A/N: Oh my goodness, you guys. I feel SO AWFUL for complaining last chapter!! You're seriously amazing, all of you…& there's no way I will even think of dropping this story again. KateXyou, you're totally awesome—I can't believe you joined FF just to review. You're making me feel guilty! And A. Foy & Aurelia…um, you pretty much scared me straight. Everyone else, you're lovely. This chapter is dedicated to ALL OF YOU. And please forgive me for being so selfish. Gah. Feel SO guilty.
XXX
Katie wasn't sure which woke her up first: the tears in her eyes, or the small ray of sunlight which had found its way through the blinds in the window and fallen across her face. She scrunched her nose and shielded her eyes, trying to remember why she had been crying. On second thought, however, she decided that it was probably best she didn't remember the dream she had been having if it had caused her to wake up crying. She turned over to stare at her brother whose hospital bed she had been sharing.
"Hey you," she murmured, brushing his shaggy hair off of his closed eyelids. "Morning. I know you'd kill me if you knew I'd crawled into bed with you, but you could hardly expect me to stay up all night, and you'll never know that I didn't; that's one of the perks of your being in a coma, isn't it? Just kidding…"
Katie stretched in the small confined space and then carefully crawled back out, resituating herself on the closest chair to Michael's bed.
"Sorry for joking about you being in a coma," she apologized with a half-smile, staring at her hands. "You apparently didn't find it very funny because you didn't laugh."
"That's because you can't laugh while you're in a coma, drongo…"
The gravelly voice caused Katie's head to jerk upwards. Her brother was shifting uncomfortably, slowly blinking his eyes open. Shocked, Katie gripped the metal bar of the hospital bed and stared down at her brother. He looked back at her equally bewildered and blinked his chocolate brown eyes several times. Katie's jaw dropped.
"Michael!" she cried breathlessly. "You're awake!"
He scratched his head and looked around. "I am?" he asked, confused. His eyes settled on his sister. "You're a mess, Kates. You look like you did after the Weird Sisters concert we went to on your birthday. Have I been time traveling again?"
Katie cocked an eyebrow at her brother, but then suddenly became aware of her appearance. Her hair was disheveled and her eye makeup was smudged across her face, probably a mixture of the tears she'd awoken to, sleeping in an uncomfortable position and her exploit in the rain with George the previous night. She was also wearing her Weird Sisters concert tee, which Michael had indeed bought for her after the concert on her birthday two years ago. She collected herself and urged her brother into lying back down.
"Michael," she said as firmly as she could muster while arranging his pillows. "I want you to take a couple of breaths and tell me what you think you're doing here."
"Am I not supposed to be here?" he asked, bewildered. "Kates, where the hell are we? I don't recognize this place…it looks like a hospital. Am I sick??"
Katie pursed her lips, unsure of how to break the news to her brother that he had more or less been an invalid for the past quarter of a year. She took a deep breath and tried the best approach she could think of.
"Hey, Michael…um…d'you remember the last place you were before this?"
Michael scrunched his face up in thought, and squinted his left eye. This looked remarkably funny due to his current lack of a left eyebrow. Realization apparently dawned on him, because his eyes grew suddenly wide and his jaw dropped.
"Ohhhhh, shit! Shit, Katie, I'm supposed to be on a mission for the Order! I was supposed to meet Charlie in Albania! And then there were all these bloody Death Eaters and…Where is Charlie?! Is he here? Is he alright!? Come on Kates, we've got to go, I promised Lupin I'd have this done ages ago…what's the date anyway?"
"Michael, lie back down," Katie urged, once again forcing her brother back into his bed. "And it's Saturday. Saturday, the 30th of August."
She bit her lip as he looked at her in awe. "You're joking…right?"
Katie frowned, and shook her head. "Michael, the war's over…" she said quietly. "You've been in some sort of coma for the past three months."
Now Michael did lie back down. He exhaled slowly and stared up at the ceiling.
"And you're completely serious?" he asked quietly.
Katie took his hand. "It's going to be okay," she said reassuringly. "Everything's going to work out just fine. And Mum's going to be so glad you're awake! Why don't we call a nurse right now…"
"Wait," he said, taking her hand to prevent her from pressing the buzzer. "You've gotta fill me in first…what…what happened? I mean—did we win, or…?"
Katie could see in his eyes that he knew Voldemort had been defeated, but was asking the question in a round-a-bout way so that he could get a death list. She sighed sadly and gazed at her left hand, which Michael was desperately clasping.
"Oh, sorry," he muttered, noticing her gaze. He was about to drop it when his eyes caught sight of silver band on her fourth finger.
