Little Lily: The Second Year

Chapter Four: Fear

Lily let out a moan and pressed her face tightly against the deep pillow. It was soft and felt like a cloud under her head. She snuggled down under the covers of the bed more so, the weight of them comforting and soothing even though they were just a dream. Because there was no bed here, was there? Lily was sure she was dreaming, but at least it was a nice dream this time compared to all the nightmares she typically had. Dreaming of such a simple thing like a bed was a bit strange, but she hadn't slept in one for… well… she couldn't remember the last time she'd slept in a real bed.

"Lily?" A soft voice crooned and Lily's brow furrowed. The word sounded familiar… very familiar. It was a flower, she knew that, but it also had a more significant meaning somehow. More so than that was the voice… it was female. She hadn't heard a woman's voice for about the same amount of time she hadn't slept in a bed. That had to be part of her dream as well.

A gentle hand pressed against Lily's cheek and she squirmed, not sure what was going on. She was just dreaming… right? Just to be sure, she opened her eyes and was suddenly assaulted by bright light.

"Oh good, you're awake!" A woman with blonde hair came into view as Lily's eyes adjusted to the light of the room. The woman smiled at her kindly, her silver blue eyes sparkling as she did so. She had a kind voice and even kinder face, and Lily felt as though she could look at her forever.

"Wh-where…?" Lily glanced around again, but the bed she was in was surrounded by curtains and she couldn't see the rest of the room, though she could hear people moving about. There was the sound of a man's giddy laughter and the scribbling of a quill.

"This is St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. I'm Healer Lovegood, but you can just call me Luna. Do you know your name?" Luna asked gently, picking up a clipboard from the end of Lily's bed.

Her name? Lily blinked and nodded. That was an easy one. "Sparrow."

"Ah… I see." Luna heaved a sad sounding sigh. "How about your age?"

How old was she, Lily wondered to herself. She knew she was eleven, but then… how long had it been since she'd turned eleven? When was her birthday again? She couldn't quite pinpoint it, everything in her brain from before she'd been with the Number Men was scattered and fuzzy to the point where even something so simple as her birthday was hard to remember. "Er… Eleven… or twelve… Where's Two?"

"Two?"

"That man…"

"Oh! I'll explain that in a few minutes after we finish with our questions, alright?" Luna asked kindly, sitting down in a chair beside Lily's bed. Lily nodded. She wasn't sure if she wanted to see Two or if she wanted to never see him again. He and Three had been looking after her for a long time, but they weren't very nice men at all as it was. So perhaps she was better off without them? But then again, something panged inside her, a fear of being in unfamiliar surroundings with unfamiliar people.

"Do you know what the date is?"

"Christmas Eve?" Lily asked, tilting her head curiously. She wasn't good at keeping up with time since she couldn't pinpoint how long she had been with the Number Men, but she did remember Two saying something about it being Christmas Eve.

"Well, technically it's Christmas now, but only because you've been asleep. But that's good. Alright, I think that's all of the questions I needed to ask for now."

"So where's Two?" Lily asked again, sitting up higher in the bed and keeping the covers over her. The room was chilly without them.

"That man… Two? He's been sent to Azkaban for kidnapping you last April. You've been away for about nine months. Your name isn't Sparrow, it's Lily Willow Carpenter. You were eleven when you were taken, but you turned twelve at the end of August. Do you remember being kidnapped?"

"No." Lily shook her head. So her name wasn't Sparrow? It was Lily… that flower. That was why it had seemed so familiar. "But… I just know I wasn't where I was supposed to be."

"And do you know where you were supposed to be?"

"No. I used to, but not anymore." Lily sighed, straining her mind again. It hurt to do so and then she whimpered as flashes of scary images filled her memories. "There were scary bad people there. They had lots of red hair… and… and… there was a man with black hair. He hurt me… he hurt me really badly." She whimpered again, hugging herself and reaching for her pockets only to find she had been changed into a hospital robe instead of the dress she had been wearing. "My ball? Where's my ball?! Where is it!? Where is it!?"

