The Hearing

It was the evening before Claudia's disciplinary hearing, and she was bouncing around the flat like a loose bludger. One minute, she was standing by the fridge, eating ham straight out of a packet. The next, she was trying to read a book. Then, she tried to play Sirius' piano but did not even manage 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'. Nothing was enough to distract her.

"Are you sure you're going to be alright?" Sirius asked, as he was packing his bag for an Order mission.

"I'll be fine," she tried to reassure him.

"I can ask Peter to go with James instead of me."

Claudia shook her head.

"Positive?"

Just as she was about to admit that she would rather he stayed, there was a knock on the door and Claudia went to open it.

"What are you guys doing here?" she nearly gasped when she saw Fernsby and Dankworth standing on the threshold. "How do you even know where I live?"

"He's been flirting with every single girl in the admin department for years," Fernsby gestured towards his companion. "It's finally paid off."

"Came to check on you," Dankworth said with a smile. "And to celebrate. Colten got acquitted today."

"Glad someone gets to be happy." Claudia sighed and attempted a smile. "Come in," she added, and stepped out of their way.

Fernsby's eyes narrowed the moment he entered the flat. "I know you," he mumbled in Sirius' direction. "I'm sure I've met you before."

"You questioned me last year," Sirius smirked. "When you came to Hogwarts to investigate the mysterious sickness!"

"You were that cocky bastard!" Fernsby exclaimed.

"Takes one to know one," Dankworth mumbled.

"I'll be off then," Sirius said and brushed his girlfriend's shoulder.

Claudia walked him to the door. "Be careful," she whispered, and gave him a brief kiss.

Sirius disappeared, and Claudia joined her fellow aurors around the coffee table.

"That was a weird case," Dankworth said. "Half of Hogwarts gets sick, and then… Nothing."

"What was the Ministry's explanation?" Claudia asked as innocently as she could.

"Initially, we thought someone was targeting muggleborns," Dankworth replied. "There was this weapon-"

"Shut up," Fernsby jumped in. "Remember what Adebayo said. We'll all get thrown into Azkaban if we tell anyone."

"Do you mean the weapon that can target muggleborns?" Claudia whispered. She was done pretending she did not know what was really going on. "The one that got stolen from the American talks alongside its inventor?"

"How the fuck do you know about that?" Fernsby said with a frown. "That's top secret!"

"Someone at the Ministry told me," she replied. "And I also know who really did it."

"Yeah, we all know." Dankworth said. "Linda Yates."

Claudia stood up, walked over to the bookcase, and took out a bottle of fire whiskey and three glasses. "It wasn't her."

There was silence. Dankworth and Fernsby were both staring at her, their expressions unreadable.

She walked back to where the men were sitting, poured out the whiskey, and took a rather large sip. "It was my father," she whispered. "He was the one who kidnapped the potioneer. He was the one who gave it to one of my classmates to test at Hogwarts."

It took a while before anyone spoke. "Why would your father do that?" Fernsby whispered.

"Because he's a Death Eater," Claudia said. "Him and You-Know-Who were in school together. Stayed closed since."

Dankworth's whistle pierced the silence.

"You didn't know?" Claudia asked, and they both shook their heads. "So why did you hate me so much?" she added.

"Well, we know he is a jumped-up bigot who keeps interfering in our cases," Fernsby said. "You can't arrest them, they have diplomatic immunity," he mimicked Frederick's severe mannerism.

"You aren't wrong," Claudia smirked and took another sip of the whiskey. "He is a jumped-up bigot."

"Do you have any evidence?" Dankworth asked.

Claudia shook her head. "Not as such, but I'm sure." She paused and looked at her colleagues. They were both looking at her a little sceptically. "I'm sure. He's been doing You-Know-Who's dirty work in Hogwarts for years. Dark Arts research, recruiting Death Eaters, and," she paused again and took a deep breath, "I saw You-Know-Who in our house once. I was fifteen."

"Good enough for me," Dankworth said.

"Are you really sure about this, Claudia?" Fernsby asked. "Can I call you Claudia? A don't really want to call you Avery anymore…"

"Can I call you Oscar?" she asked, instead of replying.

That did something she was not expecting. Fernsby's face changed entirely as he smiled at her. "Sure."

"I'm Ewan," Dankworth interjected, not wanting to be left out.

