Chapter 17: - Bad blood
The next day Lily had hoped that it had all been a really bad nightmare but she had hoped in vain, Miriam was acting extremely proud of Lily as though Lily had been an apprentice of hers that she had cared for and nurtured, Amy, Dymphna and Alice where all very eager to pay James and Sirius back for the distress that they had coursed Miriam, but Miriam much to Lily's relief was back to her normal eccentric-self, deeming that they would give Frank and Remus twenty four hours for them to decide where they would place their loyalties, before any further action was to be taken.
The first year girls and boys sat at opposite ends of the common room that evening Frank and Remus had obviously delivered Lily's message first thing that morning and now Sirius and James kept giving the girl's very odd looks, somewhere in between annoyance that the girls hadn't been given any punishments for the previous night and astonishment for the fact that Lily had said what she had. Peter cowered in between the two boys, Miriam had said that morning that it was very apparent where Pettigrew's loyalties would be and that it would be with the people who would be best equipped to protect him, and has Frank and Remus had now declared themselves to be Switzerland and refused to take sides those people would be James and Sirius.
"They'll help" Miriam said nodding her head has she doodled on a scrap of parchment her completed Astronomy homework lying discarded on the table next to her. Even though the girls hadn't spoken for a full five minutes Lily knew exactly who Miriam was talking about.
At first Miriam had been shocked to learn that Frank and Remus had decided not to take sides even if it wasn't with the girls Miriam seemed to have expected them to have joined with the boys, but as the day had progressed she had warmed to the idea that Frank and Remus would stay natural,
"They'll help" Miriam said again but still only to herself, Lily sighed and continued with her Astrology homework, they had Astrology every Wednesday at midnight and they only had twenty minutes to go before the old grandfather clock that was situated in between the two doorways that led to the different dormitories chimed twelve,
"Any one seen Remus?" asked Frank as he sat down next to Miriam who quickly hid the parchment she had been doodling on,
"What was that? Your top secret plans of attack?" Frank asked grinning as he tried to remove Miriam's hand from the parchment,
"Maybe" Miriam said brandishing her quill's feather at him like a sword with her free hand,
"You wanted something?" Lily snapped, she knew that Frank and Miriam where just playing but it was really annoying her how every time they met in the corridors or sat near to each other in class or at meals that Frank and Miriam would act exactly like this pretending to be fighting against each other all the time.
"Sorry Miss prissy!" Frank said getting up "I a lonely serf didn't mean to upset you in your stately domain",
"Frank!" Lily said apologetically but Frank just smiled and bowed,
"Yes ma'am"
"If you know anything about constellations then shut up and sit down" Alice said irritably as she and Amy where struggling through their homework "If not get lost!" Frank sighed and sat down, his reason for disturbing the girls completely forgotten.
Astrology was one of Lily's favourite subjects manly because it was something that she had understood from the first lesson, unlike Transfiguration, charms and Potions, because like she had told Miriam several times, "Even Muggles study stars", Astronomy was also something that she could write and tell her parents about and that they too could understand.
The Gryffindors took this subject on their own and in their first few weeks they where just studying the stars and plotting their positions on their star charts, but like the other classes this too had eventually became harder.
'Tonight would be an excellent night for Astronomy' Lily had thought has she and the rest of the first years climbed out onto the parapet roof of the astronomy tower. The moon was so full and shining so brightly it would help them see their charts better without the aid of artificial lighting and there wasn't a cloud in the sky so that the first years could see all the stars shining brightly. Because of the perfect conditions their professor had decided to give them a test in which they had to plot the location of the stars which could be seen over their own homes. James and Sirius complained loudly that the test was too hard for them and that it was third year work, but the astronomy professor just smiled and told them that it wasn't really that hard if they all just planned everything out mathematically and logically.
Peter seemed to be finding the test extremely hard, Lily suspected that it was because he couldn't copy from anyone else as each star chart would be different. But this fact seemed to have escaped the small mousy haired boy and Lily had seen him trying to sneak peeks at Miriam's and Frank's work as they where standing closest to him.
