"We sent one to her legal guardian, Her Mum passed away when she was younger." Madam Pomfrey said. Hermione and I shared a look.
"She never told us that." I said.
"Well then when she wakes up don't say anything about it." She said, giving us a look that meant she meant it. Hermione and I nodded to show her we understood.
"Good, now go on to lunch. There isn't anything you two can do now." She said, shooing us out.
RPOV
I woke up, completely stiff and very sore. I groaned as I tried to force my muscles to allow me to at least sit up.
"What happened?" I wondered a loud. Madam Pomfrey was busy rushing back and forth around the hospital wing.
"Oh! You're up, great news, great news!" She said before waddling over to me to make sure I was okay.
"You were petrified, dear. You're the first one to have woken up!" She said, I looked at the kids laying in the other beds for the first time. There was the Creevey boy, Nearly Headless Nick, Hermione, The Ravenclaw Prefect... Wait a second!
"Hermione! Oh no! Will they be okay?" I asked worriedly.
"Of course dear! Now, run along to the feast before you miss out on everything. I'll send the rest once they wake up." She said, shooing me towards the door. I walked slowly, still trying to gain back the feeling in my body. I wasn't too afraid for Mione, because if I had woken up fine, so would she. I was petrified for much longer than her, for all I know. I stood in front of the great hall doors, wondering how I got there so fast, and if I would be able to just sneak up to the Gryffindor common room. I decided I wouldn't be able to get away with it, because I would get an earful from Hermione about it later. I sighed and slowly pushed the heavy doors open, and walked in to my usual spot next to Neville towards the end of the Gryffindor table. Before I could get more than a few steps in however, Neville rushed up and hugged me.
"Rita! You're back!" He exclaimed, letting me go.
"Really? I thought I was dreaming." I replied sarcastically. He laughed as we walked back to our spots, which I found funny, because what I said wasn't anywhere near funny. Confusing, right? Or is it just me? I sat down across from Neville, and pilled my plate with food higher than Ronald even. I had just started to finally eat when the doors opened again, and Hermione came rushing in.
"Hermione!" I yelled, standing up and running to greet her with a hug. I let go so Ron and Harry could each hug her, except Ron being his usual unicorn turd self, decided against it and instead shook her hand. Pft.
"Why so formal, Ronald?" I teased. He shot me a death glare and we all went back to our seats. Somehow Hermione had convinced them to sit down by us. Probably because they had missed her while she was gone, and didn't want her to get angry at the like she so often did. I ate and ate and ate until I couldn't eat any more. Hermione kept warning me to slow down, or I would end up like Ron, but I didn't really listen. I was too hungry from however long it's been since I last ate. I waited for everyone else to finish, and turned towards the front when Dumbledore stood up.
"Attention everyone, please!" He said, his voice echoing around the room, "I would like to make an announcement. Due to all of the petrifactions that have happened recently, all end of year exams have been canceled!" He said before siting down once more. The were groans of shock from the Ravenclaws, who had already studied I'm sure, and cheers from the other three, but in the middle you couldn't help but hear Hermione's devastated,
"Oh no!" I laughed as she looked around as if someone was going to jump out and say,
"Just kidding!"
"Hermione! Be happy! I'm sure even you wouldn't have done very good on them because you missed so much!" I said, trying to make her feel better. Although I think it had the opposite effect on her, because she just burst out into a few tears.
"Come on Hermione. Let's go pack before we have to leave for the summer." I said, pulling her up by her arm and leading her to our dorm, after saying a few goodbyes to Neville, Ron, and Harry Potter; the kid who saved the whole schools arses. Again.
I stuffed my school books into my trunk, and then sat on my bed. I sighed, running my hand across the bed sheets.
"I missed so much of this year, and now we already have to go back home!" I said, "You're so lucky Hermione. When you step off the train and onto the platform, you have your parents there to great you. I just wish I had that. Hell, I wish I would have at least been able to actually get to know my parents. Death Eaters or not, they are still my parents, and I still love them, no matter what they did."
Hermione came over and sat down next to me on my bed and put a hand on my shoulder.
"Rita, maybe it's for the best. Who knows what would have happened if you would have gotten to know them! You could have grown up hearing all the wrong things. We might not have been friends if it wasn't for what happened. You might have even been in Slytherin for all we know!" Hermione said. I stood up and turned towards her.
