizzie. "After Umbridge nearly scalped you when the D.A. was discovered, that stupid educational decree, and that inspection of your riding lesson. I should have figured it was only a matter of time before she would pull something like this…" said Hayden. "Are you saying that Umbridge…Umbridge did this to me?" asked Lizzie as she winced. Hayden nodded. "Think about it Liz, everything she put you through this year!" he said.
Lizzie pondered this for a moment, and after a while all of it seemed to fall into place and make sense; Umbridge's enthusiasm to put her in detention, and punish her more severely than Harry, her various attempt to get Lizzie expelled, nearly scalping her after the D.A. was discovered, inspecting her riding lesson, and now this.
There was just simply no other explanation for it. If Umbridge was unable to expel her, then it was quite possible that she had decided to kill her. Her behavior just seemed to go beyond general dislike for Lizzie.
But when Hayden made this pitch to Madame Pomfrey, her reaction was very different. "That's not possible, Mr. Chamberlain," she said. Here she goes again, thought Hayden somewhat irritably, thinking that Madame Pomfrey was going to try and come up with some other explanation for Lizzie's condition that was far more rational. Either she was claiming that it wasn't possible because she genuinely believe it, or she was simply saying that because she was afraid of Umbridge, who had ultimate power over Hogwarts at this point.
"Why not?" Hayden demanded, only realizing moments later how aggressive he sounded. "Because when she was first brought in, I ran tests on her to check and see if she had any curses, jinxes or hexes put on her that could potentially cause this, and there were none."
"She could have custom created one herself!" said Hayden. "That is certainly a possibility, however, I think it's highly unlikely," said Madame Pomfrey. Hayden groaned in frustration. "Are you aware of how Professor Umbridge has been treating Lizzie?" he asked. "Yes, I know about her detentions, and while I do agree that what she did to Lizzie is excessively punitive, if not unethical….." said Madame Pomfrey. "But did she tell you about everything else?" asked Hayden.
Madame Pomfrey frowned. "Everything else?" she inquired. Hayden filled her in on how Umbridge had nearly scalped her, although he neglected to mention the D.A. in his story, and Madame Pomfrey already knew about Educational Decree Number Twenty-Nine and her detentions as well, so there was no sense repeating that. He also told her about what Umbridge had said in class and how she seemed a little more than disappointed that Lizzie had survived, not only her ordeal in the Forest, but she had made it through surgery, despite dying on the operating table.
"You can't tell me now that she isn't out to try and kill Lizzie!" said Hayden. He knew he was running a risk talking about Umbridge like that, but he didn't care.
Now he knew why Dumbledore had asked him to protect Lizzie. He never dreamed that in his entire magical school career, he would show up at Hogwarts at a time when the greatest threat to the students of the school was not Lord Voldemort or his Death Eaters, but one of their own teachers, and that teacher would set her sights on one of the most vulnerable students.
Though Umbridge couldn't expel Hayden because he wasn't a student at Hogwarts, and she didn't have jurisdiction or any kind of authority in Canada but she could cut his foreign exchange short and send him back to Toronto – even if it was only a few months shy of the end of the school year.
And there wasn't even a guarantee that Dumbledore would even return to Hogwarts, and even if he did, when would that be?
Madame Pomfrey was now looking very concerned, as was Hayden. "Right before Professor Dumbledore left the school, he made me promise that I would protect Lizzie. I didn't understand what that meant at first, but now I think I do."
Madame Pomfrey nodded. "Don't worry," she said soothingly, putting a comforting hand on Hayden's shoulder. "I will make sure she is safe and Professor Umbridge cannot get to her. You have my word."
"And when she is well enough to leave the hospital wing?" asked Hayden. "Then it'll be up to you," said Madame Pomfrey.
Hayden had to feel grateful that the D.A. had gone on for as long as it had, because they had learned the defensive spells that they were otherwise prohibited from learning in Umbridge's class, so he had the means of defending himself, as well as Lizzie if the situation ever called for it. Plus, he knew that Professor McGonagall despised Umbridge just as much as everyone else in the school, so he was sure that she would back him up.
Protecting her from Malfoy and the rest of the students who bullied Lizzie was one thing, but now Hayden was having to protect her from one of her own teachers, a teacher who wanted her dead, all because she was different.
He told Harry, Ron, and Hermione the plan that evening after dinner as they all got together in the Gryffindor common room for their homework ritual.
"So, you're gonna be her bodyguard?" asked Ron. "Something like that," said Hayden, smiling. "I promised, Dumbledore. I have to see it through."