James also complained that Alice was copying his work and that she should receive a zero for her mark as she had plotted the same consolations in the same positions as him. Sirius roared with laughter and Peter followed their example, until both Lily and Miriam told them to stop acting so stupid,
"Of course I'll have then same chart as you, you prat!" Alice said angrily "I'm forced to live in the same bloody house as you!" Lily laughed and so did Amy and Dymphna, looking around the tower Lily suddenly realised that Remus Lupin was missing from the class. She wanted to ask their Professor where he was but after Alice's outburst she had insisted that they worked on their charts in quiet.
As soon as the class was dismissed Lily raised the point of Remus' absence with Miriam as the girls raced the boys back to the common room, James had threatened to magically seal the fat lady's portrait with the Everlasting seal charm that Alice had used on the girls dormitory door.
"I don't know where he was?" Miriam said to Lily as they ran down the stairs two at a time, Miriam had noticed Remus' absences as well "He was looking a little sick yesterday though" she said as the girls pushed past Peter and they took off down the corridor,
"Is there any wonder why the poor lad's ill with you all over him last night" Frank said joining the girls,
"Funny Longbottom, very funny" Miriam said "Race you?" Frank nodded and Lily watched Frank and Miriam takeoff down the corridor and Lily laughed as she saw Miriam trip Sirius up and he fell to the ground.
Fortunately for all the first years the person that reached the fat lady's portrait first was Frank and as he was still acting as Switzerland he allowed all of them back into the common room. The thought of Remus and his absence from the test was pushed from Lily's mind as she climbed the spiral staircase to bed. Lily was reminded of Remus' absences from Astronomy the next day as the first years sat together in their first lesson of the day which was charms,
"No" Frank said as he turned round in his seat to talk to Lily, Miriam and Alice "He wasn't in bed when we got back last night. James thought he might have gone to the hospital wing, because he did look really ill the last time I saw him"
"Perhaps Miriam gave him the kiss of death" Alice said jokingly but Miriam looked as thought she didn't think it was anything to joke about and neither did Lily, What if Remus was really ill, it wasn't like him to miss a lesson! By the end of the day it wasn't just Lily and Miriam who was worried about Remus' whereabouts, Frank and Alice had accepted the fact that Something must be really wrong with him has he hadn't turned up for any of their lessons and hadn't been seen at lunch or at dinner.
Unfortunately because of the prank that James and Sirius had pulled on Miriam by hiding Mac, the boys had seen Remus' absence in a very different light.
"WHAT DID YOU DO WITH HIM?" barked Sirius that night as the girls and Frank sat at the tables in the full common room as Sirius and James stormed over to them. Sirius grabbed Miriam by the arm and pulled her off her seat, he was in a fearful rage and all the first years looked very shocked at his behaviour.
"DO - DO WITH WHOM BLACK?" Miriam yelled equalling Sirius anger but not fully understanding what Sirius was going on about as she rubbed her arm,
"YOU KNOW PERFECTLY WELL WHO" by now it was hard for anyone in the common room to pretend that they hadn't over heard Sirius and Miriam's conversation and so no one even bothered to pretend they were doing their homework anymore. Especially when there was the promise of a fight, even prefect Amanda didn't seem to want to get involved, Lily saw her slipping away up the stairs to the girls' dormitories.
"Practical jokes are one thing Mi" Sirius growled staring daggers at Miriam, "But kidnapping is going too far, what have you done with Remus?"
"Kidnapping" Miriam bust out laughing "Why would we want to Kidnap Remus? Where would we hide him for a start?"
Lily wanted to grab Miriam and run, it didn't seem a good idea to her to be laughing at Sirius when he was in a rage especially when he looked like he'd like nothing else but for Miriam to provoke him into an attack,
"Okay you two" said the steady voice of prefect Gideon Prewett, and Lily breathed a sign of relief "People are trying to work here and we don't need you two making fools of yourselves"
"I'm warning you Mi if you've done anything to him" growled Sirius again
"You'll do what? Write to your mummy?" Miriam said putting on a horrid baby voice, Lily and Alice gasped, while Dymphna stifled a scream with her hands, Miriam had pushed it too far and Sirius had cracked. Leaping forwards with an enraged expression on his face he grabbed the front of Miriam's robes but before he could do anything Gideon had grabbed hold of Sirius pulling him off Miriam shouting,
"What the hell do you think you are doing, Black!" all the other students around the common room where on their feet now trying to see what had happened some were even yelling at Sirius calling him names
"You don't hit girls" Gideon yelled above the racket in the common room that was now escalating as he pulled Sirius over to James, Frank and Peter. Rushing forwards to Miriam, Lily could see blood gushing down the front of her robes, in the scuffle Miriam had been hurt, she had a split lower lip and a really bloody nosebleed,
"Are you alright?" Gideon asked Miriam sounding very concerned has he pushed Sirius into a near by chair, Miriam nodded but Gideon persisted "Best go to the hospital wing to make sure," he said softly
Lily and Alice took hold of Miriam beneath her elbows and steered her to the portrait hole followed by Frank as Amy and Dymphna looked on in shock. It was a little difficult climbing out of the portrait hole with Miriam clutching her nose but some how they managed it and where soon heading up the corridor to the hospital wing,
They had made it to the hospital wing in what Lily thought must have been record timing, Miriam practically ran all the way, which Lily, Alice and Frank couldn't help but think was extremely strange for just a nose bleed.
