Chapter 39: To Sleep Deprived to Care
Her knees ache loudly, pressing against the dusty wooden floor of the shack. By her side is a small bowl tinted with red. Cressida blinks slowly, fighting the exhaustion that feels like it is creeping up from her feet towards her mind. In one hand, she holds a damp cloth that came from the shredded material of Remus' old shirt, and in the other, is Sirius' jaw.
The three cuts start two inches under his left eye, travelling down to his neck under his ear. Fortunately, even after an incredibly rough night spent entirely trying to force the werewolf to ease, this was the only serious wound.
Peter took Remus back, being the most able-bodied of them all, and James went with him to help make sure they got out of the tunnel alright, but he planned to come back to the shack.
They've all been quiet since the moon disappeared, but none more so than Sirius. Cressida doesn't know if it has to do with the night, or what happened before. It could be something else entirely. "You can go to sleep," she says to him gently as she wipes away the dried blood. "If you want to." They have a supply of dittany in James' trunk that he stole from his father's inventory, but it would have to wait until their return. Sirius sits with his back against the foot of an old lounge, head tilted back onto the seat. They have school today, but nobody is making plans to be back in time for their first class.
Sirius doesn't answer her. His dark eyes point at the ground behind her, his jaw moving around slowly as though chewing on non-existent gum. Cressida swallows, tossing the cloth aside and igniting it into a small ball of fire. It wriggles and shrivels, the fabric burning and disappearing before her very eyes.
The wooden floorboards creak behind her. Lazily glancing over her shoulder, she finds James returned, climbing up the staircase. His sides are littered with bruises that are now covered with a plain black shirt. Remus had knocked him down the staircase, and it had been quite the fall. Part of his antler even broke off.
Managing a meek smile, Cressida pushes to her feet, stroking Sirius' hair back once and leaves him to himself. James smiles back at her, the tire in his eyes easy to see. Midway to reaching him, there's an almost silent shuffle behind her and then, a black shaggy dog trots past her and into another portion of the shack. Cressida sighs, watching Sirius go but turns her attention back to James. "Can we just stay here all day?" she questions teasingly, flopping forward until her head rests against his chest. His arms quickly encircle her back, pulling her tighter.
"Honestly, I'm not against the idea. But we should head back to the dorm at least. Then I vote we skip class." Cressida smiles to the side, eyes closed. She could fall asleep right there. And she almost does, because the next thing she registers is her head being guided back. "-ress?" Her eyes flutter back open with a sharp intake of air. "We should go back now. Sirius?!"
It takes a minute, but their shaggy-haired friend makes himself known. His black eyes are drooping and his tail hanging low. James gestures down to the tunnel's entrance and the dog walks past them obediently.
Her limp is visible only because she is letting it show. She's too tired to mask it. her right thigh has a large rash like scrape from where she was dragged over the floor, her ankle well and truly twisted or sprained. Each step comes with a wince, and after a few minutes of walking on soft ground, a hiss escapes her lips.
Sirius, still a dog, stops in front of them, turning his head at the sound. "I'm fine," she murmurs, already pushing away James' hands. Braving herself for another step, her eyes clench to withhold another sound. When her eyes open again, Sirius is back as a man and striding towards her. Too busy preparing her protest against him, she doesn't notice until it is too late, James pulling her arm over his shoulder. Sirius comes to her other side, the three of them barely fitting the width of the tunnel. "Stupid boys."
Sirius only grunts in response. It's the most she's gotten out of him in hours. With her arms around either one's shoulder, the weight on her foot becomes considerably less, but the walk takes twice as long.
Xx
"I'm sorry Professor," Cressida sighs, hands folded in front of her. McGonagall stands tall in front of her with a stern expression. Of course, Cressida is the first one of them to get caught after going in search of food for the others who are still crawled in their beds. "We were up late studying and slept right through today."
"I can't have you missing class," McGonagall answers, her voice tight and firm. Then it softens. "But I suppose I can let today off the hook. Just today," she adds back in her first tone with a forward-titled head. Her eyes pierce right into Cressida's over her glasses.
Despite her exhausted state, Cressida couldn't find sleep. Unlike the boy; they dropped at the simple sight of their beds. But something in the back of her mind kept creating an itch that needed to be scratched.
In her bag are three sandwiches wrapped in a spare sheet of newspaper.
"Thank you," Cressida nods slowly. She isn't sure what McGonagall knows in relation to their full moon activities, but it's enough that she is more sympathetic than at any other time of the year.
"Mr Pettigrew has your homework from my class, as well as notes. I'm sure he retrieved the same from your other professors." Peter, of course, was able to rest through the night, unable to do anything to help them. She isn't upset at the boy—but she is jealous.
