It took Emma much longer than usual to figure out just exactly where she was. She opened her eyes, rubbing them hard as she sat up slowly. Emma blinked quickly to try and clear her vision, not understanding how she fell asleep leaving the hospital but woke up someplace different. As strange as her situation was, Emma had to admit that her bed was relatively soft. The room was a pale yellow and cast a soothing glow around the room, with soft white accents that seemed to shimmer in the sunlight.

Wanting to take a look around, Emma pulled herself out of bed quickly. She was excited, but the thrill she felt was overshadowed by the sudden dizziness that took over. Her vision started to blur with darkness, and it made Emma's heart begin to race with anxiety.

Emma flopped back onto the mattress with a moan, pressing the heels of her palms into her eye sockets. It wasn't the first time she had gotten up too quickly, but the sensations weren't ones she wanted to experience. She took a deep, steadying breath, and very slowly, she started to feel a bit better. Emma cracked open an eye to test her vision and let out another moan when her head started to hurt. That wasn't enough to deter her from wanting to investigate her new surroundings.

"Ow," Emma murmured as she slowly began to look around the room. It was barren – nothing much more than furniture and empty shelves and two doors. She frowned slightly at the odd doors that didn't have doorknobs but a handle made of soft edges that she could pull.

Not sure of where the doors led, Emma pulled open the nearest door and hummed to herself when she found herself greeted with a bathroom. She wrinkled her nose at the very clinical appearance of the room, its stark white tiles lining the floor and walls and push buttons meant to work the toilet and sink. The shower seemed to have the same treatment, but she could inspect the bathroom further later. She needed to figure out what the other door led to.

Emma backed out of the bathroom and immediately went to the other door. She gave it a tentative pull and froze when she found that there was no give. Thinking that she didn't pull hard enough, Emma gave the door a harder tug, her stomach sinking when it still didn't move. Her body ran cold at the realization that the door was locked from the outside, and she was trapped where she was.

"Hey!" Emma shouted, slamming her fist on the door and cringing at how her voice echoed, loud and sharp in the empty room. "Open up!" She pounded on the door more urgently, worried that no one would come for her. The sound of footsteps on the other side of the door and the click of a key in the lock made her back away from the door.

"Huh, that worked," Emma murmured to herself in surprise, keeping her eyes glued to the door to see what would happen next. Anywhere else she would have been ignored, but she was wary that something terrible would happen. She braced herself as the door opened but found herself face to face with an old man.

"Dumby? Dumbles?" Emma questioned herself out loud. "Oh – ah, right! Dumbledore! That's it!" Dumbledore chuckled softly, shaking his head with his eyes twinkling in delight.

"Indeed, Miss Nickels," Dumbledore said. "I'm glad that you remembered my name." A pink flush crept up Emma's cheeks, and Dumbledore chuckled once more. "Now, now, the blush is not needed, young lady. I take it you slept well? It appeared that you needed that nap considering how late you've slept."

"Oh, er, yes," Emma said, rubbing the back of her neck. She was startled by how quickly Dumbledore seemed to switch topics, surprised by how quick-minded he was for an old man. "It was all right," she shrugged, "but where exactly am I?"

"Oh, of course, of course," Dumbledore said, "I suppose I'm going a bit fast, yes?" He gave Emma a soft smile, and she gave a sheepish one in return. Dumbledore gestured to the room they were in with a flourish. "Welcome to Hogwarts, Emma. This is your room, and I certainly hope that it's to your liking. It's a bit bare now, but feel free to decorate it as you see fit, so it feels more like home for you. But now, if you please, follow me along to my office."

To Emma's surprise, Dumbledore immediately spun on his heel and walked out of the room without another word. Unsure of what to do and not wanting to be locked in the room again, Emma scrambled out of the room to follow along. She scurried along the hallway behind Dumbledore, struggling to keep up with his long strides and silently cursing how spry he was.

"Sir!" Emma breathed out, practically jogging to reach Dumbledore. "Please wait up!"

"Oh, pardon me," Dumbledore said, stopping suddenly and spinning around to face Emma with a smile. Emma, intent on trying to catch up, nearly smashed straight into Dumbledore and skidded to a halt, staring up at him with wide eyes.