Claudia smiled and then remembered the original question. "I'm sure. Hundred per cent. I'll tell Barraclough after the hearing tomorrow," she sighed. She knew Barraclough was not going to be impressed that she kept this to herself.

"Let's get him, then," Oscar said. "Let's build a solid case and throw that bastard in Azkaban where he belongs."

"Thank you," Claudia whispered.

"We should be the ones thanking you." Ewan smiled. "And let's get Yates out of Azkaban."

"Is she a muggle born?" Oscar asked, and seeing Claudia nod, he continued. "Makes sense they tried to frame her. Just like with Colten." Then he paused and scratched his chin. "Hang on, if it was that weapon they were using to make everyone in Hogwarts sick. How come you got ill? And your boyfriend? You're both purebloods."

"That's a story for another day." Claudia grimaced and glanced at her watch. There was no way she was about to confess to poisoning half of Slytherin to a couple of aurors who have just started to treat her like a human being.

"It's late," Ewan said. He must have noticed she was looking at the time. "We should go, and you should go to bed."

"I don't mind," Claudia replied with a shrug. "I'm going to wait for Sirius anyway."

"Lucky boy," Ewan chuckled. "Having someone to tuck him in once he gets home from the pub."

"I wish," she sighed.

"He's working for the Order, isn't he?" Oscar asked out of nowhere.

"How do you know about the Order?" she whispered.

"One of my old schoolmates wanted me to join, but Moody put a stop to it," Oscar replied.

Claudia did not have to say anything. She gave Oscar a feeble smile, and he knew he was right.

"We'll keep you company," Ewan whispered.

The three aurors sat around the living room and drank their whiskey. Claudia told them all about her father – how he made Marcus look for the artefact, how he tried to send her to Durmstrang, and how he threw her out of the house.

"Neither of us knew our fathers," Ewan whispered, looking at the fire whiskey he was swirling in his glass.

"How come?"

Claudia was a little surprised that it was the usually closed-off Oscar who answered her question first. "My dad was killed when I was five. He was an auror." He paused for a sip. "And my mum died giving birth to me. I was raised by my dad's sister, Ewan's mum."

"I didn't know you two were family," Claudia said.

"Yeah. Just the two of us and my mum." Ewan replied. "My father was a cheating dirtbag who left when I was seven."

It was now almost one o'clock in the morning. The key rattled in the door and Sirius tiptoed inside.

"We should go," Oscar said, jumping to his feet. He was a little unsteady but still managed to pull Ewan up to standing.

"Good luck tomorrow, Claudia," Ewan said, as they were getting on their way.

"And thanks for the drink," Oscar added, and shut the door behind them.

Sirius took off his jacket and sat down next to Claudia. "Why are you still up?" he whispered.

"I didn't want to go to sleep until you were home," she replied and run her finger along his face. Suddenly, she froze and pointed at his cheek. "What's that gash?"

"It's nothing," Sirius replied and took out his wand to heal his injury.

"Did you get into trouble?" she asked. "Were there Death Eaters?"

"Just a little scrap."

"Why are you smiling?"

"Because it finally got interesting."

"You're insane," she barked. "Getting injured is not interesting!"

"Come on," Sirius said and squeezed her in his arms. "You can't have all the fun."

"I supposed not," she whispered, and rested her head on his shoulder. He was right. It was important work and Sirius deserved to feel useful. Within seconds, she was asleep.

At eight o'clock in the morning exactly, Claudia found herself sitting on a hard bench in front of a small courtroom in the basement of the Ministry of Magic. It was eerily quiet, the walls were dark and Claudia's chest was tight. It all felt like a strange prelude to what was waiting for her in Azkaban.

The door creaked open and a young man's head had appeared through the door. "Avery, they're ready for you."

With a sigh, Claudia got up and dried her sweaty palms on her trousers. "Wish me luck," she whispered towards Sirius and took a step towards the courtroom.

Sirius jumped up from the bench, caught her arm and spun her around to face him. "Remember what I said," he whispered. "It's going to be ok." He drew her close and planted a kiss on the top of Claudia's head. "You aren't going to go to Azkaban."

"Yeah," she uttered absentmindedly, and walked into the courtroom. There were two long tables facing each other in the middle of the room. At one of the tables sat Crouch, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Orpington, the Head Auror, and Smiley, the man who interviewed her for the job at the Ministry and the Head of the Auror Office's Internal Affairs Division.