Lily could feel panic rising up in her and she thrashed about in the bed, throwing back the covers and kicking the sheets, looking for the small glass ball that had been her only connection to the past… the only thing that made her feel safer. She climbed out of the bed and looked under it and then began tugging at the sheets, trying to get them off, her breathing getting more and more rapid as she did so.

"Shh! It's alright! It's right here… here it is!" Luna dug into a drawer beside Lily's bed which had little things in it. She pulled out the Snapper, offering it to Lily who snatched it from her and sat down on the bed. She brought her heels up, knees to her chest and began rocking back and forth. She rolled the Snapper between her palms, humming to herself and still breathing faster than normal.

When Lily seemed to have calmed down a good bit, Luna spoke again. "You need to rest some more, Lily. We'll talk more later, but for now are you hungry?"

Lily nodded, her stomach grumbling at the idea of food. She'd been allowed just enough to keep her alive for the most part over the course of the past nine months. She was thinner than she had been, raggedly chopped hair only slightly longer than it had been when Three had chopped it. If she hadn't been wearing the hospital gown her ribs would be visible.

"Well, let me fix up the bed and then I'll go get you some breakfast." Luna smiled and Lily climbed off the bed as she pulled out her wand. With one wave, all the bed clothes righted themselves and Luna pulled back the covers. Lily climbed in, keeping a tight hold on her Snapper. Luna pulled the covers up over her and gently stroked Lily's hair back from her forehead. "I'll be right back."

Lily rested her head and shoulders back against the soft pillows, feeling calmer than she had been. Luna was a nice woman so far, at least, she seemed to care about her enough to feed her and not talk too much about the Number Men for now.

Luna returned shortly carrying a tray. She set it down on the small table over the foot of Lily's bed and then unlocked the table from where it was attached to the bed. She rolled it up to where Lily could reach it with ease and then smiled, sitting down on the foot of the bed. "Your grandmother made the pie."

Lily looked down at the tray and was glad to see it wasn't porridge. Instead, she had been given real scrambled eggs and bacon along with a glass of orange juice and a small slice of golden colored pie the seemed vaguely familiar. Mouth watering, she began grabbing up egg without even bothering with the fork. The fork would just slow her down.

"Woah woah woah, Lily. You don't need to eat so fast, you'll make yourself sick. The food isn't going to grow legs and run off, don't worry. And if you're still hungry after, you can always have more." Luna said, reaching out and staying Lily's hand with a gentle touch upon her wrist. She picked up the fork and offered it to her. Lily took it hesitantly and began using it, lifting the eggs to her mouth and relishing the deliciousness of them. The Number Men had never given her eggs.

While Lily ate, Luna left her to go check up on some of her other patients. Lily ate both the eggs and bacon and then half her juice (which was like heaven) and then turned her focus to the pie. Luna had said her grandmother had made it… which meant she must have family. At least, she had a grandmother and one who had taken the time to make pie for her… That was something.

Lily picked up a bit of the pie with her fork and brought it to her mouth. Once the pie hit her tongue, Lily's fork was going back for more. She chewed, relishing the delicious sweetness of it and unable to help devouring it down like it was the most wonderful thing on the planet. She cleaned the plate completely and then finished her juice before pushing the table back down to the foot of the bed.

Feeling full and sleepy now, Lily yawned and laid down, cuddling back up beneath the covers. She tied a string from her gown around her Snapper in a way that it wouldn't come loose and then held it in her hand, knowing it would be safe even if she let go of it while she slept. She buried her head down against the pillow and closed her eyes, feeling more at ease than she had done in months.

…...

Lily lay quite still in the overly white and sterile looking hospital bed. She looked very tiny in it and worn out, but she was breathing perfectly and she was here… she was right here. Harry sat in a chair by her side, having refused to move until they knew exactly how badly her memories had been tampered with. Luna had already spoken to her a bit and had said that there were some things to be worried about as far as Lily's memories of people went. But as long as she was sleeping it was alright for Harry to be there with her… and they would have to see what happened when she woke up as well, to see exactly how someone from her past affected her.