"I don't care! I just want to have had more time with them! Wouldn't you, Hermione? Wouldn't you at least want to know who they were? Grow up with the love only parents can give? I guess not, since that's what you've grown up with. You got to have everything that I've ever wanted to happen, and yet you still can't seem to see why I wish I could know who they were! How would you feel if they were ripped away, right now, and you never got to see them again?" I yelled, trying to make her see why I want to have at least a few memories of my parents.
"Rita, I'm sorry! Really! But I still think that it happened for a reason! I think this was meant to happen!" She said, standing up too.
"I don't have a single memory of my parents, Hermione! Not one! I was cruelly ripped off! My Mum dying when I was too little to cry, and my father being carted off to Azkaban before I could walk!" I yelled.
"There's a reason for why he was taken there, Rita! He wasn't a good man! He wouldn't have been good as a father, Rita! Just listen to me!" She said. I could feel the blood rising up in my face.
"How can you say that? How could you say that to me?! You don't even know! Not one bit! You know nothing about him besides what you've been told!" I yelled.
"You don't know either, Rita! You know just as much of him as I do! That's not enough to be able to tell if he was a good man or not!" She argued.
"And neither do you, Hermione! For all we know he could have been framed!" I yelled in her face. It had become a full on shouting match.
"How can you be so dull? He killed his best friend! Sold his other best friends out to You-Know-Who, and killed a bunch of helpless muggles!" She yelled.
"You don't know if he did that!" I said, tears pouring out of my eyes and down my cheeks.
"And you don't know if he didn't!" She yelled back.
"He plead not guilty, Hermione. As his daughter I have to have at least a little bit of belief in him!" I said, crumpling to the ground in a heap of tears and limbs.
"What is going on in here?!" Professor McGonagall yelled from the doorway, seeing Hermione panting from all of her yelling, and me sobbing on the floor.
"What happened?!" She demanded.
"Rita- She- She just kept yelling, and I-I tried to make her see that she was being dense- And, I- I yelled back at her!" Hermione said, looking around at everything.
"Miss Black, what is the matter here?" The professor asked me, stepping further into the freshly cleaned room.
"No one understands! They don't get it! They're all prats! All of them! No one seems to care that I lost my parents! My parents! They never say, 'Oh, you're Black's daughter? I'm so sorry for what he did and that you lost everything!' No! All they say is 'Oh, you're Black's kid?! Get away from here!', Like I'm something they just stepped in on the side of the road! Like I'm just going to turn out just like him! I have feelings just like everyone else!" I yelled, turning and glaring at Hermione. She shrank back, but I didn't allow my glare to lessen.
"Miss Black, how about we all just calm down, okay? I'm sure Hermione didn't mean it, she was just trying to help you." The teacher said softly, crouching down next to me. I wiped my face on my robe sleeve and stood up, before throwing the rest of my things in my trunk.
"Are we all good here, then" McGonagall asked. Hermione told her we were. She left through the door, and Hermione stood awkwardly in the middle of the room.
"Rita, I'm sorry. You're right, I shouldn't be so quick to judge." She said, coming closer.
"I'm sorry too, Mione. I shouldn't have yelled at you so easily. We are supposed to be best friends. Best friends don't do that." I said before giving her a hug.
"I'll try to be more understanding of what happened." She said as we continued to hug it all out. I nodded my head in thanks.
"We should finish packing..." I said.
"Yeah." We packed for a few minutes in silence, and then I laughed a little.
"What?" Hermione asked.
"I was just thinking that now at least I have something to do this summer." I said. She looked at me.
"You're not going to...?" She said, trailing off.
"No." I said, knowing what she was thinking, "I've got some detective work to do." I said. She looked at me and shook her head.
"Just don't get yourself into any trouble... And, Rita? Promise me that if you do find evidence that he is innocent... Don't go do something stupid. Take the evidence to the Ministry." She said. I nodded my head.
"I promise." I said.
"Rita." She said. I smiled sheepishly and uncrossed my fingers and put my hands up.
"I, Rita Elizabeth Black, Swear on Merlin's Pants, to not do something stupid. And to go straight to the Ministry Of Magic when I find evidence stating my father was framed!" I said. Hermione laughed, and I laughed a little with her. It felt good to laugh after so long of nothing.