Crouch pointed at an empty chair in the middle of the table opposite, in between Moody and Barraclough, who were already there, both of their faces unreadable.

"We know why we are all here," Crouch started. "Tell us what happened from your perspective, Miss Avery."

Claudia cleared her throat. "We got ambushed by Rosier in a narrow alleyway. He used a stunning bomb to incapacitate everyone, but I got lucky and remained conscious." She noticed her voice was trembling a little and paused to regain her composure. "He began casting the killing spell, so I retaliated."

"You do not deny using the killing spell?" Crouch asked.

"No."

"Do you have any regrets?"

"No."

"Care to elaborate?" Smiley pitched in with an expression of a sphinx. Claudia had absolutely no idea what he was thinking and somewhat regretted dropping that chandelier onto his head during her interview. That could not be helping her case right now!

"It was self-defence," Claudia said with a shrug. "We would have all been dead of I haven't used the killing curse."

"How does it make you feel?" Smiley continued.

"Like I said, it was self-defence." She said, perhaps a little more sharply that she was intending to. "I'm not going to feel guilty about that!"

"What about other spells? Did you try them?" Crouch resumed the interrogation.

"I tried several – expelliarmus, stupefy, impedimenta, petrificus totallus - but none were getting through."

"Why not just protect yourself?" Crouch asked. "Block the killing curse?"

"You can't block the killing curse," Claudia said. She was not sure whether Crouch was testing her, or genuinely did not know that. "There was no cover. And besides, he started to aim at the others, who were all knocked out."

"Very well," Crouch sighed. "Any other questions?" he looked first at Orpington and then at Smiley, who both shook their heads. "Alastor, you're her superior. Anything to add?"

Moody turned to Claudia and hissed. "Give us privacy."

She swallowed dry and briefly looked at Barraclough, who gave her an encouraging nod. She muttered a thank you and dragged her heels back to the corridor.

"How did it go?" Sirius jumped to his feet the moment she stepped out.

"They're still going," Claudia replied and dropped back to the bench.

Five minutes had passed. Then another ten. Still nothing. Half an hour after they asked Claudia to leave, the door finally flew open, and Moody strode out of the courtroom.

He walked right up to Claudia and threw a wand at her, which she just about managed to catch. "Get out of my sight," he barked, and walked away.

Claudia looked at the wand and felt her chest unclench. It was hers. This must have been good news. "What happened?" she whispered towards Barraclough, who emerged out of the courtroom behind Moody. "Is he firing me?"

"I don't think so," the senior auror said tentatively and turned his head to the side to watch their boss walk away. "He just saved your butt in there. Take few days off and back to active duty after Christmas."

Claudia let out a sigh and grinned at Barraclough. Then, she remembered what she wanted to do right after the hearing and the smile was wiped right off her face. "Do you have five minutes?" she whispered. "I need to talk to you about something."

They found an empty meeting room and sat down. Avoiding eye contact, Claudia began to speak.

"There is a reason I was looking at Linda Yates' file," she began. "I know why she is in Azkaban. I have known for a year. They were testing the weapon at Hogwarts but me and my friends made them think it was not working." She paused but did not dare to look at Barraclough. "I do not know for sure that Linda is innocent, but I know who is really behind it. My father. He was the one who planned the kidnapping. He was the one who was sleeping with Linda and framed her."

"Why didn't you tell me any of this before?" Barraclough asked, sounding more disappointed than angry.

She finally looked up at him. "I suppose I was ashamed."

"Let's find that flatmate," Barraclough said. "It's our only lead."

"Do we need to tell the boss?" Claudia asked, grimacing. She did not particularly fancy facing Moody's wrath again.

"I'll tell him. Although…" Barraclough said and frowned. "Thinking about it now, I'm pretty sure he already knows."

"Dumbledore knows."

"That would explain it."

Claudia found Sirius in the corridor again and finally had a chance to savour the moment. A huge weight had lifted off her shoulders. They stood there in an embrace. Claudia was grinning with relief, but for some reason, Sirius was wearing a rather sombre expression on his face.

"It finally got to me," he whispered, and wiped his eye. "That you could have gone to Azkaban. Or worse…"

"Only now?"

