*** 7 – Familiar Faces & Strange Places ***

"And they're sure she's going to make it through."

Liz was hearing voices again. This one sounded extremely familiar, especially in the hushed tone it was using. The next voice she heard was one she could actually now match to a face without seeing.

"Both Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey are saying that she'll recover completely form the wound. It's the memory loss that has everyone worried." Draco's voice was as quiet as the other, and it was only now that Liz registered the fact that he was once again holding her hand as she slept. She wondered if he had gotten any sleep at all.

"I know that's the big concern, but I gotta tell you man, I was so terrified when I saw Remus pull her from that window. I've never seen anyone that pale."

"You should have seen me when they brought her in like that. I thought I'd pass out right in the front hallway." Liz felt a light hand gently stroking her forehead. "I thought I was losing her all over again."

The silence fell in the room, and Liz decided to break the ice herself. Pulling her strength together, she opened her eyes weakly. Her eyes fell upon Draco, who was right at her side, his hand still stroking her forehead. At the sight of her opened eyes, he smiled, and gently removed his hand.

"Hey," he whispered to her, his eyes shining.

"Hi," she whispered back, feeling the swell of emotions coming from him. It was extremely powerful. "How long have I been out?"

"You were asleep for the first week of you being here. After you woke up, you fell back asleep for another three days."

"Haven't slept that long in a while," Liz said, slowly trying to sit up. Draco quickly moved up to her side to help her raise herself up, and adjust the pillows behind her so she could sit comfortably.

"Same here," he told her as she settled herself in a sitting position on her bed and he took her hand once more. He had been gazing at her the entire time, and she felt oddly warmed by his look. She gave him a grateful smile, but was pulled from her trance by someone clearing their throat in the corner. Liz removed her eyes from Draco and let them fall on the source of the cough.

The last time she had seen him, he had been gaunt and unhealthy with dirty hair and hollow eyes. Now, as he approached her bedside, she saw that his hair was clean and pulled away from his face, and his blue eyes shone at the sight of her. He had miraculously gained some weight, and finally looked proportional with his body, complete with burly arms and a tall proud stance. Liz couldn't believe it was the same man. How long had she been asleep?

"Blake?" she asked timidly.

He allowed a smile to settle itself on his handsome face as he moved closer. "Actually, it's Blaise. Blake's a name I use when I go undercover."

Liz stared in disbelief. "How?"

Blake, or Blaise, sat on the opposite side of the bed as Draco, and wrapped Liz in a warm hug, which she wholeheartedly returned. Draco let Liz's hand slip from his grasp to give Blaise a solid hug, but took it back once they had pulled apart. Strangely, Liz didn't seem bothered by this. It seemed almost natural.

"I'm so sorry that I left you out there." Liz furrowed her brow at Blaise's comment.

"What do you mean?" she inquired. "You had no idea they would come after me like that. I figured they'd be chasing after you more because you'd been in the facility longer."

Blaise and Draco exchanged a knowing look that served to confuse Liz. She glanced back and forth between them, the expression on her face willing one of them to explain what she apparently didn't know.

Just as Blaise opened his mouth, an uncomfortable and hesitant look on his face, the door to Liz's room opened, and in came Albus, followed by a large and hopeful-looking group of people that she didn't recognize.

"Ah, I see you've reunited with an old friend, my dear," Albus observed as he glanced between Blaise and Liz.

"Yes, actually it was Blaise who got us out of that dreadful place." Liz shivered at her own statement, but felt a reassuring squeeze on her hand from Draco. She shot him a brief but grateful smile that was not missed by anyone in the room. Feeling braver now that she knew she was supported (even if she didn't know why), she continued. "I'm not entirely sure how though."

Suddenly, everyone in the room seemed utterly fascinated with their shoes. Liz looked around, confused once again.

"I believe the time has come to tell you the whole story my dear," Albus said again. He was calling her 'dear' again. Liz wished he would just call her by her name, but was concerned about this 'whole story' that they had to tell her.

"There's a story?" Liz asked, trying to bring some humour to the situation, but failing miserably. Once again, she felt a warm pressure applied to her hand, and she tightened her grip on Draco's in return.

"There's a fairly extensive story," Albus informed her.

"Would it be possible for me to not be in this bed when I hear it?"

Everyone's eyes went over to the woman in the red gown and apron. It took Liz a second to remember her name – Poppy, she believed. Poppy looked at Albus with a soft smile that betrayed the sadness in her eyes. "She has physically healed from her wounds, but I highly recommend that she takes it easy for the next few days. So yes, I suppose, it would be alright for her to leave her bed."

