A/N: Alright, seeing as I'm writing this while I'm in New Mexico, I thought I'd tell you a bit about each of my days' adventures. The flight was fine, I can't say it was great because I hate planes; they give me a headache and my ears and throat always hurt. After the flight into Albuquerque we drove three hours up into the mountains of Angel Fire, NM and it was so so so pretty. So, it is about the middle of the night as I'm writing this, so, let's continue with our story, shall we?
In the midst of all the excitement from the previous night, no one got more than a few hours of sleep. Peter, who didn't even bother going to the ball, was the only one who didn't wake up sore and tired like everyone else. Everyone woke up very early that Sunday morning, not having been able to fall back to sleep when the sun filtered through their dormitory windows.
Lily, being the first awake, stumbled awkwardly down the stairs after showering and dressing. As she stumbled across the room, having about as much balance as hippo on a tightrope, she almost fell right over, but a helpful hand caught her right before she hit the ground. James had been awake this whole time too. She looked up at him and smiled as best as she could, the haziness in her brain becoming even more unbearable with him holding her.
"Good morning," she said drowsily.
"What's good about it?" James asked, helping to steady her.
"I'm with you, that's what," she whispered, sitting down on the couch. James sat down next to her and stroked her dark red hair, he head resting against his chest, while she fought sleep. James kissed her on the top of the head after about ten minutes; realizing she was asleep, he drifted off too.
Sirius fumbled down about an hour later, and Claire was asleep in one of the chairs, still wearing her pajamas. He walked over to her and shook her shoulder, but she didn't wake up.
"Claire," he whispered, shaking her again; nothing. Sirius kept trying to wake her over and over again for about ten minutes before calling for Tanya and Remus. They rushed down the stairs, almost running into each other. "I-I t-tried to wake her, b-but she won't m-move. I c-can feel a pulse and hear a heart b-beat, but shy isn't she waking?" explained Sirius frantically. Tanya walked over to Claire and looked over her once. Something was different about her, she had purplish shadows under her eyes, almost bruise-like shadows. She was paler than they had ever seen her before. Tanya knew exactly what was wrong now.
"LILY!" she shouted. Lily woke up immediately and saw Claire; she stifled a scream. She ran to Claire's side and picked up her hand, trying to find a pulse. She found it, but it was incredibly weak. Sirius, seeing the reacting of the two girls was no longer frightened, but staggered and more worried than anyone had ever seen him.
"James, go with Remus, send an owl to Claire's mother, NOW!" yelled Lily urgently. James and Remus bolted form the common room and up to the owlery, hoping more than anything that someone had a quill and parchment with them or someone had dropped them up there last time.
"Sirius, we have to take her to the hospital, now," explained Tanya, the urgency in her voice, but not as panicky as it was in Lily's. Sirius nodded solemnly and scooped her up, cradling her in his arms. He carried her all the way to the hospital wing and Lily and Tanya held her hands. When, after the longest five minutes of any of their lives, they made it to the ward, Lily knocked on the door with her free hand.
"What's this?" asked Madam Pompfrey, shock coloring every word.
"We found her in the common room this morning, but she wouldn't wake up. I have no idea what to do with her, something is definitely wrong with her, and I'm not really sure what it is," explained Sirius, trying to be as calm as possible.
"Bring her here, bring her here, Mr. Black," said Madam Pompfrey, ushering them into the room. Sirius laid her down on a cot and backed away, then, kneeling down, he grabbed her hand and held it in his own. "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, dear, dear. I am very sorry, Mr. Black, but, it seems that someone was attempting to poison Ms. Martin, or she got the wrong glass from someone. I'll need to run a few tests, and someone get Professor Slughorn!"
"I'll do it, Madam Pompfrey," volunteered Lily, bolting from the room to find their potions master. She banged loudly on his office door, panting heavily.
"Ah, Lily m'dear, how can I be of service?" he asked under his thick, bushy, moustache. "Something wrong?" he asked when Lily looked up, tears streaming down her face.
"C-Claire, she's b-been p-poi-poisoned, p-professor, y-you h-have t-to-to h-he-help, panted Lily in between hiccoughs.
"Well, m'dear, I think that's the least I can do for my favorite student, but that's just between you and me, now, understand. She in the hospital wing?" Lily nodded and they were off, running down the corridor, having to stop so that Slughorn could catch his breath, being as old and overweight as he was. When they burst through the ward doors, Madam Pompfrey was bent over Claire's unconscious form.
"What's the verdict, Poppy?" asked Slughorn casually.
"I am not sure…I've never seen a potion like this, it's incredible. It will place her in this suspended animation-like state until it kills her slowly and painfully by forcing her to relive her worst memories inside her head. She will die of grief, a very, sad, and painful death."
"Seems like someone took a draught of living death and added some strange ingredients, making this strange poison here. What ingredients have you been able to see?"
"Well, some Wolfsbane, monkshood, asphodel, sopophorus bean, valerian root, and some strange ingredients that I've never seen before, and when I brewed these unknown ones together, it created a emerald-greenish potion, which I tested. It will cause fear, hallucinations, and, eventually, death. I've never seen a more complicated option than this other than Felix."
"Sounds exactly like draught of living death mixed with strange poisons. I will do all that IU can to find an antidote, but, seeing as you cannot treat her whilst she's asleep, it is probably safe to say that the girl is going to die."
"NO!" bellowed Sirius.
"Mr. Black, I didn't see you there, why are you holding Ms. Martin's hand, and why are you shouting at me?" asked Slughorn.