Harry reached out a hand and ran it through Lily's pretty hair… or rather, what was left of it. Someone had chopped those lovely black locks into an awkward looking rough cut so that her hair fell only to the tip of her earlobe on one side, and the top of her other ear, completely lopsided. If he ever found out which one of those men had done it, he'd chop their hair and then kill them. Lily couldn't even have the braids she loved so much any more.

"Ah, Mr. Potter… your wife is here to see her."

"I haven't got a…" Harry stared at him confused for a moment before the voice that reached his ears explained everything.

"How is she? Is she hurt? Oh, I'll murder those bloody bastards!" Ginny came into the room, her legs in an awkward pair of braces, but working. They were to help strengthen her muscles after having not used them in so long since her Quidditch accident. Once the braces came off, she'd be as good as new, having undergone some serious magic and Muggle medical procedures.

"She's fine… A little bruised here and there, a bit thinner than she should be but otherwise, she's got a clean bill of health. Physically. We're not sure about mentally yet, but Luna said she seemed pretty frightened earlier when she asked if she remembered anything from before being kidnapped." Harry sighed, giving Ginny a very small relieved smile. She gave it back and slipped down into the chair beside him. She leaned forward and stroked what remained of Lily's fringe away from her forehead.

"Poor baby… look what they've done to her beautiful hair! But she's here… she's…. she's safe." Ginny blinked and the strong resolve that she was usually so very good at keeping up with broke as she let out a sob and covered her mouth with her hand. She closed her eyes tightly, willing herself to restrain. Harry shook his head at her and quickly wrapped his arm around her. She turned and buried her face against his shoulder, unable to hold it in. "I'm just so…"

"I know. You're happy she's here but pissed and sad as well." Harry nodded, able to understand perfectly. "It's fine. She should be waking up soon and then we can see the extent of the damage to her… look… there we go." He pointed and Ginny lifted her head.

Lily stretched as she always had… first her left leg, then the right, and then her arms lifted up over her head and held together to help arch her back up off of the bed before she dropped and, yawning, rubbed at her eyes. They opened and glanced around, taking in her surroundings. And then, her eyes alighted upon him and Ginny. He smiled at her. "Hey, Snidget."

Lily's eyes grew wide and her breathing increased rapidly all of a sudden. She had been sleeping peacefully, full and dreamless, her orange juice having been spiked with potion. And now she'd woken up and Luna was not here but some strange people were. A man… the man from her nightmares! The one with the black hair who had tortured her, who had used the Cruciatus spell on her. And a red haired woman… the woman who had run over her feet in a wheelchair.

"Snidget? Lily?" Harry's smile faltered and he rose from his chair. And then he caught it… the wave of fear that was spreading down her face, her mouth opening… "Oh no... no Snidget. You're safe sweetheart. It's Daddy, you're alright. Don't be scared, honey, oh please don't be frightened, you're…"

But Harry's voice was drowned out by the scream of horror his daughter emitted. She scrambled, trying to free herself from the bed sheets while scooting away from them at the same time… as though they were going to hurt her. Harry reached his hand out to her, but she screamed louder and finally freed herself of the bed. She fell off of it rapidly and then promptly crawled under the one next to it that was empty. She stood up and dashed out the door, still screaming her head off.

A Healer ran past the door and Harry sighed, dropping his head into his hands, tears leaking through his fingers. It was much worse than he could have ever imagined. He knew she'd be fearful… the letter had said she would… but he had still hoped that… maybe… she wouldn't be as scared as she was. But then, she wasn't a Gryffindor was she? She was a Ravenclaw… she didn't know how to be as brave as the rest of the family did.

Lily ran as fast as her still sleepy and weakened legs could carry her. Her feet were bare, smacking against the tiled floor of the hospital loudly as she retreated from the hospital room she'd been in. She went down a hallway, passing by people who gave her confused looks, and then down a stairwell, racing as fast as she could away from that floor where the man and woman were. That man… who had called himself 'Daddy'. Was he really her father? His voice had been gentle and concerned, but her memories of him… they told another story.