"Oh my dear!!!" Madam Pomfrey said rushing forwards as they entered the Hospital wing "What in Merlin's name have you been doing this time?" Lily had noticed that on the journey over to the hospital wing Miriam's nose bleed actually seemed to be getting worse. And when Frank had told Miriam to pinch the bridge of her nose, Miriam had replied irritably saying that that wouldn't work.
"Over here quickly!" Madam Pomfrey said urgently as she guided Miriam over to the nearest bed, and giving Miriam a hanky to hold to her still bleeding nose she as rushed back to her office. Seconds later Madam Pomfrey was rushing back to Miriam's bedside holding a tray full of strange bottles and equipment and a large pile of swabs.
"I don't understand?" Lily said as Madam Pomfrey shooed her, Frank and Alice away and she pulled the screen across hiding Miriam from view. "It was only a nosebleed!" Frank and Alice shrugged they knew only as much as Lily did.
The three friends sat down on the bed next to them, they all seemed to be very confused and not knowing what else to do they waited. Minutes past in silence and Lily stared at her shoes, the only noises that they could hear was from madam Pomfrey as she ground ingredients, cast spells and told Miriam off, as Miriam mumbled and groaned occasionally in pain.
"You should have more sense about you" Lily heard the matron say "Especially a girl in your condition" this intrigued Lily and she looked up at the screen that obscured Miriam from view, what exactly was wrong with Miriam? But she wasn't left to ponder this as Madam Pomfrey suddenly pulled back the bed screen to relieve Miriam lying on the bed. Lily heard Alice gasp and Frank muttered a profanity under his breath which thankfully neither Madam Pomfrey nor Miriam had heard.
Lily didn't know what to say or do, Miriam looked almost like a ghost has she lay on the bed looking extremely pale contrasting violently with the black of her robes and if it wasn't for the fact that Miriam's eyes where moving from one friend to the other Lily would have sworn she was dead.
"She's lost a lot of blood" Madam Pomfrey said softly to them "I'll let you stay for a little while but when I say so you will have to leave" and with that she headed back to her office saying something about having to inform the headmaster and Miriam's parents. The first years stared at each other for a very long time, no one speaking but finally Miriam broke the silence,
"You're all scared of me aren't you?" Miriam said quietly, Lily realised that she, Frank and Alice had been staring at Miriam with their mouths slightly open.
"W-We're not scared of you!" Lily said shaking her head still not understanding "We're all just a little shocked that's all"
"I've never seen a nosebleed that bad before" Frank said trying to make light of the situation
"Thanks, well I'm glad you enjoyed the show!" Miriam said bitterly turning onto her side so she couldn't see them, Frank looked towards Lily and Alice for help but Lily didn't really know what to do, but thankfully Alice did. She walked over to Miriam and hugged her, instantly Miriam burst into tears.
"I'm sorry" she said hiding her head in Alice's shoulder "I didn't mean to sound so...so...I'm sorry!"
"You don't have to be sorry" Lily said "It's us who should be, it's just that we were so shocked when we saw you that's all"
"It's ok" Alice told her "You don't have to worry Mi where still your friends"
"Yeah" Frank said moving forwards "you don't have to worry" Miriam lifted her head out of Alice's shoulder and forced a smile on her still pale face as the tears continued to roll down her cheeks,
"Your probably all wondering what's going on aren't you?" Miriam said drying her eyes. Lily looked at the others Alice just smiled at Miriam as she passed her another hanky but Frank looked like he was bursting to shout "Hell yes!"
