A/N: Hi, everybody! .superman.is.my.lover, Kurama-forever, Jennie, twinsiren666 and Domlando Blonaghan, thanks for the reviews and the comliments! You make me all fuzzy inside :) Unfortunately this is one of the last chapters. There are three more left and then it's done.

Putting Pieces Together

St Mungo's Hospital

I had a vague recollection of some faces floating in my vision, and a white ceiling behind them. I remembered different faces, some of which I knew and some that were unfamiliar. But mostly, everything was a black hole, except for the terrifying dreams that harassed me.

I recall drifting up sometimes, out of the thick, pitch-black darkness where I swam in. That's when I would see the faces. They would talk to me, but I didn't understand what they were so anxious about. It wasn't long before the inky shadows dragged me down again. But every time I drifted up, I managed to get a little further and watch the faces a little longer. And slowly but surely I began to hear their voices even while I was submerged in my own mind, pulling me out of the nightmares.

A brown-haired man with a very hypnotizing voice sat next to me a lot, reading books to me. Remus, I remembered his name was. I knew him well. At least, I thought I did. Why else would he be so familiar?

Then there was an old man, with a long, white beard and twinkling, blue eyes, though they were very grave when he looked at me. Why would he be? And what was his name again? I was supposed to know it, that I knew. Ad… Adam… Al… Albert? Albus. That's it.

A couple that visited me together, although I saw the red-headed woman more often. She wore Healer's robes sometimes. Was she a Healer herself? No, a Trainee Healer, I thought, like another one that appears all the time. I didn't know his name, like I did Lily's, but I did know I didn't like him examining him. I didn't want to feel his hands touching my skin, but I couldn't tell him. My lips and tongue didn't work.

I missed someone. Someone I didn't see, but who should've been there. I remembered his voice calling out to me earlier, but why wasn't he here?

I opened my eyes. Ah, the man called Remus is here again. I had suspected it, because I could hear his voice. He was reading to me as usual.

Now he smiled. "There you are."

Of course I am. I'm here all the time. I peered at him. He didn't look too good. Quite peaky actually and rather pale. Is the full moon approaching perhaps? I frowned. What does that have anything to do with it? I racked my brain, trying to figure it out.

"What is it? Are you in pain?" Remus asked worriedly. He snapped his book shut.

Oh, right, Remus is a werewolf. I frowned again. Why doesn't that scare me? It should scare me, shouldn't it?

"Should I get a Healer?"

Please, anything but that. I tried shaking my head.

"No? No Healer?"

Ah, it works. I decided to try something else.

"Are you smiling at me?" Remus asked surprised.

I did it again.

"You are, aren't you?"

Is this Remus a simpleton? It felt as if the corners of my mouth were being pulled towards my ears. Of course I was smiling.

"Can you talk?" he inquired eagerly.

He certainly wasn't satisfied easily. Talk. Right. I would have to move my lips and my tongue and exhale, all at the same time. A dismal moan suddenly echoed through the room. I grimaced. Did I do that?

"Yeah, go on," Remus pressed. "You can do it."

I tried again. I settled for an easy word. "Hi." It came out strangely distorted and drawn out, but it was a word nonetheless.

Remus beamed painfully wide. "Hi." He grabbed my hand. I flinched. I wished people would just stop touching me. He noticed the change in me.

"What is it?" he asked.

Moving was easy compared to talking I decided. I pulled my hand out of his grasp with all my might. Remus looked at the uncomfortable squirming of my fingers.

"Oh," he said and let go. "I'm sorry." He folded his hands in his lap.

I regretted my actions immediately. I made an effort to say something, but what left my mouth was completely incoherent. My throat ached and my mouth was dry. When was the last time I drank something?

A new goal. I puckered my lips. "W…we...wa…" Then I moved my tongue up. "D…teh."

"What? Wa…teh? Water? You want some water?"

Yes! I nodded. Remus stood instantly and moved out of my sight. I couldn't turn my head far enough to see him, but I heard him rummaging around. He returned with a glass and a straw.