Lily ran until the stairs ended and she found herself in another hallway. She raced down it, past more people and out into the waiting room. She looked around, her eyes moving rapidly for someplace to hide… and then she spotted it. The desk where people checked in, a long line forming at it. Lily skirted around the line and through the swinging door in the wall that separated the area behind the desk from the waiting room.

The woman behind the desk let out a yelp as Lily crawled under the desk, pulling her knees to her chest and grabbing her Snapper which was still attached to her hospital gown by one of the strings. She began rolling it between her fingers, humming and rocking, pressing herself beneath the desk as far as she could go.

"Honey, you can't be back here…" The lady behind the desk stated and reached for Lily. As she did so, Lily let out a scream of fright, still to rattled to trust anyone. A bubble burst out of her, encompassing her and making her untouchable, forming itself to fit beneath the desk as well… Somehow the bubble seemed familiar, but at the same time it didn't… she knew it was another thing she should remember, and yet… couldn't.

Luna sighed, peeking her head into Lily's room to find Harry and Ginny looking quite out of sorts. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you guys to leave until she's asleep again. I've just gotten word that she's hidden herself under the waiting room desk. I'm sorry."

"That's alright… we knew it might be bad." Harry ran his sleeve over his face, drying it. He was glad it was Luna who had come to kick them out instead of anyone else… crying was less embarrassing that way. "Just… fix her."

"I will fix her. There's not been a case of mixed memory that I haven't yet been able to mend." Luna beamed at him and moved away from the door as a pair of Healers entered the room, their arms carrying a kicking Lily in her bubble. She had curled up on the bottom of it, arms over her head, screaming and crying as her legs kicked out. It had been quite the task removing her from beneath the desk, but after severing the desk from the wall and levitating it they'd been able to get a hold of her.

Harry and Ginny got up and moved away from the bed. Harry sighed and watched as his daughter was gently placed down on it and magical bindings wrapped around her bubble to keep her from running again. She kept screaming and kicking, still curled up. Her eyes alighted on Harry and she screamed louder, but he just forced himself to give her a small smile.

"I love you, Snidget. I'll be back to see you again soon." He and Ginny left the room, Harry sighed, looking back at his little daughter laying bound in the hospital bed. It broke his heart, but this was the best place for her for now. In time, she'd get better, he hoped, and be able to come home.

….

"Aha! What is this here, I wonder?" Ron asked as Luna looked up from present opening the next morning. She and the rest of the Weasley family were at the Burrow again this year. Ron held out his hand and Lily reached one of her own up to take the letter he was holding from him. She blinked, looking down at nothing more than the words 'Mission Successful.'

"You saved her!" Luna exclaimed excitedly. She rose from where she was sitting, jumping up and down. "Xavier! Xavier! Dad saved her!" Xavier looked up from the latest little Muggle toy he was opening, his eyes wide.

"She's safe?" He asked, looking up at Ron, waiting for an answer. When the red haired man nodded, Xavier smiled and jumped up. Luna grabbed his hands and they bounced in a childish circle, chanting.

"She's safe! She's safe! She's safe!"

"Yes, she's in the hospital for now though."

"Oh isn't it wonderful! I sent Luna Lovegood a pie for her just in case…" Mrs. Weasley beamed and bent down to scoop up a pile of presents still sitting unwrapped beneath the tree. "We'll have to bring her these of course, she shouldn't be without her presents on Christmas… and the ones we've saved from her birthday as well… oh, won't it be lovely! Oh that precious child, I can't wait to…"

"Mum… calm down." Ron raised a hand to silence her, his expression sad. "We can't go visit her just yet. She's got to get better first. Harry and Ginny are down there now… in case you hadn't noticed their absence… and Harry sent me an owl really early this morning saying that as soon as she saw them she went ballistic. I've been getting hourly reports from Harry, and he says that the Healers keep telling him that she won't speak again. She just shakes her head or nods, though she did speak to Luna earlier before she saw Harry and Ginny. She's gonna have to be taken care of first, before we can see her."

"Oh, not even just a little visit?" Luna's happy smile sank and she slipped down onto the floor sadly.

"Well…. Maybe a little one later on when she's sleeping." Ron caved at Luna's big blue eyes looking up at him pleadingly. She perked up brightly. "But just you, Xavier, and Mum. Got it?"

