Chapter 28

St. Mungo's

Disclaimer-Not Mine.

In the starch-white room 221 of Saint Mungo's Hospital lay Julia. She had been placed on one of the two beds in the room, the other one occupied by Lily. Lily was propped up on her elbow, her eyes falling on the girl laying in the next bed over.

Sirius held Julia's hand in his own as he bowed his head. The room was deadly quiet. So quiet that even just hearing a pin drop would seem loud as a potion exploding in Transfiguration class. Without even thinking, Sirius started praying. He didn't know who he was talking to or if it was going to do any good, he just wanted some hope.

Hope that Julia would be okay.

He couldn't stand being in the Hospital Wing at school when he knew Julia was...well when she was at Saint Mungo's. So he left with Remus and James as soon as Pomfrey took her eyes off of him.

A doctor pushed open the door as she flipped through a packet on her clipboard. She rushed into the room, two nurses following her lead. They both made their way over to Julia, seeing as she was in a much more critical condition than Lily.

The doctor flicked her wand over Julia's body and small patches of her skin turned a dark blue, mostly around her hands, arms and toes. The stethoscope around her neck magically lifted off and landed on Julia, giving the doctors a more perfect reading than any of them could have gotten.

One of the nurses turned to Lily and began speaking, "I need you to tell me everything you know about what curses she was put under." He let go of his pen and it stood up by itself, scratching down the question he had just asked.

"Uh, there was one that made her stop breathing. It was..." Lily thought for a moment before saying, "Pasaero, I believe."

The nurse nodded so she continued, "There was also another one as well..." She looked over his shoulder and called to Sirius. "Sirius what was the other spell that was put on her?"

Sirius looked grimly up from Julia and muttered, "Deterorpus."

The staff of doctors all looked at him, the same surprised look on all of their faces. Lily had expected this reaction because she knew how popular this spell was becoming. The Death Eaters had been using it on others to gain support. Once a person joined them, they took the spell off of them, and said person still remained loyal to the Dark Lord.

The head doctor nodded, "I need some Deterisic potion, stat!" She said to one of the nurses, who flicked her wand. "I want these kids out of here." She added.

The man nodded and began to usher the kids out of the hospital room. Sirius looked frantically around the man's shoulders to look at Julia.

"What's Deterisic potion do?" James asked Lily, figuring she knew a hell of a lot about potions.

"It's an anti-depressant." She replied.

Sirius turned around to her, "A what?" He asked.

"The spell that was put on her, that made her seem so out of it, has a side effect of depression if the spell is on the person for too long." She quickly explained as the nurse slammed the glass door shut.

"What?" Was all Sirius could get out.

Lily shook her head, "It's not a big deal Sirius. The curse has a cure." She said partially because it was Sirius who put the spell on her and she figured he didn't need anymore guilt now.

"We need an O.R. right now." The doctor told one of her nurses. One responded immediately by flicking her wand. The entire room turned into a cold dark room. The floors turned a dark gray color and the walls, a metallic color. The doctor dragged a large light over where Julia was laying.

Sirius pressed his face up against the glass, so every time he breathed, a light mist covered a portion of it. The doctor motioned to the window with her wand and curtains shot across both sides of the window making it impossible for anyone to see inside the room.

"They can't just do this." Sirius said frantically as he searched for a break in the curtains.

Lily plopped into a waiting chair in the hallway. She put her hands over her face and let out a long, slow sigh. Remus, noticing this, sat down next to her and draped his arm around her shoulder. "She's going to be fine." He assured her.

Sirius began to pace back and forth over and over again. James watched him silently for a while before saying, "This is all my fault." He said quietly.

All of his friends looked at him, frowning. "Your fault? No, this is mine." Lily said. "If I hadn't-."

"Are you kidding me?" Sirius interrupted. "This is my fault. He's my father!"

Remus shook his head, "It's none of our faults. We could do this all night but the truth is, it was out of our hands." He wisely stated.

Lily nodded her head slowly and opened her mouth to say something, but a dark haired boy appeared next to them, panting heavily. "Where...Is...She?" Julia's brother asked them.

The group remained silent until Remus spoke up, "She's in there, Tom." He said, nodding to the room in front of them.