"I didn't intend to walk too fast for you," Dumbledore smiled. He gestured behind him towards a door at the end of the hallway, keeping his eyes locked on Emma's. "We're nearly at my office, so let's continue on." Dumbledore turned once more on his heel and leaving Emma reeling with his speed. Before Emma knew it, they reached the end of the hallway, and Emma watched as Dumbledore opened the door.

"Alas, we have made it to my office," Dumbledore said, motioning for Emma to step into the room. "Please, take a seat, and I believe Minerva will join us sooner rather than later." Dumbledore followed Emma into the room, taking a seat behind his desk and smiling at the anxious girl sitting across from him. He gestured about the room, taking a quick look around as he did so.

"First, Emma, I would like to officially welcome you to Hogwarts," Dumbledore said. "During your time here, we will make sure to tackle your challenges head-on and focus on getting you better and with a more suitable family. I can promise you that you will always be welcome here and that we will look for the best possible family for you. We have a much higher success rate than private wards as we have far more resources at our disposal. We pride ourselves on –"

Dumbledore was interrupted by a firm knock on the door, and a brisk voice with a slight Scottish accent was heard from the other side.

"Pardon me, Albus. May I come in?"

"Yes, yes, of course, Minerva," Dumbledore said, looking over Emma's head at the tall, thin woman that entered the room. Emma twisted around in her seat to eye the woman warily, letting out a squeak when Minerva looked at her. She quickly spun back around, and Dumbledore chuckled softly at Emma's surprise. "We've already started, Minerva. Tea?"

Emma sunk back into her seat, trying to make herself as small as possible as she watched Minerva closely. Unlike Dumbledore, who was strange but put her at ease with his friendly demeanor, Minerva scared her. The woman reminded her of Petunia and not in a good way.

"I would like you to meet Professor Minerva McGonagall, Emma," Dumbledore said gently. "She will be your mentor during your stay here."

"Hello, Emma," Minerva said, giving Emma a warm smile. "You may just call me Minerva – or Minnie if you'd like. Before we talk business, would you like a tour of the facilities?" A wide smile crossed Emma's face, and she began to bounce up and down in her chair, making both Minerva and Dumbledore laugh.

"Yes, please!" Emma said brightly. She loved exploring new places, and Hogwarts seemed like the perfect place to adventure.

"Well, then follow me," Minerva said, rising from her seat. "We'll first visit the common rooms." Minerva led Emma back out into the hallway, engaging her in small talk. Emma was so distracted by their conversation that she didn't notice that they were suddenly in a completely different room.

Emma took a look around the expansive room. It seemed to be split up into sections, and the room was fuller than she expected. In one area of the room, where most of the room's occupants were seated, was what looked like a lounge area. It was filled with soft, squishy chairs that Emma wanted to jump onto and snuggle up on and a television playing a movie she had never seen before. In another spot of the room, Emma took in what looked to be a play area. A couple people stood around a pool table, and another small group surrounded what looked to be air hockey. Emma focused a little more on the play area and perked up when she found what looked to be a cool racing simulator that was occupied by a group of boys.

What really caught Emma's attention was what looked to be a reading nook off to the side of the room. It was almost like a separate room with even softer looking and very mismatched chairs. All along the walls were expansive shelves filled with books of all different sizes, and she was longing to dive into them. She could only imagine the adventures she could get lost in, and –

"Emma? Emma?"

Emma looked over at Minerva curiously. "Er, yes?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Have you heard a single word I've said?"

"Well, heh," Emma scratched her head with a nervous giggle. "No, not really."

Minerva gave Emma a knowing smile and shook her head. "Well, as I was saying, this is the common room. If you don't want to be in your room between your activities, you can choose to spend time here with the other inhabitants."

"Well, hello there, you're new."

"Eek!" Emma shrieked, whirling around and coming face to face with a blonde-haired girl with bright, large blue eyes.

"Luna," Minerva said in exasperation, "please don't scare people like that."

"Oh, I am sorry, Minerva," Luna said airily. Her eyes lifted to peer at Minerva over Emma's shoulder for a moment before meeting Emma's once more. Emma stood frozen to the spot, her eyes widening at Luna's unblinking stare. "It wasn't my intention to scare her."

"I know," Minerva said with a sigh. "Emma, this is Luna. She's one of our long-term residents of Hogwarts."