Over the next few weeks, Lizzie's condition continued to improve. She was taken off oxygen when the pneumonia in both her lungs had completely cleared up, and Madame Pomfrey had healed the ribs that Hayden had inadvertently broken.
The essence of murtlap appeared to be working, and her incision was slowly beginning to heal.
She still wasn't eating or drinking anything although Madame Pomfrey did give her a goblet full of ice chips to start on.
Hermione had brought her several books to read to pass the time, including Titanic; An Illustrated History, and for the first time in nearly three weeks, Hayden saw Lizzie smile as she marveled as the wonderfully colored illustrations of the ill fated ship.
The whole D.A. showed up one Saturday, except Marietta Edgecombe (who had gotten released from the hospital wing the week before Lizzie's surgery), Cho Chang, and. Zacharias Smith were not among them. Lizzie wasn't complaining. She didn't really want to see them anyway.
Lizzie was slowly turning back into the person that Hayden was so very much in love with. She was awake more during the day, and Madame Pomfrey began her on a very strict liquid diet once she was able to keep those ice chips down.
There was a Hogsmeade trip on May thirtieth, and Hayden was slightly saddened that he wouldn't be able to go with Lizzie. "It's okay," said Lizzie, holding his hand as he stopped by the hospital wing to visit her before heading out.
"Do you want me to bring you back anything?" asked Hayden. "You know those Chocolate Cauldrons I like?" asked Lizzie. "The ones with peanut butter in the center?" asked Hayden. "Mm-hmm," said Lizzie. "Sure, I'll get those for you," said Hayden. "I'll miss you," said Lizzie. Hayden smiled as he hugged Lizzie before leaving the hospital wing.
Hayden descended the marbles staircase and walked across the entrance hall to the large oak front doors of the castle. He was just beginning to pass the giant hourglasses when someone yelled his name and he turned.
"Hayden, wait up!"
It was Molly Cobb, her curly brown hair flying behind her as she ran up to Hayden. "Hey, how's Lizzie doing?" she asked.
"She's doing better," said Hayden as the two of them made their way out of the castle along the road towards Hogsmeade.
When the walked onto the High Street which was packed with students, running up and down the long road with friends, and peeking into shop windows. Hayden saw Fred, George, and Lee Jordan outside Zonko's Joke Shop, and he thought he saw Harry, Ron and Hermione go into the Three Broomsticks.
Hayden scanned his surroundings, figuring out where to go first. His eyes settled on a small jewelry shop that he hadn't previously noticed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out Lizzie's figure skate necklace, which he had taken to carrying around, intending to get it repaired. "I'll be right back," said Hayden as he walked up to the door and opened it.
A bell on the door chimed faintly as the door opened and Hayden entered. The inside looked old, like it had been in business for quite a long time. The shop windows displayed beautifully handcrafted jewelry made of sterling silver, fourteen, eighteen, twenty-two, and twenty-four karat gold. Bracelets studded with diamonds and other fine jewels sat nearly in velvet covered cushions inside boxes, glimmering vibrantly; earrings glittered in pairs on a rotating shelf on the far left side. The counter was made of wood with glass panels that held many more pieces of fine jewelry; bracelets, watches, rings, necklaces, and earrings.
The elderly wizard behind the counter wore an elaborate set of eggplant robes, had stringy gray shoulder length hair, wore square framed spectacles perched on his long nose, and held a pipe between his teeth.
Hayden sighed as he approached the counter. "What can I do fer yeh sonny?" asked the elderly wizard in a gruff voice.
"Er, I was wondering If I could get this repaired?" he asked, holding out Lizzie's broken necklace. The aged wizard took it in his knotted, veined hand and carefully examined it under a standing magnifying glass on the counter. "Hmmm," said thoughtfully. "Custom piece, eighteen karat gold, GVS quality diamonds….You have good taste. Looks like you have some missing here….."
"Is it possible to get them replaced?" asked Hayden. "Sure can, m'boy," said the wizard. Hayden was admiring a display beneath the counter of twenty-two karat gold chains. "And it looks like the clasp here is broken as well," said the wizard examining the broken chain. "The chains we have here, all have Unbreakable Charms cast on them. So yeh'll never worry abou' it breakin'," "How much do they cost?" Hayden inquired. "Fer this one, this is eighteen karat gold – it's one 'undred Galleons, fer this one 'ere, it's one 'undred an' fifty, and this one– this one's twenty two karat – is two 'undred," "I'll take the twenty-two karat," said Hayden. "She must be a real special lass fer yeh ter pay top Galleon fer 'er," said the wizard seriously. "She is," said Hayden, smiling, producing a large bag of money, and dropping it on the counter. "And she's absolutely worth it."