Cressida is dismissed from her Head Teacher's presence, allowing her to head back to the Tower, but she makes a pit stop on the way to the Hospital Wing. Remus is in his hospital bed, bruised and battered. Of course, guilt makes itself known, but this time, it just… it was necessary. At times, he seemed intent on killing them, and Sirius got the worst of it due to his smaller nature than a burly bear and large stag.
She brushes a hand through his brown hair, rubbing a hand over his forehead and glances at the potion bottles on the stand next to his bed. Then an idea pops into her head. Cressida looks around the wing for Madam Pomfrey, but the matron is nowhere to be seen.
Tiptoeing as softly as she can with her aching ankle, Cressida sneaks over to her potions cabinet. There are over seven shelves filled with an assortment of bottles. Skele—Gro, dittany, draughts that are unlabelled. The one that stands out to her though, is a large vial filled with a matte purple liquid. A sleeping draught from the looks of it; and exactly what she needs. Un-popping the vial topper, Cressida holds it to her nose to smell it, instantly pushing it away. It's strong, but definitely a sleeping draught. Opening her bag, she quickly stuffs it inside, glancing over her shoulder, but the matron still isn't back.
Giving Remus one last goodbye, Cressida fixes her route to go back to the castle, only stopping once more to pour the content of the draught into her opaque water bottle before tossing the vial down a vacant hall. She'd be in a load of shit with Pomfrey for taking it from her store, and from the boys.
Opening the door to the boys' room, her hand digs into her bag, pulling out the wrapped sandwiches. She places each on the cleanest spot of their nightstands. James is fast asleep, sleeping atop of his arm, but as she places Sirius' down, his dark eyes are open.
"Thank you," he whispers. A croak in his voice hints that he was trying to be louder, but the volume didn't come to him. Cressida and Sirius silently much away at their food, the former perched on Remus' unoccupied bed. Then she pulls out her near-empty water bottle, filling it slightly with the sleeping draught. Cressida throws her head back and downs it quickly. The effects are instant and the edges of her sight blur before her head hits the mattress.
Xx
Cressida awakens sluggishly. At first it feels like she hasn't slept at all; her eyelids are heavy, and her head feels thick and full, too heavy to lift. But her body feels better. Rested. Rather than having no sleep, she's had an exceptionally good one that is a struggle to pull herself away from.
There is strange pressure against multiple parts of her body that aren't from a blanket or pillow. Cressida blinks slowly, willing her eyes to adjust from a sluggish blur, but after a few moments of struggling (and letting her mind reel back to consciousness) she finds it isn't her eyes, but the simple lack of light making it hard to see. The window curtains are pulled open, revealing a low sun. With a silent groan, Cressida closes her eyes again, wanting to sleep longer than just a few hours. Dinner would be until after nightfall, anyway.
There is no sense of time to inform her when the next arousal comes but something shakes her shoulder. The weight that was lying on her stomach and upper legs shifts; lessening. Her ears distinguish odd animal like sounds. The clinking of teeth. Knowing that someone is probably waking her for dinner, she allows her eyes to open fully this time.
It is James standing over, his arm outstretched from likely being the one to rouse her. But the oddity of the situation is Sirius in his doggish form. His front and hind legs are on either side of her, his head steady and low, his ears pointed backwards. James is glaring at Padfoot with a perturbed expression to go with it. While keeping his eyes on his dog friend, he reaches out to her again. To Cressida's absolute shock, Sirius snaps his jaws dangerously close to his fingers with a soft growl. "What's your problem?" James hisses, retreating his hand to safety. An involuntary tightness in her throat elicits a loud exhale on her part when it releases, drawing both their attentions. "Morning sleepy head," James says to her in a light tone.
Sirius makes a throaty noise, his ears pointing back forward. He moves back to her right side completely, dropping to his stomach. "Morning?" she echoes. "Wh-what about dinner?" What day even is it?
"That potion you took-" her eyes snap past James to Remus who is sitting on the edge of Sirius' bed "-was definitely a sleeping potion." He grins to himself, with more information to spill. "Only the ingredients were adapted for a half-giant. Pomfrey had it for Hagrid who has apparently picked up some illness from one of the creatures he works with. She was complaining about it having gone missing when I was let out. I put two and two together when we couldn't wake you." Remus is already dressed, except for his scarf which is just hanging around his neck. He seems in a better mood from yesterday. "You snore."
"It is currently 7 am," Peter informs from his own bed. "You slept for about sixteen hours."
Cressida pushes herself up to a sitting position, rubbing her hands down her face. "That was a good sleep," she murmurs. The dorm erupts in chuckles. "I'm so hungry."
"Which is why I was trying to wake you," James points out with a glare at Sirius who is still a dog. "Breakfast is soon and I'd figured you'd want to get dressed."
Cressida nods, pulling her legs out of the covers, scratching the top of Sirius' head as she goes. "Sorry for taking your bed, Remus."
"It's fine," he shrugs with an amused smile. "I took Sirius' for the night."