"I-I've a g-genetic blood disorder," Miriam said quietly "It's been in my family for generations, everyone thought that it had been bred out but it hadn't, it had only just skipped a couple of generations. It means my blood doesn't clot if I get cut or have a nosebleed" Miriam looked down and plucked at the front of her robes indicating her blood that now stained them.
"You see Lily" Miriam continued trying to force a smile "That's what's so special about us pure bloods, we're either insane or diseased!" Frank and Alice protested and tried to comfort Miriam as more tears rolled down her cheeks, Lily heard Alice telling Miriam that it was no good trying to blame her family for something that they couldn't have controlled, but Lily couldn't help but remember something that she had heard on a news show one time when she was at home saying that blood disorders where extremely bad. She wanted to ask Miriam more about it but Lily knew that now wasn't the right time and that her questions could easily wait for when Miriam felt better.
The four friends sat together for a long time trying to keep their conversation going and even though they all could feel that it was being forced it still left good to be sitting together. Lily was looking around the hospital wing trying to find a subject that she could talk about when she noticed that at the far end of the room another bed screen was pulled across the far end bed,
"Who do you think is behind there?" Lily said to the others pointing towards the bed,
"Dunno" Frank said shrugging "Probably Davey Gudgeon, He nearly lost his eye playing that stupid game with that willow tree you know?"
"Don't you dare say it was my brother's fault" Miriam said still looking very pale,
"He wasn't going to" Alice reassured Miriam as she shot Frank a threatening look "if Gudgeon was too thick to realise what could have happened to him while playing tag with that monstrous willow tree than he shouldn't have been in Revenclaw" Frank laughed and agreed.
"But it can't be Davey Gudgeon" Lily said still looking at the screen "he was released a few days after he came in. Remember what McGonagall said in that notice she read out in the common room"
"Then who is-" Alice said but cut herself off has the same thought struck them all,
"Remus" Miriam whispered
"I forgot all about him" Frank said sounding a little ashamed as he walked to the foot of Miriam's bed
"Do-Do you think he's alright?" Alice asked nervously, as the same thought crossed Lily's mind.
What if he wasn't? What if he was really ill? 'But surly if he was that ill they would have been told. Wouldn't they?' Lily thought.
"What do you think your doing?" Alice hissed in alarm and Lily was pulled out of her thoughts, to see Miriam swinging her legs over the side of her bed,
"I want to see if he's ok!" she said breathlessly as though what she was doing took all her strength to do and Lily realised that with the amount of blood Miriam had lost it probably was.
"Here!" Lily said rushing to Miriam's side and supporting her, as Frank rushed to help. Lily and Frank supported Miriam as they and Alice crossed the room towards the screened bed. For some strange reason the closer they got to the screen the more Lily kept thinking that they shouldn't be doing this, Alice moved in front of the trio and when they reached the bed Alice pulled the screen back to revile that it was Remus Lupin who was lying on the bed in front of them his eyes closed. Lily, Miriam and Alice gasped and Frank swore as they stared at their friend in front of them.
Remus was as pale as Miriam and his thin torso was covered in recently made scares and cut and the bandages covering them and his arms where gradually becoming soaked in blood.
"What happened to him?" Miriam asked her voice cracking, "Who did this to him?" Lily wanted to voice how she felt as well but she couldn't, she couldn't find her voice, every time she opened her mouth to speak no words came out.
"What are you doing?" Called the voice of Madam Pomfrey has she bustled out of her office "Come away from there let the poor boy rest!"
"What happened to him?" Lily asked finally finding her voice as Madam Pomfrey shepherded them back over to Miriam's bad,
"It's no concern of yours" Pomfrey snapped
"But he's our mate!" Frank called indignantly, but any other protests he might have made where quickly stifled by the withering look madam Pomfrey gave him,
"We want to help" Alice said
"You can help by leaving the poor boy alone; he's been through enough for one day he needs rest, as does Miss Artemis. You three had better head back to your common room it's well past your curfew!"
"Why can't I go back to Gryffindor tower as well?" Lily heard Miriam complaining her voice so weak now that it was barely audible as Madam Pomfrey slowly helped her into her bed and Lily, Frank and Alice where told to head back to the common room.