The old wizard looked slightly taken aback that a student was carrying around that much gold. "I'll get this sorted fer yeh," he said as he turned to go into a back room in the rear of the shop. Hayden also noticed a sign on the counter that said they offered engraving services. "How much extra would it cost to get that engraved?" he asked.
The man gazed at him, eyebrows raised. "Tha'll be an extra fifty," he said. "Not an issue," said Hayden, smiling. The man nodded once before disappearing behind the velvet curtain that hung from the door that led to the back room.
As Hayden waited, he spent the time marveling at the other exquisite jewelry items on display. He was just admiring a three stone diamond ring with a horseshoe surrounding the third stone when the elderly wizard returned with Lizzie's newly repaired necklace. The diamonds had all been replaced, and the skate was gleaming brightly The chain had been replaced with the stronger, more expensive one. "I went ahead and cleaned it fer yeh," said the wizard holding out the necklace for Hayden to see. "Now, wha' abou' tha' engravin' eh?" asked the wizard. "Oh, right!" said Hayden. "Erm, I want the letters L & H, and below that, the date, 12-20-2005," "Special date?" asked the wizard.
"Very," said Hayden. December twentieth had been the day they performed their figure skating show together.
The wizard nodded as he produced a large leather bound book that held cards with various fonts on them. Hayden chose the most elegant and romantic one he could find, before it was magically engraved on the front of the pendant. "I assume yeh would like a box fer it?" asked the elderly wizard as Hayden paid for the repairs and the engraving. "Yes, please," said Hayden.
The necklace was put into a handsome velvet covered box and handed back to Hayden. "Thanks, she's going to love this!" said Hayden brightly as the wizard deposited the gold into a till and Hayden left the shop, the bell on the door ringing as the door closed behind him.
He was surprised to see that Molly was still waiting for him outside the shop. "Hey, you were a while," she said. "I was just getting this repaired…" said Hayden, pulling out the box that held Lizzie's necklace. "I gave Lizzie this for Christmas last year, and it broke off her when she was in the Forest…." He told her about how Lizzie had tried to drag herself out of the Forest. But unlike Professor McGonagall and Hermione, Molly seemed amazed, if not impressed that Lizzie had done this. "Wow!" she breathed. "Yeah, and I've been intending to get repaired for her," said Hayden. "That's really nice," said Molly. "You really like her, don't you?"
"Yeah, I do," said Hayden smiling. "Is she really not going to compete in the horse show?" asked Molly anxiously. "She was telling me all about how great she and Flicka were doing…." "Madame Pomfrey doesn't think she will," said Hayden. "But?" asked Molly. "I promised her that she would, and I fully intend to keep that promise," said Hayden.
The visited Honeyduke's where Hayden bought a box of Lizzie's favorite Chocolate Cauldrons, before he told Molly he wanted to go back up to the castle to visit Lizzie. "Okay," said Molly, smiling at him. "I'll see you later." "Yeah, see you,' said Hayden as he walked back towards the castle.
But no sooner had he rounded the corner in the hospital corridor and up to the hospital wing door, he was held back by Madame Pomfrey. "I'm sorry, Hayden, you can't see Lizzie right now, it's not a good time. "Well, I wanted to drop these off," said Hayden showing her the box of Chocolate Cauldron. "I said I'd bring them back for her."
"Not now," said Madame Pomfrey as Hayden looked inside the hospital wing and saw Sapphire Cassowary injecting a purple liquid into Lizzie's IV.
"She's already been given the sleeping potion," said Madame Pomfrey. "But…..I-I was talking to her just this morning! She was fine! What happened?"
"She started complaining of abdominal pain while you were away, so I examined her. She has an abscess," said Madame Pomfrey. "She never told me," said Hayden, looking troubled. "I don't think she wanted you to worry," said Madame Pomfrey. "You had enough to worry about." "How serious is it?" asked Hayden. "Well, the good news is we caught it early, so that's a good thing, the procedure to drain it is fairly straightforward, and the recovery time is minimal."
"And the bad news?" asked Hayden. "It will set back her recovery time by a week or two," said Madame Pomfrey. "And I certainly don't want you to think this will in any way improve her chances of competing in the horse show. It won't."