"Got it!" Luna bounced forward and grabbed hold of the last present she had yet to unwrap, a big smile on her face at the idea of finally knowing her best mate was safe and she would be getting to see her later.

…

"Harry… mate…" Ron gave Harry's shoulder a shake to wake him. He'd walked into the waiting room at St. Mungo's to find Harry slumped sideways in his chair, sleep having finally claimed the better of him. He started, hand reaching for his wand before his eyes alighted upon Ron. "It's past dinner time. Luna Flooed to tell us that Lily's taking a nap now, so we can pop in to see her for a few minutes if we want."

"Oh… good…" Harry yawned and rose from his seat. He grinned at the two Ravenclaws who were peering anxiously down the hallway already. "Happy Christmas."

"Oh dear, you look like you could use some more sleep. Why don't you head home and take a nap? Lily will still be here when you wake up." Mrs. Weasley suggested, looking just as antsy as the two little Ravenclaws did. Harry shook his head.

"I'll be fine, Mrs. Weasley. I'll take a rest later."

"I've got her birthday and Christmas presents." Hermione stated, holding up her old beaded bag. "We thought it'd be a good way to let her know that somebody loves her by leaving them here for her to open when she wakes, since we can't actually be around her yet."

"Oh good! You're here." Luna beamed as she appeared from down the hallway. "She's out like a light, you can see her now. But try to be quiet and not wake her, we don't want her screaming like she did earlier." Everyone nodded and followed Luna down the hallway to the room Lily was currently occupying.

"Lily!" Luna exclaimed in a whisper of pure excitement. She bounded for the bed and sat down in Harry's usual chair for when the little girl was asleep. Her bubble had popped at lunch time when big Luna had managed to calm her down enough for her to eat. "Look, Xavier! It's Lily! It's really her."

"But someone's cut the poor dear's hair." Mrs. Weasley frowned, reaching out to give the short black locks a stroke before sitting down beside Luna.

"She looks quite peaceful though." Hermione smiled and drew up a chair on the other side of the bed while Ron stood behind her and Harry moved to sit on the end of the bed. Xavier stood at the end, looking down at his friend.

"That's what you say when someone's dead." He stated with a frown and then slipped down to sit on the floor, his back leaned against the bed.

"Oh, I just meant she's sleeping nicely as opposed to looking like she's having nightmares." Hermione shook her head. Xavier had been a little touchy the past couple of days, more so than usual at least. Mrs. Weasley said he'd been keeping to his bedroom at the Burrow as he had done towards the end of the summer as well. She'd just chalked it up to a boy being a typical boy. Percy used to stick to his bedroom too.

Xavier had shot up in height just as Luna had, and he was no longer as pale as he used to be, having spent a lot of time outside in the Burrow's garden at the beginning of the summer. He had a couple of freckles on his face to show for it. His hair was also messier, no longer slicked with any gel of any sort, but rather, left mussed and slightly longer than the average neat boy's haircut would be. He seemed to like it this way, and Mrs. Weasley only hoped he wouldn't become like Bill and want to grow it longer.

"She looks skinny… and pale." Mrs. Weasley pondered concernedly. "Did she finish her lunch?"

"Oh yes… and breakfast. And she's had two slices of that pie you sent." Luna nodded and checked the chart at the end of Lily's bed. "She had a dosage of Sleeping Draft right after, and she'll be out for another half hour or so before we've got to check on her progress as far as her memories go. We've been giving her a potion that should straighten them out properly. It's nothing we haven't seen before… or what St. Mungo's hasn't seen before… People used to mix memories back in the days of You-Know-Who."

"Mixed memories?" Little Luna asked curiously.

"That's what we call it when someone's memory has been tampered with. It's a potion that does it… and you have to give it to them once a week. Lily should be more herself once it's completely out of her system, but the antidote helps it along and also helps her differentiate reality from the fantasy she's been forced to endure. In this case, we're pretty sure it has to do with nightmarish memories about her friends and family, judging by the way she screamed when she saw Harry and Ginny earlier."