"I was trying to keep your spirits up before," he mumbled. "And now it finally hit me."

"Let's get out of here," Claudia whispered, grabbed Sirius' hand, and dragged him out of the Ministry.

Few days went past. Sirius' mood had gradually improved, and Claudia was becoming increasingly restless. She could not remember the last time she had this long off work or school, and it was getting to her.

It was the morning of Christmas Eve and Claudia was sitting on the sofa, reading the Daily Prophet. Just after eleven in the morning, Sirius came up from the garage, where he was still spending most of his free time. He was grinning and carried an enormous box wrapped in Christmas paper.

"Merry Christmas!" he said, beaming, and put the box down on the coffee table.

"Is that for me?" Claudia asked.

"No, it's for Voldemort," Sirius smirked. "Come on, open it."

Claudia pulled on the bow, and the wrapping paper fell apart revealing a simple cardboard box, which she somewhat tentatively opened. Inside were a black leather jacket and a dark green motorcycle helmet with a grey stripe down the middle.

"No," she gasped. "It can't be!"

"Yes, it can!" Sirius exclaimed and grabbed the helmet out of her box. He lifted it above Claudia and gently placed it on her head. "Let's go and try it."

"Now?"

"Yes, now!" He chuckled and fastened the helmet strap under Claudia's chin. He grabbed her hand and start dragging her into the garage. She just about remembered to take the new jacket with her too.

Once in the garage, she finally saw it - the Triumph in all its glory, with its huge headlamp, gleaming fuel tank and long black leather seat. It looked nothing like when they first saw it, rusting and disassembled.

"Is it really working?" she asked.

"Y-eees." Sirius prolonged the word to give it a distinct mocking tone. "I took it for a ride yesterday."

"And you know how to drive it?"

"Y-eees. I took the muggle test and got a licence."

"And do-" she began to speak.

"Enough excuses!" Sirius laughed, put on his own helmet, and threw his long leg over the seat to sit on the bike. "Get on the back."

Claudia tentatively put on the jacket (it was a perfect fit!) and climbed on the motorbike to sit behind Sirius.

"Put your feet on those foot-pegs over there," Sirius said, pointing to two little metal pegs on the side of the bike, "and hold on tight".

Then, he started the motorbike. It was loud, repulsively so. Claudia gripped Sirius' jacket, and they set off down the mews.

"Let's do a lap of Regents' Park," he shouted over his shoulder and turned left into Gower Street. They crept along the busy roads and in five minutes or so, they arrived at Regent's Park Outer Circle.

There was less traffic, and Sirius picked up speed. The faster he went, the more he leaned into the corner, the more Claudia gripped him. It was not fun or pleasant. In fact, it was terrifying. "You're going too fast!" she yelled into his ear.

Sirius stopped by the kerb. "What did you say?"

"I said you're going too fast," she whispered, somewhat relieved that she had firm ground under her foot again.

"I'm going about half the speed you fly on that broom of yours."

"That's not the same," Claudia hurled out. "The broom is safe if you know what you're doing."

"And I don't know what I'm doing?" Sirius asked rather sharply.

"It's just-" Claudia grimaced.

"Claude!"

"I don't like not being in control," she snapped. "Ok?"

Sirius laughed. "Of course, you don't," he smirked. "But I'm not letting you drive this."

"You're going to make me walk home, aren't you?"

"Get back on that bike," Sirius said with a smile. "My little weirdo."

Claudia did climb back on the bike and rested her head on Sirius's back. "Please be careful," she whispered.

"And we are driving it to Winchester tomorrow," Sirius added. "I promised James that I'll bring it and he can have a go." Then he turned the key and started the engine again.

"No, we are not!" Claudia protested loudly.

"Can't hear you over the noise of the engine!" Sirius yelled. But she knew he heard every single world she said. He just chose to ignore her.

The following morning, they were all packed and ready to go to the Potters for Christmas.

"It's too cold to drive," Claudia tried bargaining with Sirius again, as they emerged from their front door. "Let's just go to the Leaky Cauldron and take the Floo network."

"It'll be fine." Sirius laughed off his girlfriend's concerns, and got the motorbike going. "Let's go."

Claudia sighed but eventually zipped up her jacked and hopped on the back of the bike.

