Chapter 6: Recovery
Simultaneously, Sirius and Remus reached into their robes for their wands. For a split second, silence rang like a cathedral bell with every living person hearing the pregnant emptiness. Sound seemed to have never existed, in Remus's ears, except as this pure echoing stillness that filled him like lead. Life regained it's speed as every Death Eater shouted at the same time, each using a different curse. They continued shouting spells, some destroying buildings, some hexing the students.
Remus moved mechanically, his voice spilling out curses on instinct. The whole scene seemed far away, like he were watching it through a haze of white noise on a poorly tuned television. Sirius moved away from him as they fought. They had just been together, as a couple, laughing and flirting behind shelves of eagle-feather quills and stacks of multi-colored parchment. Sirius was so gentle, touching his face. Now he had an air of malice, a fierceness and hatred that radiated off of him. Remus felt inexplicably vulnerable as Sirius moved towards the other side of the street.
Remus was a slender target; many of the hexes aimed at him missed or were slow enough to block. However, a jinx managed to hit hit squarely in his chest. The force of it knocked him off his feet and threw him high into the air. He hit the ground hard, his head cracking against the cobblestone with a solid smack.
He couldn't open his eyes; he couldn't breath. The sun was blinding, his head was throbbing, and his lungs felt like hard, cold stone. His hands were empty, and he wondered where his wand was. It must've flown out of his hand when he'd been hit; he hadn't had a very good hold of it. There was a series of light pops all around him and everything got much quieter. He sucked in a sudden, life-giving breath. Disoriented by dizziness, he became aware of how impressively hard he'd hit the ground, feeling the brick beneath his head with hyper-acute sensitivity.
Woman were crying, and girls were still screaming. There were a lot of soft voices coming from everywhere at once, all saying the same things to one another.
"Are you okay?"
"I-I'm fine."
"What happened?"
"Who was that?"
A voice much closer and clearer sounded. "Moony," it said urgently, "Hey, look at me- Remus, open your eyes!"
Remus managed to open his eyes. Behind Sirius, the sky was the color of fire. He reached up and touched his head. His hand was wet and sticky. Where his fingers rested, he could feel a cut on his scalp burning.
He pulled his hand away and held it next to Sirius's face so he could see it. Thick tears of syrupy red blood dripped down his fingers.
Remus, overcome with a tired, dizzy sensation, closed his eyes.
*
"Wake up, Mr. Lupin," said a familiar voice; Madam Pomfrey, Remus would recognize her voice anywhere as often as he heard it. Small hands were shaking him.
Remus opened his eyes to the warm lights of the infirmary.
"Ah, there we are," said Madam Pomfrey. "Sorry to disturb you, dear, but you probably have a nasty concussion. You hit your head pretty hard."
Remus nodded vaguely as memories of the Death Eater attack trickled into his mind. He raised his hand suddenly to his head, feeling for the cut. There was nothing there, no blood, no wound.
Madam Pomfrey saw him out of the corner of her eye. "Mended that in about a second. It might be a little tender for a while, but you'll be okay."
He looked around and noticed that the hospital wing was unusually full. There were about twelve occupied beds; most of the students were asleep with curtains pulled themselves. The sky outside was very dark, and Remus was sure that at least several hours had gone by since he'd passed out in front of Dervish and Banges.
Sirius came in quietly and walked straight for Remus's bed, surprised to see he was awake. Remus sat up. He still felt slightly dizzy and his limbs were heavy.
Sirius pulled the curtains closed around the bed and pulled Remus into a heavy, hungry kiss. When he let go, Remus saw that his eyes were red and bloodshot.
"I'm glad you're awake," Sirius said with false happiness. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. "Lots to tell you."
"What happened?" Remus said suddenly.
Sirius cast a silencing charm around them. "James," he began.
Remus's mind jumped to a million conclusions. "Oh, God."
"They're hurt," Sirius said hollowly. "James and Lily, they were out together. I can't believe it--"
"What are you talking about?"
"Voldemort," Sirius intoned. "The Death Eaters weren't alone. He was there and he.... James and Lily were in a bad spot. I've just come from Dumbledore's office. He reckons Voldemort wanted to show that he has power close to Hogwarts, followers hidden in Hogsmeade. They Apparated and then they Disapparated as soon as the Dark Mark went up."
"Th-they're dead?"
Sirius swore. "No, no, they're okay, as okay as one can be. God, I'm not explaining this right. Voldemort met them by chance. He wanted a student, and so James and Lily were good targets. But, I guess James managed some hex while He was using the Cruciatus Curse on Lily. Prongs got to her and Apparated them both away before Voldemort could kill them. James is still pretty shaken from the whole thing. Lily hasn't spoken a word yet."
"But the Dark Mark-" Remus said.
"He killed someone else," said Sirius softly. "A second year called Florence Jorkins. She was Bertha's younger sister. 12 years old, Remus. Can you believe it?"
Remus shook his head distantly. There was a hard, detached look in Sirius's eyes.
"I thought you were going to die," he said. "There was blood everywhere. You wouldn't wake up for anything, and you just kept bleeding and bleeding."
Remus suddenly took noticed that Sirius's clothes were spotted with big blotches of red. Sirius was standing next to him, so Remus leaned into his chest and wrapped his arms around his middle. Sirius kissed the top of Remus's head and murmured into Remus's hair something that sounded like, "Can't leave me, Lupin... don't leave."
*
The next day at breakfast, hundreds of owls poured into the Great Hall. Remus got a letter from his parents that said they wished they could be with him and were so pleased he was okay.
The day after, parents began arriving to take their children home.
"We're less than 2 months into term!" fumed Lily that evening at the Gryffindor dining table. Remus couldn't really eat. Lily banged her fist on the table, making her goblet jump. "Oli! I can't believe they took her away! She's an adult, a grown adult, and her parents just snatched her. I-I didn't even get to say goodbye. I mean, with You-Know-Who... who knows when I'll get to... I might not ever...." She dissolved into tears, burying her head in her arm.
I know how you feel, Remus thought sullenly as he speared a potato with his fork. Oli was, as it happened, becoming a good friend of his and he was really sorry to see her go.
"Don't fear his name," Remus said aloud, echoing someone much wiser than himself.
"W-what?" said Lily. She rubbed her eyes hard.
"Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself."
"And everyone bloody well should fear him," she snapped.
"Professor Dumbledore says his name," James noted in an undertone.
"But he's Albus Dumbledore, James. He's the only one You-Know-Who ever feared."
"Voldemort," said James, touching Lily's cheek. "And you don't have to be afraid of him. I got you, Lily."
It was such a tender moment, Remus had to look away. He felt like he was intruding. Under the table, Sirius grabbed his hand.
REVIEWS would be reall, really awesome. 3Alyssa