Right. I had my water, which left only one problem. How to drink. Fortunately Remus spotted my insecurity and placed the straw between my lips. Breathing out wasn't the answer, and breathing in wasn't quite it either. Then it hit me. I had to suck the water through. Feeling exceptionally proud I managed to get the water through the straw. It flowed over my tongue and into my throat. On instinct I swallowed. It burned my sore throat, but it was delicious.

I really was getting the hang of it now and took a few more sips before Remus pulled the glass away from me. "Just a little," he explained. "Your throat and stomach are not completely healed yet."

Is that why those Healers keep prodding my belly? To check if I'm healing properly? Am I injured? I supposed I was, since I was in a hospital. Why am I in a hospital? What has happened? It was all so vague.

"Miss Carden," a chipper voice said. "You're awake."

It was that Trainee Healer again.

"How are we feeling today?" he asked.

Well, I don't know about you, but I am feeling pretty shitty. It was a shame I hadn't managed to roll my eyes yet. Merlin, he's doing it again. He touched my forehead and then my neck. I recoiled instantly.

"No fever," the Healer mumbled, oblivious.

"Er… Hippocrates?" Remus began.

"Yes?"

"I don't think she likes to be touched," he said carefully. "Earlier she tried to get her hand out of mine and I think she just shied away from you."

Thank you, Remus. Always so observant. Was that another snippet of information that just popped up in my head? Remus, observant. James, funny. Pete, endearing. Lily, fiery. Sirius, loyal.

Sirius, oh God. Unexpectedly flashes appeared before my eyes. Him screaming in shock and horror, being held back. Him twisting in obvious agony. Him standing proudly, but bruised. Him wrapping his arm around me briefly before I was torn away from him.

I moaned. Where did that come from? Those are just nightmares from when I'm asleep, aren't they? Aren't they? What is going on here, for Merlin's sake?

"Niamh?" Remus asked concerned. "What's wrong with her?"

"Are you in pain, Miss Carden?" the Healer pried.

No. Yes! What is happening to me? What has happened to me? Stop touching me! I tried to shake the Healer's hand off, but it lay heavily on my shoulder. Too heavy. Get off! Get off! I gulped for air, feeling smothered.

"Miss Carden!"

"Niamh!"

I panicked when the Healer pointed his wand at me, but then I felt so sleepy all of a sudden. I had to close my eyes. I couldn't stay awake… I had to…


I slept a lot, but every time I woke my heart was beating fast and irregular. Sleeping was not very comforting, because of those awful images that haunted me. I'd much rather stay awake, but I was being fed Sleeping Potions every night. I'd been dozing the entire morning when a sound woke me. I looked around and discovered I could do it much more easily than before. 'Before' was a vague classification though. I had no idea how long I'd been here already.

Remus was there again, this time with Lily. I smiled.

They smiled back.

"Hi."

Positively gleaming with joy they greeted me back. Well, if a simple 'hi' can have them be elated like that… "Lil…ie."

She smiled even wider, though her eyes were brimming with tears now. Am I such a ghastly sight? I reckoned asking for a mirror was not the best of ideas.

"How are you feeling?" Remus wanted to know.

"O…kay."

This sluggishness was frustrating me to no end. I wanted to ask so many things, but my mouth simply wouldn't cooperate. And my body was so slow responding to my commands. I wanted to know why!

"W…whe…re is Siw…Si…Siri…yus?"

"Sirius?" Remus repeated. He shared a look with Lily I didn't understand. "He's out on patrol. He's been here often, but you were asleep every time. You keep missing each other."

Oh. What is my connection to Sirius anyway? Why do I react so strongly to him, even if it's just his name? Why is he part of my nightmares?

"James and Peter have been here to see you too," Lily added.

"And Lana too," Remus smirked.

Lana? Ah, right, she's a friend.