"So, it's curable?" Ron asked.

"Oh yes! Very curable!" Luna beamed, full of confidence. "You'll have her back soon, but she'll still have to take her potion once a day until her symptoms are completely gone. I'll be back to check on her once she wakes up. You lot had best be gone in the next fifteen minutes or so, just in case that potion wears off early."

"Good to see you, Luna." Ron grinned at her and she smiled back.

"It was lovely seeing you all as well. It's not often I get to unless it's to pull something out of little Nevvy's nostrils."

Ron's ears turned red and he said no more as she left. Harry coughed something that sounded particularly like 'nostrils' and then tried to look somber when Hermione glared at him.

"Well, I suppose we'd best get going then. We wouldn't want to scare the poor dear… And I expect Harry would like a few moments alone with her." Mrs. Weasley sighed and bent over to give Lily a quick kiss on the forehead. Ron and Hermione followed suit before they left the room, leaving. Luna grasped Lily's hand tightly.

"Dun worry, Lils, we'll be back soon, but for now, I hope you like your present I gotcha. Quaffle misses you too, he'll be right pleased to see you when you get better." She gave a slight whimper and then ran out of the room, leaving just Harry and Xavier there, the boy still sitting on the floor.

"Did you want to say anything to her, Xavier?" Harry asked, peering over the edge of the bed to look down at him.

"I… er… I would… I mean… I will, but I um…" Xavier's cheeks tinged pink and Harry smiled.

"I'll leave you to do it privately, then." Harry nodded and gave his daughter a kiss. "See you soon, love you, Snidget." He understood what it was like to be a kid and not be able to say what you wanted to to a friend with another person in the room. He left, leaving Xavier there. Once Harry was gone, Xavier rose from his place on the floor and moved to sit in the chair beside Lily's bed. He frowned, looking down at his sleeping friend and sighed.

"Hi… Look, I know you're sleeping and stuff so you can't really hear me, but I just wanna say that I miss you, ok? I mean, Luna's fine and all, but I can't talk to her about the same types of things we used to talk about… like my dad and mum and brothers… I haven't seen my mum or my dad in over a year now, but I'm getting used to that. The Weasleys are really nice. Mrs. Weasley gave me my own room and everything, it used to be Bill's room when he was a kid, and it's my favorite color, green. And she lets me use any of the old brooms in the broom shed, because nobody else does. They're not the best, but it's neat anyway. Me'n'Luna usually have a game of catch up in the orchard using apples. It'd be funner if you could come too though. Anyway…" He frowned and reached over to the pile of presents on the table beside the bed and picked up a haphazardly wrapped one to set it down on the bed gently. "This one's from me… I hope you like it. I picked it out special on account of you're my best friend and all… See ya."

As Xavier rose to leave, Lily stirred. He stopped dead in his tracks, unable to move as she opened her eyes. She blinked, catching sight of him. It took her a few moments before comprehension dawned on her face. He looked different than what she remembered, but this was still the boy from her nightmare… the one who kept pushing her into traffic and pegging things at her. She screamed.

Xavier covered his ears, squinching his eyes shut against the noise. Not able to take it any longer, he opened his mouth too, and let out an ear splitting scream that only a thirteen year old boy would be capable of. The noise of it stopped Lily's scream in it's tracks and she stared at him in shock. Xavier glared at her. "What're you yelling for? I haven't done anything to you."

Lily just stared at him unblinkingly and then, she opened her mouth slightly, her voice coming out in barely a whisper. The boy was scary, but he hadn't touched her or thrown anything at her yet… he'd just screamed right back at her. "Aren't… aren't you gonna hurt me?"

"Hurt you? Why the hell would I hurt you?" Xavier asked curiously, flopping back down in the chair he'd been in.

"Isn't that what you've always done?" Lily asked, still staring at him. She had no way of hiding behind her hair, it was too short to do that now. Xavier shook his head.

"No. I mean, we got off on the wrong foot when we met, but we've been real good friends ever since. We play Gobstones together and study, and bury Luna in things."

"Luna? The Healer?"