Liz breathed a sigh of relief. She was extremely uncomfortable with all of those people behind Albus staring at her. At least if she could get them into a normal room (a sitting room, perhaps), they wouldn't all be facing and focused on her.

"That settles it then. Why don't we give you a few minutes to change my dear?" Albus suggested.

"My clothes?" Liz asked.

"Your clothes were unfortunately torn & ripped during your struggle," a kind yet tired man who stood at the edge of the group told her.

"You can borrow some of mine," offered a redheaded girl next to the dark haired man Liz remembered from the park.

"Thank you," Liz smiled. The redhead's eyes sparkled as she smiled and skipped from the room.

"Why don't we all go wait in the sitting room in the meantime." It was more of an order from Albus, but everyone seemed perfectly content to follow his instruction. They all shuffled towards the doorway, including Draco, who had given Liz's hand one last squeeze before standing. "Molly," Albus started again, and Liz saw an older redheaded woman turn to look at him. "Could I request your services for a few minutes in the kitchen. I think our guest here might be a little hungry after all she's been through."

Molly's eyes flew to Liz, who suddenly realized how right he was. Her stomach pained her with hunger. Giving her a soft smile, identical to the younger redhead's, Molly nodded and headed out of the room.

The younger girl returned just as the last of the group left the room. She placed her clothes and a hair elastic on the edge of the bed, and carefully helped Liz out of the bed before leaving again so she could change. Now that she was alone, the full weight of what had happened settled over her. She felt exhausted and dirty from it all, and felt an incredibly strong urge to take a three-hour bath. But Albus had seemed adamant that she hear the truth about what was really happening around her. Maybe she would ask for a bath after she had been fully informed of the situation. She was rather curious about it all. Dressing quickly, she threw her hair into a messy bun, allowing a few of her long curls to frame her face. She glanced in the mirror on the dresser, and sighed at her tired appearance. It had been a long few days.

Just as she opened the door, she suddenly realized that she had no idea where she was, nor where the sitting room actually was. Relief flooded through her when she stepped out into the hallway and found Draco waiting for her.

"I had a feeling you'd get lost on your own, and everyone seems really anxious to see you again," he said, smiling slightly.

"How very perceptive of you," Liz joked with him. "But I'm sure I could have found my way on my own."

"I have no doubt of that. But this way we don't have to send out a search party for you. It is a rather large house, and it is very easy to get lost around here." He held out his arm to her, and she accepted it, letting him lead her down the stairs and through various corridors.

Liz looked at the walls around her as they walked. "Whose house is this?"

"Harry's. His godfather left it to him when he passed."

"Which one is Harry?"

Draco looked a little stricken at this question, but he brushed it off quickly. "He's the one with the dark hair that was with me in the park."

"The one that was holding hands with the girl who got me the clothes."

He nodded. "That's Ginny, his wife."

"And Molly's her mother?"

"Yes." Liz felt a small swell of pride at the fact that she had deduced that on her own. "The other man that was in the park with us is Molly's youngest son, Ron."

"And who are the rest of them?"

"Why don't we save these questions for later? I have a feeling you're going to be on information overload in a little bit, and I don't want you to overwhelm you with having to remember everyone's name too."

"Fair enough," Liz said as they entered a large room with a high ceiling and dark curtains. In the centre of the room was a long, low-sitting wooden table that was covered from end to end with food. Molly had apparently been hard at work in the few minutes it had taken Liz to change. Everyone was settled around the room in various couches, chairs, or even the floor in some cases, and it appeared that they were all taking advantage of the wonderful spread in front of them. Draco led her to a small yet comfortable looking loveseat directly across from Albus, and sat down with her. He removed his arm from her grasp, and took her hand in a comforting gesture.

"Now, I know you may have many questions my dear, and I will try to answer them as best I can, but I ask that you please allow me to tell the full story before you pose them."

Liz had been taking a sip of the water that Draco had handed her while Albus spoke, but she nodded silently. She reached forward to pick up a sandwich and tucked her legs under her as she sat back. This had her leaning into Draco slightly, and she glanced up at him as if asking permission to do so. He smiled and gave her an almost imperceptible nod, and then placed an arm behind her across the back of the loveseat.

She smiled back once more (she seemed to be doing that a lot around him), and then turned her full attention to Albus to hear what he had to say.