Hearing this made Hayden even more determined to get Lizzie back on Flicka and train her for the show. He was sick of it. Sick of hearing people tell Lizzie 'no, you can't,' telling her to be realistic, telling her that her hopes and dreams were impossible, and that rather try and fail, she shouldn't try at all. He was also tired of watching her sit back and let people tell her these things and she would listen to them.
Hayden sighed and nodded. "How long will the operation take?" he asked. "Not long – forty-five minutes to an hour," said Madame Pomfrey. Hayden nodded. He couldn't believe it. Just when he thought she might be on the road to recovery, she was dealt another hard blow. Umbridge must really be enjoying herself putting her through this…..
"I'll come and get you when she starts coming around," said Madame Pomfrey. "I'll wait out here, if that's okay?" asked Hayden. "Madame Pomfrey nodded as she walked inside the hospital wing and the doors closed behind her.
Hayden sat down against the wall, feeling less anxious than he did when Lizzie had her appendix removed. It was slightly more reassuring this time around that Madame Pomfrey had said this time, the procedure was less evasive.
Yet as with any surgery, there was always an element of risk. But Madame Pomfrey and Sapphire Cassowary were some of the most experienced medical professional in the Wizarding world, so Hayden knew that Lizzie was in safe hands.
It was, as Madame Pomfrey predicted, very straightforward; her half-healed incision was partially cut open again – just enough for them to drain the abscess, then the area was cleaned and a new drainage tube was inserted.
Within forty-five minutes, the operation was complete, and almost ten minutes later, Lizzie began to show signs that she was coming out of the anesthesia.
The doors to the hospital wing opened and Madame Pomfrey emerged as Hayden stood up. "She's starting to wake up," she said, nodding to the inside of the room as Hayden walked in.
The curtains around Lizzie's bed were drawn back as she slowly stirred and Hayden took her hand. Lizzie's eyes fluttered open as she gazed at Hayden and groaned. "Ugh! You're a jinx!" she groaned.
Hayden frowned in confusion. Was that the anesthesia talking? "I've had two surgeries in less than two weeks and you happen to be around for both," said Lizzie. "Why do I have a feeling you're gonna be the death of me?"
Hayden couldn't help but laugh at this. She must have at least felt better than she had after her first surgery because she still had her sense of humor.
"So does that mean you're feeling better than you did last time?" asked Hayden. "Yeah, loads," said Lizzie. "If last time is anything to go by. At least I can breathe again."
Hayden smiled. "Hey," he said, holding her hand tighter in his. "When you do get out of here," he said in a low voice so that Madame Pomfrey couldn't hear. "We're gonna get you on Flicka and we're gonna get you ready for Nationals, okay?"
Lizzie smiled. "Yeah," she said. It sounded like a good plan to her. Little did she know the emotional rollercoaster ride she would take and what it would take just to put her foot in the stirrup.
After the surgery to drain her abscess, Lizzie's condition continued to steadily improve, and soon, Madame Pomfrey was encouraging her to get out of bed and walk to stretch her legs. She was still on her liquid diet, though she had slowly began to incorporate minute amounts of solid food back into her diet.
Hayden spent all of his free time up in the hospital wing with Lizzie and they became homework buddies once again. They passed the time working on their homework and Hayden helping her to catch up as they shared the box of Chocolate Cauldrons that he had bought her.
The antibiotics given to Lizzie to combat the sepsis had done their job, and tests done on samples taken from her two weeks since her surgery showed that her blood was free of infection. "God must've been looking out for you," said Madame Pomfrey as she changed the bandages on Lizzie's incision. Madame Pomfrey had since abandoned using vinegar and brown paper and opted for Essence of Dittany instead. "I hear that!" said Lizzie as she relaxed in bed, sipping pumpkin juice from a straw and reading Secretariat; The Making of a Champion, a book on the 1973 Triple Crown winner.
Lizzie had been in the hospital wing for nearly a month now. Nearly thirty solid days of pain, nightmarish flashbacks, and not knowing what the remainder of the school year held for her.
The drainage tube was removed the following week, and Madame Pomfrey announced that she was well enough to be discharged. She was beginning to eat more solid food now too.
And Hayden had been her rock through this whole experience. Lizzie's other friends could try and empathize and sympathize with what she had to endure in the forest, but Hayden knew how Lizzie felt, because he had been in the same boat as her two years ago, so he understood it on a deeper level than anyone else.