Forty-five terrifying minutes later, they were on the outskirts of London, buying some more petrol for the thirsty machine. Sirius was jumping up and down next to the petrol pump, blowing hot air into his hands.

"Admit it," Claudia hissed. "It's too cold for this." She was shaking, not sure whether from the cold or the fear.

"I'm fine," Sirius whispered, but Claudia could hear the faint sound of his teeth cluttering against each other.

"Right," she muttered. Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

They went to pay for the petrol and then got back on the bike. As they turned onto the motorway, Claudia suddenly had a thought. She took out her wand and tapped Sirius' back to cast the warming up charm. Then she did the same on her shoulder. The relief was instantaneous.

As they got out of London, the traffic calmed down too, and the further they went, the more enjoyable the ride was becoming. By the time they got to Winchester, Claudia was no longer scared. It was a little bit like flying her broomstick after all.

The moment James opened the door to the Potter's house, Claudia knew they were not in for a fun Christmas.

"Save yourselves!" James whispered urgently. "Mum has gone crazy."

"Why?" Sirius laughed and pushed past him into the warmth of the hallway.

"Because Lily's parents are coming for Christmas lunch," James explained. "She had not stopped cleaning for days."

Claudia had instinctively taken a half step back, but it was too late to run away.

"James!" Mrs Potter's voice had carried through the hall. "What did I say about the candlesticks?" Before James could reply, Mrs Potter's head appeared through the door. "Good, you two are here. Come help me in the kitchen."

All three of them went to help, and by one o'clock in the afternoon, everything was ready for the important visit.

"One more thing," Mrs Potter mumbled and reached into a side table in the hallway. She took out a small jar, opened it and dipped her fingers into a thick black paste. Without warning, she stretched herself on her tiptoes and run her hand through James' hair. "We need to get this under control."

"Mum!" James shrieked, and jumped away. "I'm eighteen! Leave me be!"

Sirius started to giggle manically, but his laughter was drowned out by the sound of the doorbell. The Evanses had arrived, and it was time to greet them.

"Ah, yes." Mrs Evans smiled when Claudia gave her an awkward wave. "You were at the engagement party."

"Yes, I was. We are friends from school."

"Were you in Lily's house?" Mr Evans jumped in.

"No," Claudia replied. "I was in Slytherin."

"With Severus?"

"Yes," Claudia mumbled. "With Severus."

"He was such a sweet boy," Mrs Evans gushed. "What does he do now, anyway? He was good at chemistry, wasn't he?"

"Potions, mum," Lily forced a chuckle. "He was good at potions. I don't really know what he is up to. I think he went travelling."

"Travelling…" Claudia scoffed. But before she could ask whether that was what Lily called the Death Eaters, James jumped in.

"This way," he said unnecessarily loudly and ushered Lily's parents into the sitting room.

Claudia and Sirius wanted to follow them, but Lily caught their arms and drew them back.

"Please," she whispered. "No talk of the Death Eaters, the Order, or the war."

"You haven't told them, have you?" Sirius mumbled, his eyes suddenly very narrow.

"They would freak out," Lily replied. "You don't mind, do you?" she added uncertainly.

"Keeping secrets from parents?" Sirius smirked. "Of course, I don't mind."

"We've had a lot of practice," Claudia said with a chuckle.

Lily looked somewhat relieved and the three of them joined the rest of the party in the sitting room before lunch was served.

Just as Mrs Potter started serving desserts, Mr Potter looked mischievously at Lily's dad and whispered. "Shall we?"

Mr Evans smiled and nodded. "Lily, James," he began. "There is something we wanted to talk to you about. I know we said some things at the engagement party that were insensitive."

"We know the times are different now," Mrs Evans jumped in. "You were right. Even Erica's daughter is moving in with her boyfriend."

"Who's Erica?" Claudia whispered, but Sirius only shrugged in response.

"I guess what we are trying to say is that we are sorry and that we support you." Mr Evans added.

"Thank you," Lily whispered, and reached over to hold her mother's hand.

"We all talked, and decided to surprise you," Mrs Potter said. "Fleamont, tell them!"

"Do you remember the cottage you were looking at in Godric's Hollow?" Mr Potter spoke as he was instructed. "Well…" he said slowly, as a broad smile appeared on this face. "It's yours."

"What?" James and Lily said in unison. "But it was so expensive!"

"It's an early wedding present," Mr Potter replied.