"Is she okay?" He painfully asked. He was so afraid of an answer. Julia was the only family he had, and frankly, she was his best friend. He couldn't imagine ever living without her, and the way the Headmaster had explained, she wasn't doing too well.

Again, the group remained silent. "It's just-." Lily began. "Yes." She said unconvincingly.

Instead of getting sadder, Tom only got more angry. He turned to Sirius and yelled, "What did you do to her?"

Sirius lowered his head and said nothing. It was his fault, and he would be perfectly glad if Tom were to beat him up, as he figured he deserved it.

"It wasn't him." Lily spoke up.

Tom turned to her and asked, "What happened to her?" When Lily didn't say anything he turned to Sirius and snarled, "Tell me!"

"Okay." He said softly. And he did. He started by explaining how he had taken Julia up until the Aurors and the Headmaster entered the Shrieking Shack. He didn't leave anything out. He was tired of hiding what his father had been doing to him and why he had to break up with Julia.

Remus was partially relieved to hear that Sirius hadn't done what he did to Julia just on impulse, but that he actually had had a good reason. He never really understood why he would have done something so stupid to break himself up with her, but now that he knew it made perfect sense.

"I'm so sorry Sirius for anything I ever said to you." Lily said quietly. She wasn't much for apologizes but she knew she really messed up, and Sirius deserved it.

Sirius shrugged, "I would have done the same thing if our positions were switched."

Lily nodded, glad that he accepted her apology. "I can't believe it." Tom murmured. "I have to be the stupidest man alive."

"What?" Sirius asked. "I don't hold anything against you either-." He began but Tom cut him off.

"No I shouldn't have listened to that Slytherin. Regulus or whatever his name is..." Tom replied.

"Regulus?" Sirius asked. "What does he have to do with this?"

Tom didn't speak for a few seconds. He shook his head and slowly explained, "It was kind of his idea to test you, and see if you really would cheat on Julia if you had the opportunity." Tom lowered his head before continuing, "I mean, not directly."

The door to the make-shift O.R. opened and the doctor stepped out. All eyes fell on her.

"What's going on?" Tom asked.

"I'm going to need to speak with her parents. Are they on their way?" The doctor asked them.

Tom nodded, "I'm her guardian."

"How old are you?" The doctor questioned but Tom was used to this. Anytime he took Julia to the doctors or the dentist even, no one ever believed he was her guardian. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out several forms.

"There's all my information there." He explained. "Now please tell me what is going on?"

The doctor nodded and she said to the group of students, "Could you give us a minute?"

"They're fine." Tom answered for them. "Now how is she?"

She looked down at the forms one last time before looking up at Tom. She had been doing this job for ten years but it never got any easier to tell people the news. "Well Mr. Carr, she's still in critical condition but things are looking better."

A wave of relief flooded over the group, "There are still a few more procedures we want to do to insure that she will have no long-term damages from this."

Tom nodded, "Whatever you think is best."

"What did you just do to her?" Sirius piped in.

Doctor Cameron looked at Tom, as if to ask him if it was alright if she shared this information with him. Tom nodded in response so the doctor spoke, "The curse Deterocorpus flows through the bodies lymphatic system, which is like the bodies cleaning system." She pushed her glasses higher up her nose and continued, "The curse travels through this system and eventually gets trapped in the lymph nodes under the arm. If the curse is left there, it will grow stronger. If it becomes too strong, it will permanently cause depression to the victim. What we did just then, was we applied a counter-potion to the lymph nodes, which will reduce, then get rid of the spell within a few hours."

Tom understood what she was saying, "And what about the other curse put on her? How did you get rid of it?"

"There's a simple counter-spell to get rid of it." Cameron answered. "But what we want to do next, is make sure that her lungs and trachea are in good condition."

"How do you do that?" Tom asked.

"It's a simple procedure. There's a spell that will access the damages on any part of the body, which is what we'll start with. Damage done to either one of these can be cured." She assured him.

"So she'll be okay?" Sirius interrupted.

"As long as she stays in a stable condition, she should be able to go back to school in a week or so." Sirius let out a long sigh of relief at this, as did the rest of the students in the hallway. "Do you have any questions for me?" The doctor asked. Tom shook his head and Dr. Cameron handed him some consent forms to fill out.