"Well, you've had quite a month haven't you?" asked Madame Pomfrey as she removed the IVs from Lizzie's arms and hands. Lizzie smiled. "To say the least," she said. "I think you're ready to get out of here, back to your normal life," said Madame Pomfrey. "I daresay, the rest of your friends are missing you." "That's great!" said Hayden happily.
"When can I start…..riding again?" asked Lizzie. "Look, Lizzie, I know how badly you want to ride but…" said Madame Pomfrey. "Nationals are only a few weeks away!" Lizzie protested. "I need to get started training!"
"Lizzie, hold on for a moment," said Hayden gently, holding her hand. "Maybe we should hear what Madame Pomfrey has to say?"
"Hayden's right," said Madame Pomfrey. "I want you to listen to me very carefully; your blood pressure had crashed when you were in Hagrid's cabin, and you momentarily stopped breathing. And while Hayden did succeed in resuscitating you, you did die on the operating table. It took Sapphire and I, a full three minutes to bring you back. Now I will not deny that your recovery was much quicker than I anticipated, but getting back to the level of riding that you were at before your surgery – it's going to take a while….."
"What if," Hayden suggested "She rode Flicka as part of her recovery outside the hospital wing? And we can take it slow at first?"
"Hmmm," said Madame Pomfrey thoughtfully. "And you would be training her, I assume?" she asked. "Mm-hmm," said Hayden nodding.
After a moment, Madame Pomfrey nodded. "Yes, I think that may benefit her."
Hayden nodded. He still had full intention of keeping his promise that he made to Lizzie, that she would compete in Nationals, he just didn't want Madame Pomfrey to know that he had promised her that, then be accused of lying to her, and giving her false hope over something that, to everyone else, was impossible.
But to both Hayden and Lizzie, anything was possible if you've got enough nerve. And Lizzie had proven that.
It felt good knowing that she was going to be able to see her friends again, but on the other hand, Lizzie was also nervous now that she now had very strong evidence to suggest that Umbridge was not only out to get her as she had long suspected, but had possibly made an attempt on her life, and she wished that she could be with Hayden all the time for protection. Hogwarts was meant to be the safest place in the Wizarding world, and had been Lizzie's home for five years, and she didn't feel safe anymore.
However Lizzie had learned early on that her best defense in this kind of situation was to ignore Umbridge, because there was something that told her that Umbridge felt threatened when Lizzie didn't engage or react to her.
Obviously she wasn't going to ignore her if she was spoken to, in class or anywhere else, but she was going to ignore the provocation and other jabs that Umbridge would try and throw at her to try and get her to engage. It seemed like a good enough plan to her. She knew that Umbridge would only have power over her if she reacted to her.
"Wait here," said Hayden, as he and Lizzie walked up to the portrait of the Fat Lady and the password was uttered. Confused, but not protesting, Lizzie patiently waited for him outside in the corridor.
Hayden clambered through the portrait hole to a room full of Gryffindor students. "Hey, you guys! I've got a surprise for you!" he said. Every Gryffindor in the room looked up. "Are we starting the D.A. again?" asked Lavender hopefully. Hayden stepped aside, as Lizzie walked through the portrait hole. "Blimey!" said Seamus as everyone applauded as Lizzie walked into the room.
Lizzie smiled as she walked into the room and everyone hugged her. Most of them knew better than to ask her about her ordeal in the Forbidden Forest and she was grateful for this. Even now she was still experiencing hyper realistic flashbacks and nightmares of what happened.
Everyone sat down around the fire, chatting. They all looked thoroughly pleased to see her back in full form.
"Hey, Liz!" said Lee Jordan. "Can I see your scar?" "Yeah, give us a look Liz! Go on!" said Fred and George. Lizzie laughed. "Fine," she said as she raised her shirt just a bit so they could see it. It was almost completely healed now, but still a bit red with tinges of purple.
"How long is it?" asked Ron, grimacing slightly. "About three inches," said Lizzie. "Cool!" said Dean. Lizzie had many surgical scars, including one on each hip, one just above both kneecaps, and one on the inner aspect of her leg between her knee and her thigh, as well as two puncture scars where metal pins once held her leg bones in place.
"So, does this mean you're still on for the horse show?" asked Parvati hopefully. "Umbridge said that you…" "I'm going to compete in the show," said Lizzie confidently. "In just six weeks?" asked Hermione skeptically. "Hayden and I put together our figure skating show in only six weeks," said Lizzie. Hermione shrugged. She wasn't sure how Lizzie was planning on pulling it off, but she obviously had something up her sleeve to make it work.
