Elephants
We're unwanted strangers,
exploited and dangerous,
unable to hide or even dream of it.
Como estas?
parting the seas,
like lepers who stroll,
why you afraid, sweetie?
Hermione
5/2/11
4:08 p.m.
I slipped into the room, pulling Harry in with me, and we backed into a corner. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Three Healers and Madam Pompfrey were talking quietly but urgently as they cast complex spells and readied bandages. Anger rose inside me as I saw that Jenny was 'medically' restrained, making it impossible for her to move. She wasn't gasping for air anymore, in fact, it looked like she was asleep. After 20 more minutes of activity, the healers left, leaving us alone. "Lupin will be furious, but Dawlish and Williamson made it impossible to get her treated any other way."
"Well, they did a great job, it looks like she's comfortable enough to sleep." Harry noted, then hurriedly looked down as Madam Pompfrey glared at him, then sighed.
"I'm sorry; it's not your fault." She sighed again. "Jenny isn't sleeping. They gave her sedatives in case she tried to 'attack' anyone."
"But that's ridiculous! She couldn't even sit up when she got here! And they can't just drug her like that!" I said furiously, and Madam Pompfrey nodded.
"I know, Miss Granger. Bargaining for medical care is cruel and might have some side affects. Luckily, all of the Healers assigned to her heard you two telling the whole story and are on our side. With some persuasion from the staff, maybe they'll treat her like a normal patient."
"Side affects?" I asked nervously.
"If she is too relaxed under the sedatives, she might not breathe on her own, and she could also go into a coma if they aren't careful with the dosages."
The burning was consuming everything, making him yell out in pain, too tired to even writhe from the heat. He could barely hear Lupin telling him things. "Jenny, Draco, think about Jenny," He kept saying, and after a while, he did. Holding the memories above the flames by thinking about them, Draco pictured her face, her smile, her laugh.
"Isn't that against some law? Overdosing on suspicious patients? They're risking her health for some prejudice!" Harry glared at the door, where Williamson and Dawlish were waiting across the hall, watching us.
"If you think for one second that they," she pointed at the Aurors, "see her as anything more than a criminal, even with your explanation, you are wrong. I didn't want to believe Remus…but I see now that he was right." She said quietly, lightly falling into a wicker chair beside Jenny's bed.
"Not long now, Draco, you'll be alright soon." He heard his mother say, sounding distraught. Someone took his hand and squeezed it. They let go as his hands formed into fists, tendons standing out in his skin as struggled to not scream out loud in agony.
"Have we heard? About Jenny?" He huffed painfully, and for a moment, no one said anything.
"Nothing yet, but they would have returned if she wasn't admitted." He thought he heard his father say with too much confidence.
"Oh, look!" I said, going over to the door as George, Ginny and Percy appeared farther down the hallway, walking towards Jenny's room.
"Can I help you?" Dawlish said coolly as they stopped when he blocked their way.
"Yes, we are here to visit a friend in the hospital." Percy said calmly. Williamson snorted, and Dawlish started to smile.
"I'm afraid the patient you are trying to visit is mentally unstable, dangerous, and a criminal wanted by the Ministry. For your own protection-"
"Jenny is my friend, and if you don't let me in to see her, I swear-" Saving Ginny from getting in prison, I poked my head outside the door.
"Thank you for your cautionary measures, but considering you've made sure Jenny was drugged until she was almost comatose, that isn't necessary." I said frostily, and Dawlish gaped at me, then scowled as Ginny's face turned red, and Percy and George glared at him in shock.
"Fine, go on in," he growled, and I opened the door and ushered the three inside.
"You weren't joking," Ginny said in horror as she crossed the room to Jenny's bed. "I can't believe this; they're treating her like Bellatrix Lestrange!" She raved, starting to pace furiously around the room.
"We match," George said mildly, examining the hole where her ear had been.
The burning was fading rapidly, bringing darkness in its stead, until Draco felt himself slipping away. But he wasn't afraid, he was afraid for Jenny. That was the last thing he thought about before the numbing darkness silenced his brain.
"Mmm," Jenny murmured, and after a second, her eyes flickered open; slowly taking in the room.
"Are you feeling any better?" Madam Pompfrey asked instantly.
"It doesn't hurt to breathe anymore." She said sleepily. "What time is it?" I glanced at the clock.
"It's 4:35," I said, and a relieved and lethargic smile broke out across her face.
"Draco's done then. Transforming, I mean. Have we heard anything?" She said quietly, and went to sit up and frowned, looking down to see the restraint across her chest, then the 4 cuffs that tied to the bed around her wrists and ankles.
"Jenny, the only way we could get you in was if they treated you like a psychiatric patient. I'm sorry." I explained quickly, and she frowned deeper.
"It was necessary." Said a voice, and when I turned, Dawlish and Williamson were in the doorway. Jenny's eyes narrowed when she saw them, all sleepiness gone.
"Necessary? To the contrary-" Ginny started heatedly, but Williamson talked right over her smoothly.
"I'm afraid all of you will have to leave. We've been given orders to question Quinty to assess her mental state."