"We couldn't let her in, of course, because we had no way of telling if it was really her," he explained. "She was quite angry, threatening to cook your guards' balls if they didn't let her in."

I smiled.

"Though I was fairly certain it was her when she started giving the guards the exact recipe," Remus admitted.

I burst out laughing, a hideously wheezy and croaky sound that hurt my throat. But it was progress. Then it hit me, my laugh dying in my throat. Guards? Why do I have guards?

"Gua…ds? Why?"

Lily blinked in confusion. "Guards? To protect you of course. You are still very much in danger. Now more than ever."

"Why?"

"Oh, bloody hell," Remus groaned. "You don't remember?"

Remember WHAT? I shook my head, beginning to feel rather uneasy.

"Er… I have to talk to the Healer," he said hurriedly and stood. "I'll be right back."

I looked at Lily for an explanation, who tried to smile comfortingly. It didn't help. "Lily?" I asked, the urgency making me more articulate.

She looked uneasy. "We'll just wait for Healer Shepard. He'll know what to do."

Someone sauntered in, but it wasn't Healer Shepard. "You're awake!" Sirius said surprised, and rather taken aback, right before a huge grin appeared on his face.

It felt like the air was forced out of my lungs as I looked at him. With the power of a bludger it had just hit me. I wasn't having nightmares. It had never been a nightmare. Those dreams, those images in my head, they were real. It all rushed back into my head. Voldemort, Sirius, Lucius, Bellatrix, Severus, my father, Evan…

I screamed.

The Healer rushed in. "What is the meaning of this?" he bellowed.

I couldn't stop. The raspy sound coming from my mouth hurt my ears, but I couldn't stop. Sirius's eyes had magnified into huge, startled orbs. He looked as if he'd been punched in the face. Lily had clasped her hands over her mouth, near crying.

I had no choice but to look at Sirius. His face had triggered the flood of memories and I needed to know all of it. My face was taut, my eyes bulging, and my mouth wide open. I must have looked like a banshee, but I couldn't help myself, not even when I noticed the hurt I was inflicting on Sirius.

"Get him out!" Shepard shouted, pointing at Sirius, who led himself be led along meekly by Remus, his face still shocked.

"Miss Carden," the Healer soothed. "Calm down, miss."

"Don't… touch… me," I breathed raggedly when he grabbed my hand. "Go…'way."

"Miss Carden, you need to calm down," he tried again.

"Go…'way!" I hissed. "Leave!" Go away, go away, go away, go away!

Shepard nodded at Lily. "We'll be right outside if you need us."

Finally!

I leaned back in my pillows, trembling now I knew what had happened to me. I touched my throat, which was still bandaged, and then looked at my wrist, which appeared to be healed. I could move it without pain. A flash of a boot stepping on it appeared in my head. I shuddered when I could almost hear the sickening crack it had made.

There was a small crease in my bottom lip I noticed when I ran my tongue over it. I could barely hold back a gag, remembering Evan's forceful touch.

In shock I stared out of the window, not being able to do anything, to think anything. I could feel a vicious headache coming up. Captured. Tortured. Raped… I've been ra – by Evan. Lucius had reduced me to nothing more than a piece of flesh and it was a humiliation that struck me to my core, but Evan… That was personal. My face burned with disgust and shame.

How long have I been here? Where is Evan? And Lucius?

I gritted my teeth and inched closer to the edge of the bed. Enough of this! I will not be reduced to a helpless plant as well! The floor was a mile away but I scooted my legs over the edge, sliding down. I crumpled into a heap on the floor straight away, my knees bruised by the hard floor. I breathed heavily, almost snorting like a horse.

In a surge of anger I grabbed the frame of the bed and heaved myself to my feet, trying to control my wobbly legs. I leaned on the bed for a moment, becoming more and more enraged. The hands that stuck out of the sleeves of my nightgown were thin and bony, my skin a yellowish colour. My anger flared up once again. I relished in it; it made me able to stand. I would not be overcome. It was a resolve that burned brightly in my chest, fed by resentment and fury.

