) Chapter Two - Amnesia (
Thump…thump…thump.
A pounding in Bella's head slowly roused her from a deep sleep. She rolled over in her bed grouchily, trying to situate her head so it wouldn't hurt as much. When that didn't work, she flipped over again, groaning and rubbing her eyes.
From somewhere to her right, someone chuckled. She squinted against the harsh glare of the sun coming in from a place she couldn't pinpoint, trying to see who it was. The light made her head hurt more, but she was not about to close her eyes again without knowing who was laughing, especially since they seemed to be laughing at her.
She sat up, wiped her face again, and looked in the direction of the rumbling laughter that was getting louder. She saw a blurry, dark form that seemed to be lying on a bed next to hers. As her vision cleared, she saw that it was a boy: a very good-looking boy with shaggy, dark hair and grey eyes twinkling with mischief. He was propped up on his arm facing her, and his other arm was heavily bandaged right up to his shoulder and lying limp in front of him.
Bella recognized him instantly. She groaned again and flopped back down onto the bed, burying her face in the pillow.
"Happy to see me, Bella?"
"What do you want, Sirius?" she mumbled in annoyance, her words garbled by the pillow.
Sirius didn't reply, so she inclined her head slightly to see him. He was smirking, as usual.
She rolled her eyes. "Never mind."
"Wondering why you're in the hospital wing, aren't you?" he asked.
It was true; she had been wondering that since she opened her eyes. She had known as soon as her eyes focused that she was in Hogwarts' hospital wing. And she had no idea why…She had no memory of even arriving at Hogwarts. The last thing she could remember was being on the Hogwarts Express….
"Care to enlighten me?" she asked snippily.
A wide grin spread over his face. "Guess first."
"Go to hell."
He was toying with her, and she knew it. If it had been anyone else playing around with her, she would have been amused and gone along with it, but the fact that it was Sirius changed everything. He didn't simply joke around with people—he mocked them.
"Fine," he said, leaning back to look at the ceiling.
He didn't say anything else, and that irked Bella more than anything. She was dying to know what had happened!
He must have used a memory charm on me, she figured. That's why I can't remember anything. It's his idea of a joke.
But why would she be in the hospital because of a simple memory charm? It didn't make sense.
Just then, Madame Pomfrey came in, balancing an over-flowing tray in each hand. "Here's your breakfasts, dears!"
Bella rolled over and sat up, eager to eat. She hadn't realized how hungry she was until she smelled the delicious rolls mixed with the scent of spicy sausage.
"How are you feeling, dearie?" Pomfrey asked Bella as she set the tray down on a stand across her lap.
"My head hurts something fierce," Bella replied.
"That's to be expected from a memory charm," the nurse nodded. "How's the bump on the back of your head?"
Bella reached to feel the back of her head. To her surprise, there was a tender bump there.
"What happened to me?" she asked.
"I don't know all of the details, love, but the Headmaster will be down to talk with you both. Things were too busy yesterday for him to attend to the matter, what with the start-of-term feast and all, but he'll be here shortly."
Bella didn't know whether she should be happy or scared that he was coming over. What if she had done something terrible that she simply couldn't remember? The idea of doing something horrific wasn't what scared her, it was the worry that she couldn't remember how she'd done it. She glanced over at where Pomfrey was examining Sirius' arm and smirked. If she was the one who had messed it up, any punishment would be worth it.
After Pomfrey left, Bella chose to ignore Sirius as she ate. She saw him glance at her once in a while out of the corner of her eye, but she didn't give him the satisfaction of showing that she cared at all.
Gradually, the sound of faint voices could be heard from Madam Pomfrey's office. Bella stopped eating and looked over at Sirius. He looked back at her and winked, as if he knew what was happening.
She glared at him, set her tray and its stand on the bedside table, and hopped out of bed. She crept over to the nurse's office, staying close to the wall so that her figure wouldn't be spotted through the opaque window. She saw that the door was left open about an inch, through which she had been able to hear the voices.
"…But according to Lily Evans, who witnessed the fight from the hallway, Bellatrix Black attacked first," the voice of a woman was saying.
"Of course she would say that, Minerva! She's in the same house as James Potter and Sirius Black," replied a familiar male voice. "Nothing against those boys, because they are exceptionally talented, but they have a reputation for starting trouble, much more so than Bellatrix Black. One might even say that Bellatrix was defending herself."
Bella jumped when she felt something press against her side—it was Sirius' bandaged arm. He was pressed against the wall in the same manner that she was and listening in on the conversation. Bella scowled up at him and inched away, looking disgusted that any part of him had touched her.
"I certainly do not doubt the trouble-making ability of those two," McGonagall came back, "but there are witnesses that can verify that Bellatrix Black, Lestrange, and Avery purposely went over to the compartment that Potter, Sirius Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew were in, in order to pick a fight."
So, it did happen on the Hogwarts Express, Bella thought, but was disturbed when Sirius scooted over so that he was touching her again. She glared up at him, thoroughly disgusted by his childish behavior.
A small smile played on the edge of his lips, which broadened into a full smile when Bella muttered, "Prick."