"Godric's Ghost!" he cried excitedly, grasping her hand and grinning madly, examining the simple silver ring. "My baby sister's engaged! Fred, that bloody devil! When did he—"
Michael stopped suddenly at the sight of his sister's face. His smile faded as tears sprung up in Katie's eyes and her face crumpled as the memory of her dream suddenly came flooding back to her.
"Oh, Katie…" Michael said softly. "Oh, Katie, I'm so sorry, I didn't know. Fred—he's…he's…?"
Katie could only nod as she began to sob into her hands. Michael immediately sat up and grabbed his sister firmly by the shoulders and pulled her to him. She once again easily climbed over the metal railing and curled into a ball, her head on Michael's chest.
"In the final Battle at Hogwarts," she barely made out. "He—Death Eaters—this wall—still smiling…"
Michael gripped his sister firmly, holding her to him as tightly as he possibly could, though not understanding a word she was saying. Katie seemed to melt inside of him; she hadn't realized just how much she had missed her brother until she felt his strong arms around her, trying his best to protect her from everything that was wrong in the world.
"He promised…" she sobbed weakly. "He promised he'd always be there for me, and he's not, he's gone…"
"I'm here, Kates," Michael said, trying to be helpful while understanding relatively nothing. "You've always got me."
Katie shook her head hopelessly. "I was really happy," she choked out.
"I know. I know."
She clung to him until she ran out of tears, lying limply like a rag doll.
"I'm so glad you're back…" she whispered. "I didn't know what I was going to do if you…well…"
Michael appeared to want to make a joke to lighten the mood, but he restrained himself. "I know," he said. "I'm glad I'm here, too. Contrary to popular belief, I love you, little sis."
He gave her an encouraging smile and a kiss on the forehead. Katie seemed to take heart in this for some reason, even though Michael did not know the details of the drastic changes her life had taken since his disappearance.
"So…" he said awkwardly. Katie shook herself out of her mood, and embarrassedly removed herself from his bed for the second time that morning. "Er…how's Mum?"
"She's fine," Katie answered, still trying to regain her composure. She distractedly took a spare elastic from around her wrist and used it to tie up her messy hair. "Worried sick about you, of course."
"And Dad?"
"Oh, Michael! I forgot you didn't know! Dad's in Azkaban…"
"What?! Working, I hope…"
"No, he's…he's imprisoned there."
"Why?! Katie, what the—"
Katie held up her hand. "I know, Michael, I know…after you disappeared, things got crazy. The Ministry wasn't safe; people were turning each other in right and left. Someone in Dad's office under the Imperius Curse got wind of Dad's involvement with the Order and turned him in."
"But I thought you said the war was over! Where is he now?"
His sister sighed. "Exactly the point I've been trying to make in the Daily Prophet," she said. "The Ministry is doing a rather awful job of cleaning up things. I mean, Kingsley's great, obviously, couldn't have suggested better, but there's just so much to be done, you know? And they're sort of focusing on restoring the Muggle-Borns to their families and homes and all that. Which is fair, I suppose, since they've been in need of help longer, but still. It's getting ridiculous."
"Well, hell, let's bust him out," Michael said angrily. "C'mon, let's go…."
Katie rolled her eyes. "You can't just do that," she said. "Look, things here have kind of been…well. I don't know what the word you'd use is. But Kingsley's promised Mum that everything will be faster if we just wait. I hate waiting, but I trust Kingsley."
"Shacklebolt's the new minister then?"
"Yeah."
"And he told Mum that? How is she holding up?"
"Fairly well, given the circumstances. It really helps that Aunt Elizabeth's there with her and that they've opened an herbs shop in Diagon Alley. Keeps her busy, you know. Things to do, and it's things she enjoys, so…yeah."
"Wait. Aunt Elizabeth's living with you? What about Uncle Gareth?"
Katie frowned.
"Him too?" Michael asked solemnly. His sister nodded, and his eyes grew shiny. "Who else?" he finally said quietly.
Katie's own eyes grew misty as she recounted the names of the fallen. "Uncle Gareth, Lupin, Tonks—his wife--, her dad Ted, Professor Snape (turned out to be good, by the way. Well. Sort of.), oh, and Voldemort, obviously. And…and Fred…"
Her brother put his hand firmly on her shoulder before she could break down again. "All of them?" he asked, quiet tears spilling out over his cheeks.
"Yeah," was all that Katie could seem to say.
They sat in silence for a while, undisturbed, until Katie suddenly realized that no one had been alerted of Michael's awakening. She jumped up and pressed the buzzer hard.
"Merlin, Michael, we've not told anyone you're up! Mum will kill me! Quick, let me get someone…"
Katie paced the floor anxiously. Alicia arrived seconds later, running in.
"Katie, what is it!? Merlin, he's awake!" She gasped when she saw Michael, throwing her hand over her mouth. "Oh…oh…okay! Um…here, take this, and—and I'll go get the head healer!"
