"Fred, George! Will you pipe down!"

"C'mon Hermione, laughter is the best medicine isn't it?"

"If you haven't noticed, Rose is unconscious right now and can't exactly hear your jokes anyway!" Hermione hissed.

I groaned at that, slowly fluttering my eyes open as Fred cheered "Aha! See, our unrivaled humor has revived her!

"Oh, just shut it all of you!" Ginny huffed, and I felt her hand rest on my arm over the sheet that had been tucked under my chin.

I chuckled at their squabbling, blinking away the bright sunlight that was streaming through the high windows opposite my bed. Ron, Hermione and the rest of the Weasleys surrounded me as I awoke, with Hermione immediately flitting away to notify Madame Pomfrey.

"How're you feeling Rosie?" Ron asked, shuffling his chair over so he could sit closer to me.

"Better" I replied, softly smiling to reassure everyone. I didn't want them to worry more than I knew they already had.

Hermione returned with Madame Pomfrey then, who immediately began casting diagnostic spells over me. I was definitely sore, but I could breathe comfortably again and my head felt clear.

"Yes, yes you are healing quite nicely. Though, the cut on your arm…" Pomfrey trailed off as her eyes flitted down to linger on the knife wound that Pettigrew had inflicted to draw some of my blood. I shivered at the memory and Pomfrey met my eyes again. "It won't heal by magic, I tried everything I could think of last night, so you'll just have to come back in a few days so I can replace the bandage. I don't know how those muggle doctors can cope, I really don't" she muttered, seemingly to herself.

"Come back? So I can leave soon?" I asked, sitting up excitedly.

"Yes, this afternoon I think. I'll administer the last of the healing potion to mend your ribs and attend to your other injuries, then I'll release you."

I smiled at that and it was returned by all those around me except for Hermione, who had a deep frown and a furrowed brow on her face.

"But I still expect you to rest, mind you! Take it easy, or you'll be sent straight back to me!" she threatened, and I nodded readily.

"But why would her arm not heal? How did she get that cut?"

"I imagine it was inflicted with dark magic, am I right Miss Potter?"

I nodded, ducking my head as comprehension dawned upon Hermione.

I felt embarrassed as everyone stared at me, asking questions with their eyes that I wasn't ready to answer. I stared down at the bed sheet instead, unable to meet anyone's gaze. The black dog hair that stuck to the sheets from when Sirius had been here soon caught my attention and the tears in my eyes had to be blinked away.

"And Sirius? Is he going to be alright?" I whispered, fear making my stomach clench.

"Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape are with him and Nymphadora now. They assure me that they are making progress, but it may be some time before they are out of danger. I may soon join them to help, once all students leave for the summer of course."

I nodded in understanding and Ginny squeezed my shoulder in support as my tears finally spilled over. I quickly wiped them away, still unable to meet anyone's eye. Madame Pomfrey then handed me the rest of the healing potion as well as a calming draught as I sniffled my tears away.

"Now, if you all want to join your classmates in the Great Hall for lunch that would be good. Ms. Granger, if you could stay? I'm sure Rose could use some help bathing."

They all nodded, murmuring words of comfort as they began to shuffle out. Fred and George both leaned down simultaneously to kiss either side of my cheeks before they left with a "Hang in there, Rosie." They'd become even more brotherly towards me after this year, determined that if they couldn't enter the Triwizard Tournament themselves that I would win with their advice and training.

I was soon pulled into a sitting position. My filthy clothes had practically ruined the bed beneath me, stained with dirt and blood so the bedding could hardly be called white anymore. I leaned heavily on Hermione as I rose to my unsteady feet, surprised at how weak I felt. We shuffled towards the shower room as Pomfrey went ahead to start drawing my bath. I stumbled a few times, but Hermione made sure to catch me before I could tumble to the floor.

She lowered me down onto the stool that was beside the steaming bath, resting her hand on my knee as she pulled my shoes off.

"Hermione?" I nearly whispered. She paused and meet my gaze steadily, "Yeah?"

"Do you know? I mean, did Dumbledore tell you all what happened?"

She nodded, answering softly "He told us generally what happened, but wanted you to be able to tell us your side of things too."

I paused for a minute, appreciating the fact that Dumbledore hadn't revealed everything that had happened before I could. I inhaled sharply before saying "I'm not sure I'm ready…"

"Of course you're not! I didn't expect you to be…when you're ready, or if you ever need a shoulder to cry on, you know I'll be here for you." She said, exuding strength and comfort as she spoke.

"Thanks 'Mione" I whispered, nearly becoming chokeded up once again at her declaration.

"C'mon now, arms up!" She said, coaxing me to lift my arms so she could pull my shirt off over my head. She finished helping me undress and slowly lowered me into the heavenly warm tub, telling me to shout if I needed help.

My muscles immediately began to relax and I wasted no time in scrubbing my skin raw to get the filth off of my body. The water quickly became dirty as I scrubbed and I couldn't help but be reminded of the last time I'd been in this shower room, making the tub water just as filthy as I was now.

It was after the second task, when I'd been given some pepper up potion by Madame Pomfrey and ordered into the warm tub before I could get ill from being in the cold lake water for an hour. Cedric, ever the gentleman, had been waiting for me to resurface from the Black Lake with a fuzzy robe, staring anxiously over the docks as he searched for my in the depthless water.

I really did think I was going to drown after the grindylows came for me. My head became so foggy as I lost my ability to breathe, but I came to consciousness just in time to propel myself from the water with one of the spells Fred and George had taught me. As I landed on the deck, gasping for air, Cedric was the first one to reach me.

"Rose, thank God!" He'd wrapped me up to the point that I was more towel than body, and Snape came over to examine me as Dumbledore began to announce the scores. He muttered a healing spell for the grindylow bites covering my neck, his face a mask of concentration before he gave a satisfactory nod at his work and disappeared into the crowd once again.

"I was so worried, I tried to go in after you but McGonagall wouldn't let me!"

"I know, I'm so sorry I scared you, but I'm fine now" I chattered, my teeth slamming together as I shivered.

He'd kissed my forehead and hugged me tightly to his side, sighing in relief as he gathered me to him so I would get warm. I began to sob at the memory as I sat in the bath, but soon pulled myself together since I knew Hermione would come for me if I didn't get out soon. I rose from the water, thankful that that the summer holiday was near so I could go back to the Dursley's and grieve in peace, unremarkable in the eyes of the muggles that surrounded me.

—

Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews! I'm so excited to be writing this story, it's my first fanfic so I'm thrilled at the positive response. I wanted everyone to know that I won't have internet access for the rest of the month, so unfortunately I won't be able to upload any new chapters for this story until then. However, I will definitely be writing during that time, so you can expect lots of new material as soon as I'm able to upload again:)