"That's not in your jurisdiction, only a trained Healer can perform such a task." Madam Pompfrey said in a steely tone. Dawlish smiled a sick smile.
"I'm afraid that, due to the circumstances, that detail has been overlooked. This won't take long, I assure you." He said slyly, pulling out a flask from under his coat, and I could tell instantly that it was Veritasereum. Jenny went white at the sight of it.
"That's illegal." I said frostily, and Dawlish scowled at me.
"As I said, due to the circumstances and the status of Quinty with the Ministry, we are taking no chances. All of you, leave. Now." He said tightly, and with several glares, George, Ginny, Harry and Percy went out to stand in the hall. Neither Madam Pompfrey nor I moved. "Miss Granger, you are not exempt, nor are you, Madam Pompfrey. This is no longer your concern." Dawlish snapped.
"Jenny, it will be alright. No one can hurt you here, not even them." I said as reassuringly as possible as Williamson backed me out the door and into the hallway.
"Madam, if you would." Williamson gestured to the hallway, but Madam Pompfrey set her jaw.
"Drugs of any kind are to be administered by a professional in a hospital setting. At least let me do that." She glanced at Jenny once, who had her eyes closed and was breathing quite shallowly. I knew at once that she was more than afraid.
"Fine. The whole bottle, then get out," I heard Dawlish say nastily. Madam Pompfrey approached Jenny slowly, and with some maneuvering, moved her bed to an upright position. She paused for a moment, looking torn.
"Take a deep breath, Jenny, and calm down. I'm not going to force you to drink this, but you must drink it all. Ready?" Her voice was like ice when she glared at the two Aurors. Jenny did as she told her, then opened her eyes and nodded tightly once. Madam Pompfrey raised the bottle to her lips, and she drank, her eyes closing at the last swallow.
"Close the door on your way out," Williamson instructed, and Madam Pompfrey took one last look at Jenny, then left, closing the door behind her, trembling with rage.
"Never—in all my years—how dare-those-those-" Struggling to finish her sentence, she turned on her heel and stormed away. Moments later, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Tonks, Teddy, Lupin and Ron came up the hallway, looking concerned.
"What's going on? Where was Poppy going?" Tonks asked, a supporting arm under Lupin's, and Teddy in her other arm. It was George who answered.
"She got too mad to stay. They took Jenny, but they tied her down and drugged her for 'protection'. Just now, when she woke up, they came in with Veritasereum, demanding to be alone with her for a Ministry Interrogation." Lupin's face turned a shocking color of red in his anger.
"How dare they." Mrs. Weasley hissed; her hand on the handle of her wand in her pocket. "They must be breaking some law, some ordinance…" she looked at Percy for help, who shrugged dejectedly.
"No laws I know of have been broken, especially because Jenny isn't technically a citizen. All we can do is wait. I know the standard questions for an interrogation. Hopefully, if they stick to the laws they have to follow, the truth will come out."
Jenny
5/2/11
4:42 p.m.
Trying not to tremble, my heart filling with heavy and suffocating dread, I plastered Draco's face in my mind before I drank. The floating feeling where I remembered nothing instantly returned as soon as the last swallow went down my throat.
"What is your full name?" A voice asked.
"Jennifer Lillian Quinty."
"What is your blood status?"
"I'm a Muggle."
"Are you a werewolf, and if so, for how long?"
"I've been a werewolf since August."
"Why did you start to murder Death Eaters?"
"They kidnapped me and tortured and questioned me repeatedly with Veritasereum and Unforgivable Curses. Also, they killed everyone in my Muggle Family."
"What is a Muggle family?"
"My adoptive Muggle parents are what I consider my Muggle family, along with my friends from that life. I consider Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin as my mother and father now. When the war ended, they were going to adopt me."
"Adopt you?" someone spluttered.
"Yes."
"Focus, Williamson, focus! Now, did you spy for the Order of the Phoenix?"
"Yes, in the Ministry."
"Do you want to attack or kill anyone in the Wizarding World?"
"No."
"Are you dangerous as a werewolf?"
"If I don't receive a Wolfsbane Potion, then I don't know who I am when I transform each full moon, which is dangerous for anyone in the vicinity."
"Are you a legal Wizarding Citizen?"
"I am a werewolf, therefore, I am magical. I am not a…a wizard," I blinked, the room suddenly coming into focus. The two Aurors from before were looking at me strangely, and the room was empty except for them, making me tense. I was alone, they had Veritasereum, and I couldn't fight back. I felt my hands start to tremble and I looked down, trying not to cry.
"Further-further questioning will be needed." One of them stuttered, and still looking slightly shell-shocked, the two left, and I heard voices outside. After, my family and friends poured into the room as tears started to fall down my face. The feeling I had dreamed about and loathed for so long was back. I couldn't remember anything, I didn't know how long I had been questioned, or what they asked, or- Lupin cradled my face carefully, minding my ear and kissed my forehead, then wiped away the tears.
"It's all going to be alright, Jenny."
"No, they have to do it again, it's not alright." I whispered, and he hugged me, which was awkward, I couldn't hug him back.