The next day Lily had hoped that it had all been a really bad nightmare but she had hoped in vain, Miriam was acting extremely proud of Lily as though Lily had been an apprentice of hers that she had cared for and nurtured, Amy, Dymphna and Alice where all very eager to pay James and Sirius back for the distress that they had coursed Miriam, but Miriam much to Lily's relief was back to her normal eccentric-self, deeming that they would give Frank and Remus twenty four hours for them to decide where they would place their loyalties, before any further action was to be taken.
The first year girls and boys sat at opposite ends of the common room that evening Frank and Remus had obviously delivered Lily's message first thing that morning and now Sirius and James kept giving the girl's very odd looks, somewhere in between annoyance that the girls hadn't been given any punishments for the previous night and astonishment for the fact that Lily had said what she had. Peter cowered in between the two boys, Miriam had said that morning that it was very apparent where Pettigrew's loyalties would be and that it would be with the people who would be best equipped to protect him, and has Frank and Remus had now declared themselves to be Switzerland and refused to take sides those people would be James and Sirius.
"They'll help" Miriam said nodding her head has she doodled on a scrap of parchment her completed Astronomy homework lying discarded on the table next to her. Even though the girls hadn't spoken for a full five minutes Lily knew exactly who Miriam was talking about.
At first Miriam had been shocked to learn that Frank and Remus had decided not to take sides even if it wasn't with the girls Miriam seemed to have expected them to have joined with the boys, but as the day had progressed she had warmed to the idea that Frank and Remus would stay natural,
"They'll help" Miriam said again but still only to herself, Lily sighed and continued with her Astrology homework, they had Astrology every Wednesday at midnight and they only had twenty minutes to go before the old grandfather clock that was situated in between the two doorways that led to the different dormitories chimed twelve,
"Any one seen Remus?" asked Frank as he sat down next to Miriam who quickly hid the parchment she had been doodling on,
"What was that? Your top secret plans of attack?" Frank asked grinning as he tried to remove Miriam's hand from the parchment,
"Maybe" Miriam said brandishing her quill's feather at him like a sword with her free hand,
"You wanted something?" Lily snapped, she knew that Frank and Miriam where just playing but it was really annoying her how every time they met in the corridors or sat near to each other in class or at meals that Frank and Miriam would act exactly like this pretending to be fighting against each other all the time.
"Sorry Miss prissy!" Frank said getting up "I a lonely serf didn't mean to upset you in your stately domain",
"Frank!" Lily said apologetically but Frank just smiled and bowed,
"Yes ma'am"
"If you know anything about constellations then shut up and sit down" Alice said irritably as she and Amy where struggling through their homework "If not get lost!" Frank sighed and sat down, his reason for disturbing the girls completely forgotten.
Astrology was one of Lily's favourite subjects manly because it was something that she had understood from the first lesson, unlike Transfiguration, charms and Potions, because like she had told Miriam several times, "Even Muggles study stars", Astronomy was also something that she could write and tell her parents about and that they too could understand.
The Gryffindors took this subject on their own and in their first few weeks they where just studying the stars and plotting their positions on their star charts, but like the other classes this too had eventually became harder.
'Tonight would be an excellent night for Astronomy' Lily had thought has she and the rest of the first years climbed out onto the parapet roof of the astronomy tower. The moon was so full and shining so brightly it would help them see their charts better without the aid of artificial lighting and there wasn't a cloud in the sky so that the first years could see all the stars shining brightly. Because of the perfect conditions their professor had decided to give them a test in which they had to plot the location of the stars which could be seen over their own homes. James and Sirius complained loudly that the test was too hard for them and that it was third year work, but the astronomy professor just smiled and told them that it wasn't really that hard if they all just planned everything out mathematically and logically.
Peter seemed to be finding the test extremely hard, Lily suspected that it was because he couldn't copy from anyone else as each star chart would be different. But this fact seemed to have escaped the small mousy haired boy and Lily had seen him trying to sneak peeks at Miriam's and Frank's work as they where standing closest to him.
