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Chapter Four: Memories

When Amy woke up, she didn't know whether it was night or day. The hangings around her bed were drawn close and she still had trouble with her eyes. She struggled to sit up, but at the same time realised that her arms just didn't support her and sank back into her pillow. What had happened? Slowly, the memory came back. At least the tiny bits of memory she could bear to remember right now. The hangings were drawn back, sunlight flooding the bed, and Madam Pomfrey appeared.

"Oh good, you're finally awake, dear. The headmaster will come here in a few minutes. He wants to talk to you." The look on Poppy's face clearly told Amy that she didn't really approve of this, but then again she couldn't keep Dumbledore from talking to the student anyway.

"Where's... where's Professor Snape?" Amy tried to ask, but was not sure whether Mamdam Pomfrey had understood her. Her voice was barely audible, a hoarse whisper and not the melodic voice that usually was her's.

"I'm here, Amy."

The Potions master stepped out of the shadows of the hangings and sat down on her bed again, just like he had done before. Amy stretched out her hand feebly and Severus took it into his own two hands.

"Amy, I... I don't know... how to say it, but..."

"I know," she said simply and gave him a weak smile.

Just then Albus Dumbledore entered the hospital wing and strode over to the two of them. His light blue eyes didn't twinkle like usual, but were full of concern. With a single flick of his wand he conjured up a chair and seated himself next to the bed.

"Amy, I hope you are feeling a bit better now."

Amy nodded slightly and sat up shaking, supported by Snape.

"Very good. Now, I know this might be hard for you. But I need you to tell me what exactly what has happened yesterday. Severus, you may stay here. Perhaps it is better for Miss Weasley to have some comfort at hand."

"I... I was down on the edge of the forest with the rest of my Care of Magical Creatures class. Professor told us to find Bowtruckles and feed them. So we went off in different directions. I... I was sort of alone at the end of class and heard something come near. I wanted to look around but... I couldn't see anymore... was pushed deeper into the forest... Fell down and tried to find my way out of the forest. And then... then..."

Amy stopped in her speech as tears started to fill her eyes. Now she remembered everything. The pain, the panic, the complete loneliness and weakness. She could not fight the memories, didn't have the strength to withstand them. All she could do was give in. Her head dropped forwards onto Severus shoulder and she started to sob uncontrollably. Snape held her tight and stroked the back of her head calmingly.

"Amy, I know this is hard for you," Dumbledore spoke again, and now also his voice was full of concern, "but I need to know the rest of it."

The young girl sat upright again and nodded slowly. "I don't know what happened, I couldn't see anything. But there was a voice... saying I should leave his forest... but I couldn't... I didn't know how... and then... it... it... attacked me... kicked me, I think... something... in my chest... and the pain... panicked... my back... send help... I... unconscious..."

Again Amy had started crying, more intensely with every word, every memory. She was back in Severus' arms, who whispered words of calm and comfort into her ear.

"Thank you, Amy," Dumbledore spoke up again. "Now maybe you want to know the whole story, as far as I am informed. When you sent your thoughts out, Severus heard them first. He filled me in and we went directly into the forest. When we found you, you were already unconscious. Severus brought you up to the castle while I myself questioned the attacker, the Centaur Wolfe. Your story confirmed what he told me. He is to be punished by his own race, and will be excluded from the herd. Just as I reached the castle again, a student came up to me and told me that she had overheard Miss Elliot of Slytherin House tell her friends that she had put a Blindfold Jinx on you and pushed you into the forest. When Professor Snape and I questioned her, she admitted everything."

Amy had nearly calmed back down. She had finally stopped crying, but her breathing was still sort of irregular. She looked up into the eyes of the headmaster.

"All teachers will decide upon the punishment of Miss Elliot. Also she will be heard by a Ministry Official." Dumbledore sighed and stared at the floor for a moment. "Madam Pomfrey told me that your bones have all been mended and you should be more or less painless. Can you confirm this?"

Amy nodded her head again, but not as weakly as she had been before.

"Very good," Dumbledore smiled approvingly. "Because your mother and your brothers and your sister are waiting outside and I'm afraid if Molly doesn't get to see you soon she will go berserk."

The headmaster got up and walked over to the door. Snape also made to stand up but Amy grabbed his hand.

"Severus, please, don't leave..."

"I'll come back later. Your family wants to see you. But I'll return."

He stroked her head and put some pillows behind her back so she could sit up properly. Then he kissed her on the forehead and turned to leave.

"Severus?"

He turned around, his hand already on the door handle, and raised one eyebrow.

"You promise to come back?"

"Cross my heart," he said and Amy saw, for the first time in her life, an honest smile on the face of Severus Snape.

The moment Severus opened the door he was nearly flattened by a stampede of Weasleys. Madam Pomfrey rushed to his help.

"Please, I know you all want to see her, but I must ask you to see her in pairs of two. And only five minutes each."

Charlie opened his mouth to complain but his mother gave him the hand of his youngest brother and put her baby daughter into Bill's arm before striding towards Amy's bed with her third son Percy.

"Mom," Amy breathed as her mother pulled her into a tight hug. "It's ok, but you're strangling me!"

Molly Weasley didn't answer, obviously lost for words, but still she let go of her daughter and simply wiped the tears out of her eyes.

"Hi Percy!"

The young girl ruffled through the red hair of the little boy with glasses who was standing shyly next to his mother. He didn't say anything either but when Amy opened her arms he hugged her very tight, just like his mother. Molly was meanwhile continually flattening Amy's hair and brushing it out of her face.

"I'm happy you're here."

Finally, her mother spoke: "I know dear. Your father couldn't get away from work, but he will come to see you tomorrow."

Amy nodded and hugged her mother and brother before they went away and she was stormed by her little brothers Fred and George, who embraced her one from each side of the bed.

"Hullo guys," she said happily as the twins jumped onto her bed.

George, who liked her best of all his older siblings, looked up into her face. "Does it hurt, Amy?"

"Oh no, George, I'm fine, you'll see. Give me a few days and I'll be as good as new."

Both twins looked rather unsure at her, but still cuddled close to her for the few remaining minutes before they as well had to leave.

Next and to Amy's surprise came her youngest brother and her only sister. Ron and Ginny were holding hands and looked up with big eyes.

"Get well, Emi!" Ginny exclaimed, making her sister smile broadly. Ginny still had problems saying her name properly, but then again she was only four years old.

Ron pulled his left hand out of behind his back and passed to Amy a tiny, old looking teddy bear. "You take Bert."

"Oh Ron, thank you. But he's your baby! Don't you want to keep it?" Amy asked quite touched. She knew how much the old bear meant to her little brother.

"He takes care of you," Ron simply said.

Amy pulled Bert to her chest and patted Ron's and Ginny's head before they ran back to their mother. Only a few moments later Bill and Charlie appeared. When Amy saw her twin she felt suddenly horrible. Charlie was white as the wall and when he refused to let go of her after hugging her, Bill just had to fling his arms around the both of them. They just remained like this, and Amy felt hot tears running down her cheek from Charlie's eyes. Finally Madam Pomfrey came up to them and told them that Amy needed to rest now.

"I'm ok. Don't worry," Amy whispered into her twin's ear before her brothers left with the rest of their family.

Note: citcat299: If Amy is a Mary Sue then so am I, and I like her. Oh, and by the way I know that Ginny is the only girl in the Weasley family, but one can still have some imagination, right?