"Uhm, hi," Emma said, slowly backing up to try and hide behind Minerva as best as she could. She didn't like being scared, and her shyness was starting to make its appearance. "I'm uhm, I'm Emma," she managed to squeak out.

"It's nice to meet you," Luna responded before practically floating off.

"Well, then," Minerva said with another sigh. "Let's continue, shall we?" Minerva started off to a different section of the facility, making sure that Emma was following. She frowned, noticing that Emma seemed to curl in on herself, but her reaction didn't seem too concerning. It was customary for new residents to get nervous once they started to realize where they were. Still, Minerva continued on, leading Emma into another room.

"This is the dining room," Minerva said, stepping into the cafeteria-like room. Emma took in the long tables that ran the length of the room and the smaller booths off to the side. "This is where everyone meets. We try to keep everyone in here around the same time, but you have your choice of when you arrive, and you may leave when your meal is finished."

"Is the food good here?" Emma blurted out, clamping a hand over her mouth quickly. She really needed to think before she spoke.

Emma heard a deep laugh from where the kitchen area of the room was. She turned to peer at a short, round man holding his shaking belly as he laughed.

"You know, that's a question I always ask myself," the man said, wiping a tear from his eye. "How about you tell me your thoughts after dinner tonight?"

"Uhm, all right," Emma said, shifting on the balls of her feet anxiously.

"Forgive my manners," the man said, stepping out from behind the low wall and approaching Emma and Minerva. "My name is Chef Dobberman – Wilfred Dobberman – but please, call me Dobby. Everyone else does."

Suddenly, Emma felt as though she had enough. First, she had to meet Minerva, then Luna had come out of nowhere, and now the chef? There were too many new faces, and her chest felt tight, and she couldn't breathe, and it was just too much. She felt cornered and like an animal stuck in a cage at a zoo. Emma's stomach began to roil with the terror creeping in, her sudden nausea threatening for her to be sick, and she wanted to be alone. So, she decided that she would do just that.

"Please," Emma shrieked, ripping her hands through her hair with a broken sob. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" Without another word, Emma took off from the cafeteria and into the corridor.

She ran as fast as her legs would allow, passing door after door and only slowing down when she realized she had no idea how to get back to her room. She let out a noise that was half wail, half whine, and immediately turned to the door on her left. Emma shoved the door open roughly and found that she was in what looked to be a shared bathroom. She froze for a moment, taking in the shower stalls on one end of the room and the toilets on the other. With another whine, Emma ran to the nearest shower stall, still wet and foggy from its recent usage.

Emma pressed her back up against the wet tiles, sliding down until her knees touched her chest as her panic attack threatened to take hold. She backed herself up, huddling into a corner and holding herself close as she tried to slow her breathing. Emma clamped her eyes closed, rocking slightly where she was curled up. She let out a sharp gasp when she felt someone pull one of her hands away from her body to be pressed to something in front of her. The action was enough to pull Emma temporarily out of her thoughts, but she didn't dare open her eyes out of fear of what awaited her.

"Emma, please breathe."

"Elle?" Emma choked out. She tried to take in a shuddering breath and whimpered when she couldn't manage to do so. Was she going to die right there on the floor of a strange bathroom she'd never been in before because she couldn't handle something as simple as breathing?

"Hey, it's all right," Elara said softly. She lifted her other hand to stroke Emma's cheek and kept Emma's other hand firmly pressed to her chest. "Just follow my breathing, sweetheart," Elara said, taking in a deep, overdramatic breath and letting it out. "Deep breath in, deep breath out." It took a few attempts for Emma to find her footing, and Elara suppressed the urge to let out a sigh of relief when Emma started taking normal breaths.

"Good, Emma," Elara praised, placing Emma's hand back on her knee and smiling when the very exhausted-looking girl opened her eyes. Elara brushed away the still falling tears from Emma's cheeks with her thumbs, holding her face between her hands. "Very, very good. How about we get you out of here – you're soaking wet. Are you cold?"

Emma nodded, not realizing that she was shivering until Elara pointed it out to her. "Yes," she said through chattering teeth. Emma yawned as Elara pulled her up from the floor. She was tired and desperately wanted a nap, but she was also cold and soaked through. Emma wondered if she had accidentally hit the push button on the wall to activate the shower. She glared at the button on the wall and jumped slightly when Elara wrapped a big fluffy towel around her. Emma watched as Elara stepped back over to the cabinet and began to lock it.