James also complained that Alice was copying his work and that she should receive a zero for her mark as she had plotted the same consolations in the same positions as him. Sirius roared with laughter and Peter followed their example, until both Lily and Miriam told them to stop acting so stupid,
"Of course I'll have then same chart as you, you prat!" Alice said angrily "I'm forced to live in the same bloody house as you!" Lily laughed and so did Amy and Dymphna, looking around the tower Lily suddenly realised that Remus Lupin was missing from the class. She wanted to ask their Professor where he was but after Alice's outburst she had insisted that they worked on their charts in quiet.
As soon as the class was dismissed Lily raised the point of Remus' absence with Miriam as the girls raced the boys back to the common room, James had threatened to magically seal the fat lady's portrait with the Everlasting seal charm that Alice had used on the girls dormitory door.
"I don't know where he was?" Miriam said to Lily as they ran down the stairs two at a time, Miriam had noticed Remus' absences as well "He was looking a little sick yesterday though" she said as the girls pushed past Peter and they took off down the corridor,
"Is there any wonder why the poor lad's ill with you all over him last night" Frank said joining the girls,
"Funny Longbottom, very funny" Miriam said "Race you?" Frank nodded and Lily watched Frank and Miriam takeoff down the corridor and Lily laughed as she saw Miriam trip Sirius up and he fell to the ground.
Fortunately for all the first years the person that reached the fat lady's portrait first was Frank and as he was still acting as Switzerland he allowed all of them back into the common room. The thought of Remus and his absence from the test was pushed from Lily's mind as she climbed the spiral staircase to bed. Lily was reminded of Remus' absences from Astronomy the next day as the first years sat together in their first lesson of the day which was charms,
"No" Frank said as he turned round in his seat to talk to Lily, Miriam and Alice "He wasn't in bed when we got back last night. James thought he might have gone to the hospital wing, because he did look really ill the last time I saw him"
"Perhaps Miriam gave him the kiss of death" Alice said jokingly but Miriam looked as thought she didn't think it was anything to joke about and neither did Lily, What if Remus was really ill, it wasn't like him to miss a lesson! By the end of the day it wasn't just Lily and Miriam who was worried about Remus' whereabouts, Frank and Alice had accepted the fact that Something must be really wrong with him has he hadn't turned up for any of their lessons and hadn't been seen at lunch or at dinner.
Unfortunately because of the prank that James and Sirius had pulled on Miriam by hiding Mac, the boys had seen Remus' absence in a very different light.
"WHAT DID YOU DO WITH HIM?" barked Sirius that night as the girls and Frank sat at the tables in the full common room as Sirius and James stormed over to them. Sirius grabbed Miriam by the arm and pulled her off her seat, he was in a fearful rage and all the first years looked very shocked at his behaviour.
"DO - DO WITH WHOM BLACK?" Miriam yelled equalling Sirius anger but not fully understanding what Sirius was going on about as she rubbed her arm,
"YOU KNOW PERFECTLY WELL WHO" by now it was hard for anyone in the common room to pretend that they hadn't over heard Sirius and Miriam's conversation and so no one even bothered to pretend they were doing their homework anymore. Especially when there was the promise of a fight, even prefect Amanda didn't seem to want to get involved, Lily saw her slipping away up the stairs to the girls' dormitories.
"Practical jokes are one thing Mi" Sirius growled staring daggers at Miriam, "But kidnapping is going too far, what have you done with Remus?"
"Kidnapping" Miriam bust out laughing "Why would we want to Kidnap Remus? Where would we hide him for a start?"
Lily wanted to grab Miriam and run, it didn't seem a good idea to her to be laughing at Sirius when he was in a rage especially when he looked like he'd like nothing else but for Miriam to provoke him into an attack,
"Okay you two" said the steady voice of prefect Gideon Prewett, and Lily breathed a sign of relief "People are trying to work here and we don't need you two making fools of yourselves"
"I'm warning you Mi if you've done anything to him" growled Sirius again
"You'll do what? Write to your mummy?" Miriam said putting on a horrid baby voice, Lily and Alice gasped, while Dymphna stifled a scream with her hands, Miriam had pushed it too far and Sirius had cracked. Leaping forwards with an enraged expression on his face he grabbed the front of Miriam's robes but before he could do anything Gideon had grabbed hold of Sirius pulling him off Miriam shouting,
"What the hell do you think you are doing, Black!" all the other students around the common room where on their feet now trying to see what had happened some were even yelling at Sirius calling him names
"You don't hit girls" Gideon yelled above the racket in the common room that was now escalating as he pulled Sirius over to James, Frank and Peter. Rushing forwards to Miriam, Lily could see blood gushing down the front of her robes, in the scuffle Miriam had been hurt, she had a split lower lip and a really bloody nosebleed,
"Are you alright?" Gideon asked Miriam sounding very concerned has he pushed Sirius into a near by chair, Miriam nodded but Gideon persisted "Best go to the hospital wing to make sure," he said softly
Lily and Alice took hold of Miriam beneath her elbows and steered her to the portrait hole followed by Frank as Amy and Dymphna looked on in shock. It was a little difficult climbing out of the portrait hole with Miriam clutching her nose but some how they managed it and where soon heading up the corridor to the hospital wing,
They had made it to the hospital wing in what Lily thought must have been record timing, Miriam practically ran all the way, which Lily, Alice and Frank couldn't help but think was extremely strange for just a nose bleed.