Sirius let a small smile spread over his face but only for a second. He had just gone from his all-time low. He had thought she was going to die. But now he was happy again, which was something he didn't think could be possible for him.

"Oh my God." Lily muttered, a thought finally registering with her. "Sirius," She began excitedly. "This means you can get back together!" She sat up in her chair and clapped her hands together. "You can tell her that you didn't really mean to cheat on her."

A smile cracked across James's face. He wouldn't have to be stuck in the middle of this anymore either, "I didn't think of that." James said.

"I did." Sirius said, rather solemnly.

"Why don't you sound happy about it?" Lily asked.

Sirius shrugged, "I am going to tell her everything that happened." His eyes landed on the brown curtains covering the window. "I just, want. To. Wait." He slowly said.

Lily's dark red eyebrows rose, "What? Why? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard of."

Sirius shook his head, "Maybe. But I just want to make sure everything settles down first."

Remus nodded in agreement. "I think you should definitely wait until after your father's trial and he's convicted, which he will be." He assured Sirius.

"And after your own." James blurted out.

"My own?" Sirius asked his best friend.

"Oh, I just mean that," James began. "You were caught doing an Unforgivable Curse. Don't you think you're going to go to court for it?" He asked him.

"B-But he'll be found innocent right?" Lily asked.

"Of course he will be." Tom spoke up. "He did it to protect you two. Besides, once the judge hears about what he put you three through, I don't think they could find you guilty."

The group fell silent for a few seconds before Sirius spoke up again, "Can all of you promise me not to tell her about this? Not just yet anyway? I just want to make sure she's safe before I-."

"Aw that's so sweet." Lily said, pinching his cheek. Sirius pushed her hand away and James chuckled.

"Yeah I promise." James said. Remus and Tom nodded in agreement but Lily frowned.

"But I really think she should know." She said.

"Please Lily, not yet."

"Then what are we going to tell her?" Lily asked him.

Sirius shrugged, "Leave that to me."

"But Sirius-." Lily whined.

"Please." Sirius interrupted.

"Fine." Lily agreed, less than enthusiastically.

"Miss Evans is it?" The doctor began, "Yes well, could you come into this room, we want to bandage you up before we let you leave."


A Week Later...

Lily sat next to Julia, who was lying in a bed in the hospital wing. The doctors had released her from Saint Mungo's only this morning, however Madame Pomprey had thought it best that she rested for a few days before resuming classes.

"Julia, I really think you should give Sirius a second chance." Lily spoke out of the blue as she flipped the page of her potion's text book.

Julia, brow furrowed, looked up at her from her spot on the hospital wing bed. For a few seconds, she remained speechless. Lily Evans loathed Sirius Black with every ounce of her body only a few days before, but now she had forgiven him. "What?" Julia asked, perplexed.

Lily looked up from her work too, "I just mean..." She paused a moment before continuing, "I just think what he did for you the other night should make up for the way he cheated on you." She spoke slowly, as to be sure she wasn't going to let anything slip about what really happened the night of the 'Shrieking Shack Incident'.

Julia frowned. She didn't understand what had made what Sirius did so heroic about that night. Sirius had explained to her that a death eater had mistaken them for other students. Students whose parents were aurors. The death eaters had planned on using them to get information about how the Ministry was going to react to the recent deaths caused by a Dark Lord. "But what did he-?" She began but Lily interrupted.

"Look. Sirius left some stuff about what happened out." Lily said with a sigh. She knew she couldn't tell her, though it was really hard for her not to. But couldn't she embellish the story a little? "He did a lot for you that night. I just don't think he wants you to know because he thinks you'll reject him again. Like you did that day after Herbology." She explained.

Julia bit her bottom lip and looked down at her lap, "I guess that makes sense."

A soft chiming could be heard coming from the clock in the corner of the hospital wing. "I gotta go to Defense now." Lily said, picking up her things. "I'll talk to you later."

Julia let out a sigh. She hated being in the Hospital Wing. There was nothing there to do, no one to talk to, and the food stunk. She leaned her head back against her pillow and closed her eyes. Sleep was the only thing she could think to do, though it didn't come easier for her at the present moment. She couldn't seem to forget what Lily had said to her. Maybe she was wrong about Sirius, maybe he wasn't as bad as she previously thought.