I shuffled to the wall to use it to get out of this room. I fell to my knees three times before I reached the door, but I forced myself to get up, despite my breath that was grating past my throat. Stars danced in my vision when I grabbed the door handle. I froze. Sirius's voice had never been quiet and dulcet; it carried easily through the hallway.

"Stop telling me it'll be okay, Remus! Didn't you see her face?"

"Look, she had just told us she didn't remember what happened. I guess seeing you triggered it somehow. It caught her by surprise just as much as it did us."

I heard a pained, humourless laugh. "Of course I triggered it. It's all my fault to begin with."

"Will you stop that? It is not your fault."

"Did you see – you saw her face. God, she looked at me as if I were the one who – who… I've never seen her like that. She was scared of me. She's never been scared of me, no matter what I did or said. Never. But back there, she was terrified. Because of me."

I knew I had hurt him with my reaction, but I couldn't deal with that on top of everything else. I was already on the verge of losing it completely, I feared. I squared my jaw and swung the door open, staggering outside.

"Niamh!" I heard them both gasp. They dashed towards me.

I stopped them with a fierce look. "Tell me… what… ha… ppened. How... found?"

"Just get back to bed first," Remus insisted and made a move to take my elbow.

I drew back, away from him. "Walk… myself!" I hissed.

"Okay," he replied calmly, raising his hands.

I turned around, willing the dizziness to disappear, and dragged myself back into the room. I didn't meet Sirius's gaze. I knew I should apologize, but I was too preoccupied with my own feelings. I only fell once on my way back, making Sirius and Remus back off with a glare, and climbed back in bed with difficulty. Sirius looked ready to burst, as if he couldn't bear seeing me like this. Well, I can't bear seeing myself like this either!

I raised my eyebrows expectantly.

"Moody and Dumbledore got you two out," Remus began. "You sent Lily a Patronus, didn't you, to ask about Sirius?"

I nodded.

"She didn't know where he was, but she was worried, so she sent James a message, who she knew was still at work. He told her Sirius had left hours ago. She sent another Patronus to you, but you didn't respond. And neither did Sirius."

I'd already been at the Death Eater gathering. I nodded at Remus again to make him continue, but it was Sirius who opened his mouth, trying to catch my eyes with his, but I wouldn't let him. He sighed once, but began to talk anyway.

"Lily was worried that neither of us answered and went to Auror Headquarters. She and James rallied the Order, but there was nothing they could do. They had no idea where we were. On top of that, Dorcas didn't respond either and when Moody sent a few Aurors to investigate they found her dead."

Now I looked at Sirius. We had known that. Voldemort had taunted us with his plan.

"It'd been hours without any word from either of you," Remus chipped in when Sirius stayed silent, "so Moody put the Aurors and the Ministry on full alert. He received a message from a Chief Police Officer – you know Moody has connections with almost all of them – that something suspicious was going on. Something not Muggle."

"What?" I croaked.

"Two young Muggle boys had come running to the police station that the old, deserted Queshire mansion was filling up with people in strange costumes. When two police officers were sent to investigate it, they didn't come back. The boys, too curious for their own good, had returned to the mansion and witnessed the murders. They described it as green flashes. That's when the Chief of Police was contacted and he alerted Moody."

Saved by Muggles. Now that's irony.

"The entire Auror force and the Order were sent to that house," Sirius said. "They managed to arrest a few Death Eaters, but in the chaos most of them got away."

"I… have… names," I said.

"They're all covering each other. Malfoy is already released from all charges. Bellatrix and Rodolphus too. The rest all have alibis."

Lucius! I hissed in anger. "Evan?"

"He's still on the loose. Moody says he's identified him at the mansion – I don't know if that's true, actually. But he won't get away with it. And four are already in Azkaban. Alecto and Amycus Carrows, Dolohov, Karkaroff. Travers is dead."

Good, but not enough.

"Get… me… out of… this… hospital."