James and Lily jumped up from the table and began hugging and kissing both sets of parents. Everyone was either laughing or crying.

Claudia sat at the table, smiling nervously. This was not the sort of family gathering she was used to, and she had no idea whether to congratulate James and Lily or to join in with the embraces and celebrations.

"Nauseating, eh?" Sirius whispered in Claudia's ear and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Who would want to have a relationship like that with their parents?" she replied sarcastically. "Much rather not have one."

"I've got all the family I need," Sirius said and kissed her cheek, which finally brough a genuine smile to Claudia's face.

Later that evening, full of wine and delicious food, Claudia and Sirius found themselves on the threshold of Sirius' old room. Laughter and Christmas music were still coming from the direction of the sitting room. The rest was staying behind to play charades.

"Been a while since I've been here," she said, and leaned into his body. "Almost two years."

"Shit. Two years we've been together?" he replied. "I still remember it like it was yesterday."

"Do you? Tell me exactly what you remember." Claudia was grinning now. Thinking back to the first time they were together still made her giddy.

"I can do better than that." Sirius whispered and kissed her neck. "I can show you." He took the pile of presents out of her hands and spun her around. "First, we stumbled toward the bed."

"You forgot the bit when you were making fun of me," she mumbled as they were making out, and Sirius' hands started to remove his girlfriend's clothes with nearly military precision. "Asking if I wanted some more time to think about us."

"You mean when you told me to shut up and lock the door?" Sirius chuckled. "I remember that very well."

Claudia kissed him again and helped him to get rid of his t-shirt.

"Hang on," Sirius laughed and found his wand between the covers. "Let me actually lock the door."

"I remember this bit." Claudia lifted herself onto her knees once he was done with the formalities, pressed her naked torso against Sirius' chest and kissed him.

Sirius closed his arms around her, leaned forward and lowered Claudia on the bed. He kissed her on her lips, on her neck, on her shoulder… She found Sirius' belt and undid it. Sirius disappeared to the foot of the bed to get rid of his jeans, but he did not come back up. Instead, he took off Claudia's shoes, undid her trousers and slowly took them, and everything else she was wearing, down.

She could feel Sirius' hands running up her body again. First, her legs and torso. She was expecting him to move further up still and kiss her, but he did not.

"Oh," she cried with pleasure, and buried her fingers in his hair. "That's different."

"Couldn't resist," Sirius raised his head and smirked.

He slowly crawled back up again, interlaced his fingers with Claudia's and she wrapped her legs around him. They were together, just like they were two years ago.

"And then you said you loved me for the first time," he whispered.

"I still do, you know."

Sirius smiled, and they both began to move in unison, and lost track of time.

Just like two years ago, Claudia was laying warm and naked in Sirius' embrace after they made love. She was not sure why, but she had to fight back tears. Good ones, this time. The relief from the hearing, the memories of being back here. She finally felt like she could relax and closed her eyes.

Claudia found herself in the Potters' sitting room again. But the atmosphere was no longer festive and jolly. Her mother's face was right in front of her, full of fury.

"You're an embarrassment."

Cassandra got even angrier.

"You don't belong here!"

As suddenly as Cassandra came, she was gone, and something even more horrifying took her place. A Dementor.

Claudia looked around. The sitting room had dissolved, and she found herself in a dark cell.

There were screams again.

She must have been in Azkaban.

The dementor came nearer. Their blistered arms reached out from under the cloak.

"Claude, Claude," the Dementor began to whisper and shook her.

Their hands were almost at her throat. This was it. She was sure. This was how she was going to die.

"Claude!" A familiar voice pierced the air.

Claudia jerked, and everything disappeared in an instant. She was back in Sirius' old room. The fireplace was still crackling.

She was sitting up. She was sweating and felt nauseous. Her heart was beating in her ears.

"Claude." Sirius was up too and holding her by the shoulders.

She closed her eyes again. "It was just a nightmare," she whispered.

Sirius squeezed her in his arms. "It's ok. I'm here."

Claudia lowered herself back into the pillows. Within minutes, Sirius was gently snoring next to her, but her mind was fixed on Azkaban. She knew she would not end up in that place over what she did to Rosier, but what she saw was going to stay with her forever.

Too scared to sleep, but too tired to keep awake, she tossed about semi-conscious till the morning.