"But what about Bellatrix Black's memory loss? She's been unconscious for almost a full day! Only a premeditated and planned-out spell could have been so forceful," Slughorn said.
"I offer no excuse for the use of the memory charm," McGonagall said. "That was inexcusable. But I think it would be appropriate for us to acknowledge that all of the students are in the wrong here, not just Potter and Sirius Black. After all, Black has a frost-bitten arm, Potter's eyes were bleeding for hours, and Dave Channing—who by all accounts was just an innocent bystander—will probably be unable to play Quidditch for the rest of the term because of his hand-twitching that even Poppy had no cure for!"
At the news of the havoc she, Avery, and Lestrange had apparently caused to her least favorite people, Bella grinned. Channing, while not necessarily as revolting as Potter or Sirius, was Gryffindor's Seeker, and the loss of him would mean a better chance for Slytherin.
"What did he say?" Sirius whispered, leaning in as if he was hard of hearing.
"You heard perfectly well," Bella said, distracted by his breath tickling her neck, and then quietly exclaimed, "Hey!"
Sirius had pivoted his body so that he was closer to the door. Since Bella was already in the spot that he seemed to want, he simply pressed his body against hers in order to get closer and yet remain out of sight.
Having Sirius's chin suddenly in her face was not a pleasant experience for her. She gripped his sides and tried to push him off, but he was much stronger than her and didn't budge.
"What are you doing?" she whispered furiously.
"Trying to hear," he replied innocently, seemingly unaware of how he was practically smashing his body against hers.
Bella's ears reddened beneath her black hair, and she knew that the humiliation of Sirius having her in such a position was not worth hearing what the teachers were saying. She had heard enough to get the general idea, anyway.
Since she couldn't move forward, she slipped to the side and away from him. His weight had been leaning forward into her, so when she deftly slid out, he stumbled forward and lightly hit his forehead against the wall. Pleased with how she handled herself, she went back to her bed and lay down in case the teachers came out.
If I'm lucky, they'll catch Sirius, she thought snidely. He deserved it. What was he thinking, pinning me there? I hope he isn't hair-brained enough to think that I might be seduced as easily as a Gryffindor girl would!
A minute later, Sirius came sprinting back and leapt onto his bed seconds before Slughorn, McGonagall, and Dumbledore rounded the corner and headed towards their beds.
Bella pretended to be just waking up. When they came over, she groggily sat up out of respect. Sirius had been lying with the back of his head resting in his hands, and he also sat up as if surprised that they were there.
"I'm glad to see you're awake," Dumbledore said, his piercing eyes hinting that he knew what they had been doing. "We have come to discuss what happened on the Hogwarts Express yesterday."
Bella was looking around the room, as if confused why she was there. "Why am I in the hospital?"
"Sirius here modified your memory yesterday," Slughorn said. "Potter was cursing you at the same time, and you were thrown back against the wall and knocked out."
Bella's eyes bulged as if she was shocked. "But why would they be cursing me? I mean, I know we aren't the best of friends…"
"Come off it, Bellatrix," Sirius interrupted. "You and your goons came in with your wands out."
"And apparently, you are the only one of your group to have been injured," McGonagall added. "Potter and Channing were also injured, as well as Sirius here."
"Channing?" Bella asked, as if she couldn't recall who that was right away.
Dumbledore was staring at her, and she decided to cut back on the fake-ignorance. It was better to go for the honest approach. After all, she couldn't remember doing anything, so would they really punish her for it?
"The reason we are here is because we need to make it absolutely clear that this sort of thing will not happen again," Dumbledore said. "Under no circumstances are you to attack another student, or even to pull out a wand—unless it is in self-defense."
"Yes, Headmaster," Bella said quickly with wide, understanding eyes.
Sirius nodded.
"We have decided that your punishment will be two weeks of detention," McGonagall said. "Professor Slughorn has agreed to let me administer detention for the both of you."
Bella was disappointed that Slughorn hadn't taken control of her detention himself. She was a part of the Slug Club, and if she had had detention with him, he would have been easy on her.
"Also, fifteen points have been taken away from your Houses for each offence," McGonagall added. "And even though you have missed your first day of classes, you will not be given any extensions or special treatment because you were in the hospital wing."
Bella's heart sank. At least I read ahead this summer, she consoled herself. She didn't want to waste time trying to catch up when she could be practicing more…interesting...spells with her like-minded Slytherins.
After lecturing the students a bit more, the professors left. Bella was itching to leave, but knew she shouldn't without Pomfrey's permission. She pretended to be asleep to avoid conversation with the pompous oaf on the bed next to hers until Pomfrey came to check on them.
After checking on Bella, she said, "You're free to go, honey. But mind your head!" She gave her a potion to help with the headache. As Bella was leaving, she heard Sirius protesting behind her, "But my arm is fine! Let me go too!"
As the door shut behind her, she grinned as she thought of all the juicy gossip she would have to share with the Slytherins as soon as she got down to the dungeons. Yes, she had detention, but nothing could dampen the thought that somehow she, Avery, and Lestrange had given Sirius frostbite, Potter bloody eyes, and Channing a twitching wrist.