"Oh my dear!!!" Madam Pomfrey said rushing forwards as they entered the Hospital wing "What in Merlin's name have you been doing this time?" Lily had noticed that on the journey over to the hospital wing Miriam's nose bleed actually seemed to be getting worse. And when Frank had told Miriam to pinch the bridge of her nose, Miriam had replied irritably saying that that wouldn't work.
"Over here quickly!" Madam Pomfrey said urgently as she guided Miriam over to the nearest bed, and giving Miriam a hanky to hold to her still bleeding nose she as rushed back to her office. Seconds later Madam Pomfrey was rushing back to Miriam's bedside holding a tray full of strange bottles and equipment and a large pile of swabs.
"I don't understand?" Lily said as Madam Pomfrey shooed her, Frank and Alice away and she pulled the screen across hiding Miriam from view. "It was only a nosebleed!" Frank and Alice shrugged they knew only as much as Lily did.
The three friends sat down on the bed next to them, they all seemed to be very confused and not knowing what else to do they waited. Minutes past in silence and Lily stared at her shoes, the only noises that they could hear was from madam Pomfrey as she ground ingredients, cast spells and told Miriam off, as Miriam mumbled and groaned occasionally in pain.
"You should have more sense about you" Lily heard the matron say "Especially a girl in your condition" this intrigued Lily and she looked up at the screen that obscured Miriam from view, what exactly was wrong with Miriam? But she wasn't left to ponder this as Madam Pomfrey suddenly pulled back the bed screen to relieve Miriam lying on the bed. Lily heard Alice gasp and Frank muttered a profanity under his breath which thankfully neither Madam Pomfrey nor Miriam had heard.
Lily didn't know what to say or do, Miriam looked almost like a ghost has she lay on the bed looking extremely pale contrasting violently with the black of her robes and if it wasn't for the fact that Miriam's eyes where moving from one friend to the other Lily would have sworn she was dead.
"She's lost a lot of blood" Madam Pomfrey said softly to them "I'll let you stay for a little while but when I say so you will have to leave" and with that she headed back to her office saying something about having to inform the headmaster and Miriam's parents. The first years stared at each other for a very long time, no one speaking but finally Miriam broke the silence,
"You're all scared of me aren't you?" Miriam said quietly, Lily realised that she, Frank and Alice had been staring at Miriam with their mouths slightly open.
"W-We're not scared of you!" Lily said shaking her head still not understanding "We're all just a little shocked that's all"
"I've never seen a nosebleed that bad before" Frank said trying to make light of the situation
"Thanks, well I'm glad you enjoyed the show!" Miriam said bitterly turning onto her side so she couldn't see them, Frank looked towards Lily and Alice for help but Lily didn't really know what to do, but thankfully Alice did. She walked over to Miriam and hugged her, instantly Miriam burst into tears.
"I'm sorry" she said hiding her head in Alice's shoulder "I didn't mean to sound so...so...I'm sorry!"
"You don't have to be sorry" Lily said "It's us who should be, it's just that we were so shocked when we saw you that's all"
"It's ok" Alice told her "You don't have to worry Mi where still your friends"
"Yeah" Frank said moving forwards "you don't have to worry" Miriam lifted her head out of Alice's shoulder and forced a smile on her still pale face as the tears continued to roll down her cheeks,
"Your probably all wondering what's going on aren't you?" Miriam said drying her eyes. Lily looked at the others Alice just smiled at Miriam as she passed her another hanky but Frank looked like he was bursting to shout "Hell yes!"