"Why is the cabinet locked?" Emma questioned.

"Well, you know we can't allow residents into the cabinets by themselves without any supervision," Elara said, giving Emma a pointed look. "I'm sure you could understand why."

"Oh," Emma said, her face heating up in embarrassment. "Yes, I understand. But can we please leave now?" she whined, giving her foot a tap on the ground in impatience. She was freezing, and the longer she stood, the more tired she became.

The moment they stepped out of the bathroom, Minerva met Elara's gaze, peering up from the clipboard in her hand. Emma looked between the two women, frowning as they seemed to have a silent conversation with each other. It was a lot of pointed looks and hand gestures, but neither of them said a word. Seemingly satisfied with whatever Elara was trying to tell her, Minerva smiled at Emma, almost as if nothing had happened.

"Well, then, Emma," Minerva said lightly. "Should I show you the way back to your room?" Emma blinked at Minerva in surprise. The woman was acting like Emma took a quick break in their day instead of an impromptu, fully clothed shower that had her dripping water droplets onto the floor where she stood.

"Uhm, yes, please," Emma said quietly.

"Wonderful," Minerva said, placing a hand around Emma's shoulders and guiding her in the correct direction. "It's quite simple – like a hotel. Have you ever been to a hotel, Emma?"

"No, erm, I haven't," Emma said, her voice small. "The Dursleys left me at home during holiday because I failed my math test."

"I see," Minerva said icily. She hummed to herself and took in a deep breath before returning to her usual demeanor. "Well, it's simple. You are in room 203 – it's one of the bigger rooms. All you need to do is climb the stairs one level and count the numbers. Yours is the one at the end of the hallway to the right."

Emma followed Minerva as closely as she could but found herself losing steam when they reached the stairs. They were quite steep for her, and she nearly had to crawl up them on her hands and knees to manage. Emma was relieved that Minerva stopped at the first half-landing of the stairs as she was panting when she finally arrived. Something had to be wrong with her because she never used to get so tired.

"Are you all right, Emma?" Minerva asked, frowning at how pale Emma looked. Minerva supposed she had overdone it on their tour but wasn't expecting Emma to be panting so hard just from walking up the stairs. She should have realized that the girl wasn't ready for too much activity just yet.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Emma panted. "But is it okay if I could just sit down for a moment?"

"Yes, of course, dear. Please, take a moment."

Emma nodded, sitting down at the edge of the stairs. She thought about it for a moment and decided to lay down on the floor, deciding that it was clean enough for her to rest against. She sighed at the coolness of the floor as it pressed against her cheek, and Emma realized just how tired she was. If she wanted to, she could fall asleep right where she was.

"All right, Emma, before we head off and you fall asleep, let me tell you a bit more about your time here," Minerva said. "There is a schedule for you to follow each day with daily sessions with me. I'll sit with you at lunch to ensure that you finish your lunch and that your progress is satisfactory. We've also decided that Dr. Severus Snape will help you get into a new regimen for your medication. We will be the only ones with access to your prescriptions, and you are to meet with him several times a day.

"There will also be group therapy once a day, and for the rest of your time, you are free to do as you please. There will be an occasional doctor's visit, but they will be written on your board so that you are aware of it that day. Did you get all of that?"

Minerva looked up from the clipboard held in her hand to look over at Emma. She sighed, realizing that Emma had fallen asleep already. She looked down at her watch and shook her head – it was only 3 PM. Emma was far more exhausted than she thought. Minerva debated with herself for a moment on whether or not it would be worth waking Emma up or not and shook her head to herself. With how tired she was, she didn't think it would be possible. Instead, she reached down to the walkie-talkie on her hip – there was only one person who could get Emma back with no issue. Minerva was just glad that Emma wouldn't be awake to meet him just yet.


a/n: Nyellloooooo there. Apologies for the delay! Life kind of happened just a teeeeny tiny little bit so the writing was put on hold for a bit, but we're back~

Not sure on chapter frequency, but ya know, we're getting there. In the meantimeeee, come join us on Discord and experience the loveliness that is Lucat in real time. :3 Link in bio!

xoxo,

cat