"You have to think of some way to wake her, any possible way. The draught may last forever, but there has to be a potion to counteract it."
"That much potion in one girl could kill her of an overdose, and, not to mention, we don't know how the poison will react to another potion being added to the bloodstream."
"Professor, you must think of something, sir. Please, you have to save her." Tears were beginning to form in the corners of Sirius's eyes, and Lily and Tanya were crying freely now. James and Remus came in a few seconds later and Lily turned to him, burying her head in his chest and crying. James held her tightly, close to him, rubbing her back to try and calm her. Remus was holding Tanya's hand and was wiping away her tears with his other, whispering hopeful things to her about how Claire was going to make it.
"Mr. Black, Lily, Tanya, Mr. Potter, I will do whatever I can, whatever I can, but I can make no promises."
"Send her to St. Mungo's then. Do anything that will save her," Sirius shouted.
"I'm afraid they'll tell you the exact same thing, but we will send an owl to them asking their advice." Slughorn left the ward, muttering to himself about expectations and rudeness and yelling. Sirius looked hopefully at Madam Pompfrey.
"I'm afraid he's right, unless the person who has poisoned her comes forth and gives us the antidote, it is likely she will die," said Madam Pompfrey in a morbid tone, going over Claire's chart repeatedly. Peter showed up a little after lunch, seeing as someone had heard the news from professor Slughorn and now it was all over the school.
"I heard about Claire, is she going to be okay?" asked Peter in a squeaky voice.
"Look at her, Wormtail, does it look like she's gonna be okay?" asked Sirius irritably.
"Sorry, Padfoot," muttered Peter, going to sit down in a chair. All of them stayed overnight; the prefects, once again, taking over the Head Boy and Girl's jobs. When Monday rolled around, they had a schedule planned out. Tanya and Remus would take Care of Magical Creatures, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and History of Magic, while James and Lily went to potions, charms, and transfiguration. Peter tagged along with whomever he felt like, not being an expert at any of the classes. So, they could copy notes for each other and bring them back to the hospital, someone would always be with Sirius and Claire. The schedule worked to each of their advantage, always using their knowledge to ask the professors for any advice on how to help Claire. Remus repeatedly asked the Defense Teacher if there was some spell to remove a poison or to wake someone up, but to no avail. Lily stayed after class to check Slughorn's progress every single day, and James asked Professor Flitwick if there was any way to charm a potion out of someone. None of the teachers were of any help to them, and when the owl arrived from St. Mungo's, there was a small shred of hope. There was an incantation written on the card that would help to wake her up, but only if Claire truly wanted her mind to break through this barrier created by the potion, could she actually awaken. Madam Pompfrey asked all of the teachers' opinions before trying the incantation. All of them agreed that trying St. Mungo's tactic would be best for her, even if Claire's mind was giving up already.
By the end of the week, hopes had begun to rise for Claire, and Madam Pompfrey was set on her plan to use the advice of the healers to help Claire. When Madam Pompfrey sad the spell over Claire's unconscious form, everyone held their breath. Claire's left eye tightened, and then she rolled over on the cot. Sirius couldn't help himself, he shook her arm and she rolled back over, her face just inches from his. Her eyes opened and she blinked once, twice, and then smiled softly.
"Good morning," said Sirius softly.
"Good morning," she replied. Then, all of the sudden, Claire rolled back onto her backside and clutched the sheets and began screaming. "Stop, Stop, STOP! Leave her alone! Father, STOP! NOW! Don't hit me, please, stop." And then she began crying and curled up into a ball on the bed, weeping madly before falling back to sleep. Sirius, who had thought that Claire was back with him, tried to hide the one, single tear rolling down his cheek. He gazed questioningly at Madam Pompfrey.
"It's the poison, she's reliving her worst memories," explained the nurse. "I wonder what she was screaming about though." Sirius knew immediately, but thought it best not to betray Claire's trust.
"Sirius, you know something, I can tell," said Lily softly, bending down next to him and touching Claire's pale fingers. "Something about this memory, no doubt, please, let us hear, maybe we can help."
"I…I'm sorry Lily…I can't tell you. Claire made me swear," he replied, not taking his eyes from her shivering form as she murmured in her sleep so softly that you had no idea what she was saying.
"I…I understand, Sirius," said Lily, getting back and back into James's waiting arms. The people sitting in the hospital ward had cried more than many could think possible. Lily and Tanya had lost the ability to cry, their tear ducts too dry to have any liquid left in them, so they only sobbed and hiccoughed uncontrollably. James would cry, but would never dray attention to it, and so most of them never noticed. Remus didn't shed a tear outwardly, but inside he was suffering. Peter cried like a baby, and no one quite understood why he would fake something like that. Sirius, on the other hand, was a combination of Remus and James. He had a war going on inside his heart. Eventually, the suffering inside of him would be strong enough to release a tear, but it was a rare occasion. No one had picked up on the fact that Sirius hadn't eaten a real meal in a week and he was slowly becoming skinnier and skinnier due to only eating small portions big enough for a cat maybe. Speaking of cats, Moonstone was watching everything the entire time. She sat, silently, on the windowsill without making any noise, save the light swishing of her tail. Some nights, she would sneak away and come back with a rat in her teeth, hoping for some kind of reward.
A/N: So, another cliffhanger (hides under desk) please don't throw anything at me, I'll have the next chapter up first thing in the morning, but, just to let y'all know, I start school on Wednesday, so don't expect updats everyday after that. It could come down to three a week, maybe two...sorry. You know what to do by now I hope!