Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling owns Harry Potter along with Scholastic and whoever else.  I only own my characters so DON'T SUE!!!

Six Feet and Falling

by Saerry Snape

Chapter 13 :: November 1, 1995 :: Hogwarts – Morning/Night

Harry opened his eyes to find himself staring at the cracked plaster ceiling of the infirmary.  His first thought was to why he was there.  His next to were to why his head felt like it'd been split open and his body felt like it'd been put through some sort of gauntlet run.

"'Bout time you were awake," grumbled a familiar voice from his right.

Turning his head, Harry saw Sheyne sitting in a chair, her knee's tucked under her and her cloak bundled up around her.

"H-how long have I been out?"

"You don't remember?" asked Sheyne, her voice losing its earlier harshness and becoming concerned.

"Should I?" asked Harry.

Sheyne nodded slightly.  "You collapsed.  During the Feast last night.  Then all the teachers, minus Flitwick and Sprout, ran out.  Ron, Hermione, Stephen, and me brought you up here after you started convulsing.  It got pretty mad.  We – I – had to hold you down until it passed because Madam Pomfrey didn't know what to do to stop it.  I had to use panther strength to get you to stay down."

"Funny," said Harry, "I don't remember all that."  Suddenly his eyes became somehow brighter and he added, "Excuse me, yes, I do."

Sheyne perked, her arm moving slightly to pull down the cloak, revealing the green veined blue stone hanging from her throat.

"I'm sorry if I sound anxious or completely unfeeling, Harry, but…what happened?  No one wants to tell us anything.  Not even my father!"

Harry sighed and reached up a hand to rub at his temples.  He looked at her out from under it and said, "And good show to them, too.  It's not something they'd want us to hear about.  But, then again, they can't stop me from seeing it and feeling it, now can they?"  He spat the last sentence bitterly, eyes gleaming.

Sheyne reached out and laid a hand on top of his.  Green eyes met amber and Harry smiled slightly.

"And there goes that feeling again – like everything's normal."

The girl smiled in return then waited patiently.  Harry closed his eyes and began to talk in a low voice.

"They attacked Hogsmeade – the Death Eaters.  From what I could see, there were hundreds of them.  They went from one building to another, cutting down people like wheat.  Some of them set the buildings on fire.  And they didn't just kill.  Death Eaters never just kill, or very rarely do.  They tortured.  Cruciatus, mainly, but I saw some Imperius.  They had parents kill their children, Shey.  There was one, a little boy, probably only four.  He kept crying out 'Daddy!', crying out to his father even as he killed his son."

Sheyne felt a tear creep down her cheek and rose from her seat, throwing her arms about Harry.  He hugged her back then gently pushed her away.

"How could they?" whispered Sheyne, another tear making its way down her cheek.

"I don't know," replied Harry softly.  Sheyne could not help but notice that despite the grief in his tone and in his eyes, he did not cry.  She, who had always tried to be strong, was and he wasn't.  It was as though he wanted to, but couldn't.

"When do you get out of here?" asked Sheyne, attempting to change the subject as she brushed the tears from her cheeks.

"Today," replied Harry.  "Even if I have to kill Madam Pomfrey, I'll get out of here today."

"No love for the infirmary either?"

"Not in the slightest," said Harry, scowling.  "Anyway, you'd better get out of here before she yells at you for not letting her most precious of patients get enough sleep."

Sheyne laughed lightly then placed her hand on her friend's shoulder, squeezing it gently.

"See you when you get out of here."

"You bet."

The two smiled at each other once more then Sheyne left, her mind whirling.

Stephen had been right.

* * *

"Sheyne?"

"Mmm?"

Sheyne lifted her head from where it had fallen on top of the page she'd been reading out of an Advanced Charms book.  Hermione was gently shaking her shoulder, brown eyes worried.

"Something wrong, Mione?"

"How much sleep did you get last night?" asked Hermione.

Sheyne frowned, yawned, then stretched before thinking about it.  "Uh," she said, "maybe two hours…"

"Two hours?  Shey, you have to get more sleep."

"Is Harry back yet?"

"He's been back since dinner!  Asleep, thankfully, which is where you should be and where you will be even if I have to put the Body-Bind on you."  Hermione drew her wand, a determined look on her face, and Sheyne lifted a hand.

"Hey, hey…  I'm going.  Just help me get these books upstairs, will you?  I'm doing some research for Ste.  He wants to know something."

"Can't he look it up himself?" asked Hermione as she levitated the books then directed them up to the fifth year girl's dormitory.

Sheyne shook her head and replied, "Not really.  Doesn't know what he's looking for."  She rose shakily from her chair, stretching the cramped muscles in her back and groaning.

"Serves you right for falling asleep in a chair."

"I bet you've done it before."

"But I've learned since then.  When studying late, always make sure to have a couch nearby."

"I'll…yawn…remember that next time."

Hermione said, "If you remember anything tomorrow.  You look like a mouse Crookshanks brought in one time."

"I resent being compared to a mouse."  Especially as I can turn into one, added Sheyne silently to herself.

Hermione waved a hand and gave Sheyne a gentle nudge towards her bed, directing the books to stack themselves beside Sheyne's bed.  The dark-haired girl smiled in thanks then collapsed onto the mattress, sighing contentedly into the pillow.  Hermione shook her head at her then, changing into her night clothes, climbed into bed.