"I-I've a g-genetic blood disorder," Miriam said quietly "It's been in my family for generations, everyone thought that it had been bred out but it hadn't, it had only just skipped a couple of generations. It means my blood doesn't clot if I get cut or have a nosebleed" Miriam looked down and plucked at the front of her robes indicating her blood that now stained them.
"You see Lily" Miriam continued trying to force a smile "That's what's so special about us pure bloods, we're either insane or diseased!" Frank and Alice protested and tried to comfort Miriam as more tears rolled down her cheeks, Lily heard Alice telling Miriam that it was no good trying to blame her family for something that they couldn't have controlled, but Lily couldn't help but remember something that she had heard on a news show one time when she was at home saying that blood disorders where extremely bad. She wanted to ask Miriam more about it but Lily knew that now wasn't the right time and that her questions could easily wait for when Miriam felt better.
The four friends sat together for a long time trying to keep their conversation going and even though they all could feel that it was being forced it still left good to be sitting together. Lily was looking around the hospital wing trying to find a subject that she could talk about when she noticed that at the far end of the room another bed screen was pulled across the far end bed,
"Who do you think is behind there?" Lily said to the others pointing towards the bed,
"Dunno" Frank said shrugging "Probably Davey Gudgeon, He nearly lost his eye playing that stupid game with that willow tree you know?"
"Don't you dare say it was my brother's fault" Miriam said still looking very pale,
"He wasn't going to" Alice reassured Miriam as she shot Frank a threatening look "if Gudgeon was too thick to realise what could have happened to him while playing tag with that monstrous willow tree than he shouldn't have been in Revenclaw" Frank laughed and agreed.
"But it can't be Davey Gudgeon" Lily said still looking at the screen "he was released a few days after he came in. Remember what McGonagall said in that notice she read out in the common room"
"Then who is-" Alice said but cut herself off has the same thought struck them all,
"Remus" Miriam whispered
"I forgot all about him" Frank said sounding a little ashamed as he walked to the foot of Miriam's bed
"Do-Do you think he's alright?" Alice asked nervously, as the same thought crossed Lily's mind.
What if he wasn't? What if he was really ill? 'But surly if he was that ill they would have been told. Wouldn't they?' Lily thought.
"What do you think your doing?" Alice hissed in alarm and Lily was pulled out of her thoughts, to see Miriam swinging her legs over the side of her bed,
"I want to see if he's ok!" she said breathlessly as though what she was doing took all her strength to do and Lily realised that with the amount of blood Miriam had lost it probably was.
"Here!" Lily said rushing to Miriam's side and supporting her, as Frank rushed to help. Lily and Frank supported Miriam as they and Alice crossed the room towards the screened bed. For some strange reason the closer they got to the screen the more Lily kept thinking that they shouldn't be doing this, Alice moved in front of the trio and when they reached the bed Alice pulled the screen back to revile that it was Remus Lupin who was lying on the bed in front of them his eyes closed. Lily, Miriam and Alice gasped and Frank swore as they stared at their friend in front of them.
Remus was as pale as Miriam and his thin torso was covered in recently made scares and cut and the bandages covering them and his arms where gradually becoming soaked in blood.
"What happened to him?" Miriam asked her voice cracking, "Who did this to him?" Lily wanted to voice how she felt as well but she couldn't, she couldn't find her voice, every time she opened her mouth to speak no words came out.
"What are you doing?" Called the voice of Madam Pomfrey has she bustled out of her office "Come away from there let the poor boy rest!"
"What happened to him?" Lily asked finally finding her voice as Madam Pomfrey shepherded them back over to Miriam's bad,
"It's no concern of yours" Pomfrey snapped
"But he's our mate!" Frank called indignantly, but any other protests he might have made where quickly stifled by the withering look madam Pomfrey gave him,
"We want to help" Alice said
"You can help by leaving the poor boy alone; he's been through enough for one day he needs rest, as does Miss Artemis. You three had better head back to your common room it's well past your curfew!"
"Why can't I go back to Gryffindor tower as well?" Lily heard Miriam complaining her voice so weak now that it was barely audible as Madam Pomfrey slowly helped her into her bed and Lily, Frank and Alice where told to head back to the common room.
