Rose kneels by Lily's side, brushing her cousin's hair away from her eyes. James had left the dormitory as soon as Lily had fallen, and Scorpius ran after him.
"Oh, Lily," Rose whispers, tears pooling in her eyes. Agony is visible in Lily's face, terror defining the fragile lines in Lily's face. Rose slips her own pillow underneath Lily's head, but she doesn't dare move her, doesn't want to wake her up. Consciousness must be twice as awful.
In a moment, Professor McGonagall storms into the room, her eyes ablaze, Professor Longbottom right behind her. He pulls Rose away, gently, and McGonagall leans over Lily silently.
"Expulsion," McGonagall says to herself, coldly. Gently, she pulls her wand from Lily's temple, a silvery white, pulsating string, and conjures a small glass vial. Siphoning it into the vial, she turns to Professor Longbottom.
"Neville, alert Harry and Ginny as soon as you can. Tell them that I'm going to put a memory charm on her, to forget this. I have her memory of the event, it won't do her any good to have to relive it when it can be avoided." She leans a bit closer. "Obliviate."
A tear slips down Rose's cheek, and another. She watches as Professor Longbottom exists, and Professor McGonagall conjures a stretcher into the air, and slowly begins to descend the steps of the dormitory, and Rose follows in their wake.
Lily wakes up, into five worried faces.
"Hi," she says. "What did I do this time?"
"Just an accident at the ball," Ginny hedges, cautiously. "We just came to make sure you were okay."
"Well, I feel fine," Lily says, fiercely, no questions asked, and swings her legs out of bed. "Damn, that hurts," she mutters, and no one asks her where. After a few muttered goodbyes and 'take care of yourselves,' Lily grabs Rose and pulls her into the Great Hall. Wisely, James and Albus slip by.
"Just tell me this, from a best friend," Lily tells Rose, seriously. "Tell me that he's gone. Tell me he's gone, and I'll never ask again."
Rose's eyes flash to meet Lily's, a question on the tip of her tongue. "He's gone," she manages, and then meets Lily's eyes again. "How…?"
Lily's hand clenches around Rose's, yet she turns away.
"Just because I can't remember it doesn't stop me from dreaming about it," she whispers, leaving Rose to wonder just how strong, exactly, her cousin is.