"No, the other Luna… your cousin and our best mate. Don't you remember? No… of course you don't, the Healer said you wouldn't. Well, don't worry, you will. You'll remember all of us."

"All I remember is that you're all mean… whoever you are."

"I'm Xavier. And by us, I mean me, and Luna, and your dad, and Ginny, and all the rest of the Weasleys."

Lily shook her head. "No… I don't think so… Those are the bad people… I think…"

"Look, if we were the bad people, we wouldn't have brought you all your birthday and Christmas presents. Just look at this pile!" Xavier pointed to the overflowing table. "Jeez, Lily, I knew you'd be out of it, but I didn't think you'd be this out of it. I gotta go, the Healer'll be in soon to check on you. I hope you feel better." With that said, Xavier left the room, leaving a wondering Lily behind him.

She was confused beyond belief. Her memories told her one thing, but they were all jumbled and strange. That boy had said something completely different… was it true? Had the Number Men been lying to her all along? Or had the boy been lying? She turned her head to look at all the gifts she'd been given and sighed, not knowing what to think.

"Ah, wonderful, you're awake!" Luna came into the room carrying a tumbler. She smiled glad to see the little girl awake and not screaming now. It had been quite daunting when she'd flipped out earlier.

"Yes…" Lily nodded. She was awake, and despite still being a bit nervous and scared, she was feeling better than she had earlier when she'd run screaming from the room.

"Ah! She speaks! Wonderful. I've got your potion right here… you're to drink it all. It'll make you feel loads better. How are you feeling?"

"My brain hurts." Lily admitted. She wasn't scared of the Healer… she was nice and she didn't have any bad memories associated with her.

"Yeah, it'll do that for a while. But don't worry, we're going to get you fixed up in no time. And then you can go home to your family. They were here while you were asleep, see?" Luna pointed to the presents. "You were gone from home for so long, but they didn't forget about you. These are for both your birthday and Christmas."

"My family…" Lily's brow furrowed. Was her family good? They had left her presents… just like the boy, Xavier, had said. And Luna said they were nice as well… and Luna was a nice person, at least, so far from what Lily had seen of her she was.

"Yes… right now you might have some mixed feelings about them. But that's alright too, it's all part of why your brain hurts. Now, I want you to drink your potion, and you can open these if you want to, but then I'll be back to give you a couple of tests, alright?"

"Alright." Lily nodded and lifted the beaker to her lips. She chugged down the disgusting tasting potion and then handed the beaker back to Luna who left with it. Lily sighed, leaning back against her pillows. She turned her attention to a small package beside her on the bed. Well, it couldn't hurt, could it?

Ripping the paper open, Lily found a tiny white box. She tugged the lid off of it to reveal a necklace with a Golden Snitch pendant hanging from it. Intrigued, she held it in her palm and her eyes widened as the wings began changing color until they were a nice pretty pink. Unsure of what this meant, Lily frowned, but undid the clasp anyway. She put it on and then looked down at it curiously. Whomever had given it to her… well… could there be anything bad about someone who knew what her favorite Quidditch ball was? Pondering over this, Lily began unwrapping her other gifts as well, revealing things that only people who knew her, could know that she liked even if she didn't exactly remember for herself until she saw them. Sugar quills in a whole assortment of flavors, a plushie puffskein that reminded her of something, though she wasn't sure what, a hand knitted green sweater with a blue L on the front, and a whole bunch of hair ribbons that the package said glowed in the dark. Hair ribbons… when she had hardly any hair to do up… unless it was to pull it back with one of the ribbons as a hair band… that would work for now.

Wishing she still understood better than she did, Lily kept at it until the Luna returned to give her her tests, mainly simple ones that involved physical activity rather than mental for now. Luna didn't want to push her too quickly. These things took time and patience.

So I really really like the way this particular chapter came out once I revised it, it's a lot better than the original was and I hope you like it as well. I'd like to thank all of you who have favorited or followed this story or especially reviewed on it. I always like to hear your opinions, suggestions, and requests of something you'd like to see snuck into it. It seriously makes my day. The next chapter should be up in a few days.

Love always,

S.Q.O.