But he cheated on her and she saw it. He ruined all the trust she had in him, yet she couldn't stop thinking about him. She immediately cursed herself for admitting that Sirius was on her mind pretty much constantly.

Julia reached over to her nightstand and pulled a piece of parchment off of it and a quill. On the top of the parchment, she wrote on the left hand side, Friends with Sirius. And on the other, Not.

Under the Not column, she started writing:

Cheater

Untrustworthy

Slacker

Troublesome

Works on impulse

Short Temper

Under the Friends with Sirius, she wrote:

Slacker

Troublesome

Works on impulse

Short temper

Friendly

Funny

Lily trusts him

James trusts him

Cute

She starred at the last word in the column and scribbled it out. She couldn't get attached to him again. She let out a long sigh as she read over the list. The truth with, she loved almost everything she hated about him, if that makes any sense. She loved his stupid quirks. After shredding the list, she tossed it into the bin on the side of her bed. This wasn't helping her.

Sirius made his way across the room before plopping down next to Julia. "I just wanted to make sure you were doing better today." He said, with a small smile.

"I am, thanks." Julia replied, not looking him in the eye. Instead, her eyes landed on the things in his hands. "What is all that stuff?" She inquired.

"Oh this?" Sirius said, as though he had forgotten he was holding anything. "It's for you." He gently lay the items onto her bed. "There's all the Charms homework you missed."

Julia groaned as she read through the list of the homework she would have to make up. "But on a better note," He said with a sly grin. "There's some quidditch magazines there and Lily said you'd like that girl magazine." He nodded to the magazine with a picture of Ian Grugger on the front cover, under him was written Quidditch Beater Voted Number One Hottie of this Year.

"Sirius, be honest," Julia said, picking up the magazine. "Lily didn't tell you to get this magazine, you just wanted a better look at the number one hottie." She teased.

Sirius grinned, "Very funny." He sarcastically replied. "Oh and," He looked over his shoulder to make sure Pomprey wasn't around. "I got you some real food." He winked as he pulled a box of chocolate out of his pocket.

"Thanks Black." She happily replied, as she took the chocolate. She looked down at it, slightly confused. Why was he still trying to be her friend even after what she had said to him? She didn't want to be his friend. She was too hurt by what he had done to her. But then her thoughts went to Lily. She couldn't believe that she would change her opinion about Sirius. Lily, the most stubborn person Julia had ever met, actually admitted she was wrong.

"Well I should get going. McGonagall will have my head if I'm late to class again." He stood up to leave but Julia put her hand on his arm. Sirius froze and looked down at her hand. She immediately removed it and lowered her head.

"Look, I don't exactly what happened the other day at the Shrieking Shack." She began.

"But I told you everything."

Julia shook her head, "According to Lily, you didn't."

Sirius could feel his temper rising. Why would Lily tell Julia now? Couldn't she keep her mouth shut for a few weeks? "What did she tell you?" He asked.

"Not really anything, just that I should forgive you." She explained. Sirius remained silent so she continued, "And I think for Lily to say that she was wrong about you, and that you deserve a second chance, that's really something."

"So you forgive me?" Sirius asked, hopefully.

Julia shrugged, "Maybe, I don't know..." She paused. "Remember what I told you about how I never wanted to be your friend again?"

"How could I forget?" Sirius whispered, as he sat down on the end of her bed.

"Well, maybe I was wrong about that." She looked up at him, a war going on inside her. She never wanted to forgive him, he had hurt him too much. But Lily changed her mind about, and she knew Lily doesn't do that easily. "I mean, we can't be a couple again but maybe I owe it to you to at least be friends again."

Sirius let a smile across his face before happily hugging her. "I won't mess up again." He promised.

"You better not." Julia half-teased. The other half of her truly meant it.

Another soft chime came from the clock in the corner of the room. "Shoot I'm late." He stood up and headed towards the door. "I'll see you later, Julia."

"Bye." Julia replied quietly.

A/N And another chapter...

Please review! I think you guys should really like the next chapter...

Kait