Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters . . . well, except Lina.
Eleven
Lina found it hard to wake up the next morning. She still felt the stabbing pain in her chest, but it had lessened. She had been re-bandaged, she noticed, because there was no longer blood on the bandages. Light flooded her eyes, blinding her temporarily until she could get used to it. As she put a hand over her eyes to shade them, she saw Madam Pomfrey come bustling in.
"Hello, dear. I'm glad you came around. I suppose you'd like to bathe after staying in the same bed for two days in a row?"
"That would be good, thanks," Lina said, sitting up. Her muscles ached from not having moved in about twenty hours.
"You may have trouble walking for a bit, since you're not stretched out or anything," Madam Pomfrey said, helping her out of bed. She was handed a bathrobe, which she wrapped around herself and tied in a tight knot.
"The showers are over to your left, dear. Take your time," she said.
"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey," Lina replied. She walked over to the shower and began bathing herself.
She let the water run gently over her body, warming her for the first time since Remus had visited more than half a day ago. She had been lost in a dream, cold with sweat, being chased by a wolf. It was running after her, stalking her, in the Dark Forest. She tried to escape, but it was too fast. It kept catching up to her. And every time she thought she had lost it, it came back from some dark corner in the woods.
As she stood there, bathing herself, she shuddered to think that the wolf had been Remus.
She turned off the shower and wrapped the towel around herself. It was then that she realized that she didn't have any clean clothes. She put the bathrobe back on, wrapped her hair up in a towel, and called for Madam Pomfrey.
"Yes?"
"Um, I don't have any clothes," Lina said quietly.
"Oh, I have some here for you, dear," Madam Pomfrey said, handing her a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, and all of her underwear.
It was a relief to get back into clean clothes again, her hair grease-free and fruity smelling. She felt relaxed and renewed, and was ready to back and face the solemn-faced Marauders.
"Do you feel well enough to go back to your classes?" the nurse asked.
"I suppose so," Lina responded.
"Alright, then. Remember to change your bandage every so often so it doesn't get the scratch infected. I tried the best I could to heal it, but I'm afraid only naturalism can heal it now. It certainly didn't look like a hippogriff scratch, but I may be wrong."
"Must be," Lina said quickly. "Thank you, Madam Pomfrey."
"You're welcome, dear. Feel better!"
Lina continued down the corridor, her heart pounding. That was way too close for comfort. There was no way in hell that it was a Hippogriff scratch, but she couldn't know that. In fact, the rest of the school couldn't know that, either, especially her father.
As she arrived in the Gryffindor Common Room, she was greeted by a huge blur coming and knocking her backwards in a hug.
"Oh my God, Leen, I thought you were dead! What did you do? What happened? Why did the Hippogriff attack you? Oh my God, I'm so glad you're alright! I don't know what I'd do if I lost you! I'd be stuck with all these stupid guys again!" Lily screamed as she squeezed all the air out of Lina.
"Lil, hun, could you get off please? You're suffocating me," she said.
"Oh, God, I'm sorry!" she cried, and jumped right off her.
Sirius walked up to her and said, "Yeah, I'm glad you're alright, too."
Lina grinned and said, "Thanks for . . . you know, jumping into the path of danger for me."
There was a silence, and then Sirius said, "You know that he – I mean, the Hippogriff – didn't mean too, right?"
"Yeah, of course, it's all been explained," she replied quietly.
James came up from behind Lily and put his hand on her shoulder, followed closely by Peter, who was shivering.
"That was so scary . . ." he murmured. Lina couldn't help but feel bad for the poor kid – always afraid of everything, and his only friends weren't really his friends.
"Yeah, it was . . . but I'm glad you're alright, Leen," James added.
"Me, too," Lina said quietly. "Where's Remus?"
"Moping, in his dormitory. He feels horrible about what happened."
"Thanks, guys," she said before turning to leave. Before she did, however, she went over to James and asked in a hushed tone, "Does Lily know?"
"Yeah. We told her last night, after we got back. She was one of the first to know about Remus' . . . you know . . . so she understands," he replied.
"Alright. Thanks."
Lina walked up the winding staircase to where the boys' dormitory was. She knocked softly on the door.
"Come in," a solemn voice called. She did as she was told.
"Hey, Remus," she murmured.
He looked to the doorway and saw her standing there, her hair still wet from her shower, seeing as she didn't have the energy to dry it. His face lit up and he ran to herm throwing his arms around her in a huge hug.
"Please don't suffocate me, Lily's already attempted that today," she laughed.
"Oh, sorry," he said quickly, letting go of her. "Seriously, you were so weak the other day that I thought . . . I thought I had . . . ."
"You didn't kill me, Remus. Here I am, standing in front of you, as real as anything. Trust me, I'm not dead."
"But what's so terrifying is the fact that I could have. If it hadn't been for Sirius, then you would be gone! You'd no longer be real, you'd have faded into the darkest night, and I would have awoken to find your body on the floor of the Shrieking Shack, covered in blood, and my claw marks as proof of your dreadful death. I couldn't stand that, Celina. Don't you understand how miserable I am? How horrified I am? How frightened I am of myself? I'm living one giant, murderous lie."
Lina sighed and said, "Remus, it's not your fault. I mean, you were taken over by a wolf, and you couldn't remember who anyone was! You can't keep blaming yourself! It's not like you could have changed what happened."
Nevertheless, Remus trudged back over to the bed on which he had been sitting, sat back down and hung his head. Lina walked over to him and knelt so that they were at eye level. She put her hand beneath his chin and forced him to look up at her.
"I don't blame you for what happened. And I will never hold it against you."
He tried to look away from her, but she kissed him instead. He kissed her back, but very softly. It was as though he was afraid just kissing her would make her hurt.
After it was over, he looked at her and said, "I appreciate that you're trying to make me feel better, but only time can heal me know, just as only time can heal you. I just need to be alone."
"Alright. I'll leave then."
She turned around and walked out of the room, her eyes still following him as he glided over to the window and stared out it with and empty stare like nothing in the world mattered anymore.