She dug in her healer's robes to find an obscure looking herb and practically shoved it in Michael's hands before dashing out of the room once more. Katie scratched her head, pondering how it was that her friend kept a level head as a healer when she behaved the way that she did. She turned to Michael who swallowed the herb whole and was staring at the door through which Alicia had just fled.
"Kates!" he said enthusiastically. "My nurse is bloody gorgeous. Did you see that blonde hair?"
Katie stared at her brother in incredulity, and then slapped her palm against her forehead.
"You total drongo," she groaned, rolling her eyes. "That's Alicia. You know, my best friend? She's your healer."
Michael's eyes widened. "That knobby-kneed thing that used to come over to our house to play with you? No way…"
"Yes way. That absolutely was her. Now how d'you feel?"
"Surprised! I never remembered her being so fetching…"
Katie stared at him. "Well you'd better not try to flirt with her," she warned.
Michael looked affronted. "Why not?"
"Because you're an ugly git and you've got no left eyebrow."
"What??"
Xxx
In little to no time at all, five medi-wizards were swarmed around Michael, running all kinds of tests that Katie didn't recognize in the slightest. One healer was sticking something into her brother's ear while another appeared to be measuring the length of his left pinky toe. Alicia was running around madly, still seemingly unable to gain control of herself.
"Bloody hell, Alicia, what's the matter?" Katie asked, both annoyed and slightly amused. "D'you behave this way with all of your patients?"
"No!" Alicia cried breathlessly, clutching at the hem of her robes. "But I've never had one that I've actually known before! I mean, he's your brother! What if I did something awful and messed things up, and…"
"Al, you've treated Grandpa."
"Well yes, but he's going to be just fine—"
"And Michael's not!?"
"Well now he is, but I still dunno what to do!"
The Head Healer interrupted them. "Spinnet, hand me that scalpel?"
"Yes, sir!" Alicia answered, almost at attention. "Here, sir!" She handed the device to him and turned back to Katie.
"I've only treated minor things before!" she continued. "Like Oliver's scrapes and recovering patients like your grandpa…I've just started, I don't know what to do with Michael!"
Katie mused over the gaggle of Healers that were swarmed around her brother, pondering that Alicia seemed to be the one who was the least in charge of Michael, but this fact seemed to have escaped the scatter-brained blonde girl.
"Al," Katie said authoritatively. "Why don't you go owl my mum and tell her Michael's woken up? That should have been done ages ago, and I'm sure you can handle that, right?"
"Absolutely!" Alicia said, seemingly relieved that she had something to do that she could handle. She once again dashed out the door, leaving Katie behind.
Katie turned around to observe her brother. Michael was looking around at the medi-wizards confusedly. She felt a pang of sympathy for him; he'd just woken up, been told that his uncle and friends had died, and had to comfort his sister over something he'd barely understood. Now he was being poked and prodded over injuries that he wasn't exactly sure how he had sustained. Katie frowned slightly at this and pushed her way in between two particularly tall Healers and took his hand. He smiled at this gratefully.
It hadn't been three minutes together since Alicia had left that Andromeda Bell and Elizabeth Garibaldi came bursting through the door. Alicia trailed at their heels, carrying visitor's badges and trying to force them around their necks. Perhaps it was all the stress of the past twenty-four hours, but Katie felt the unfamiliar urge to burst out in laughter. She was spared actually executing this odd reaction when her mother shoved her aside and grasped her son's hand.
"Michael Galacticus Bell!" Andromeda shouted. "Are you alright?! Are you breathing?! How are you feeling??"
"Mum," Michael complained, taking his hand away and rubbing it. "Why'd you use my middle name in front of everyone? It's embarrassing…"
"So you are alright!" she cried, tears springing to her eyes. "Oh, Michael!" She threw herself across her son's chest, hugging and sobbing into him at the same time, surprising several Healers who backed away immediately.
"I'm fine, Mum," he said, pushing his mother away. He was feigning annoyance, but it was clear that he was very happy to see her. A smile was playing at the corners of his lips.
"Hi, Michael," Elizabeth said timidly, gazing down at her nephew.
"Aunt Liz," grinned Michael. "Nice of you to come to my sick bed!"
The three relatives were chattering away when the Head Healer suddenly interrupted them.
"Ma'am," he said to Andromeda pointedly. "Ma'am."
Andromeda looked up, eyes wide. "Yes?"
"Sorry, madam, but only two visitors at a time."
"Oh!" Andromeda cast her eyes about the room, and seemed to notice her daughter for the first time. "Kathryn, you've gotten to be here all night. Why don't you go home now?"
Taken aback by her mother's blatant order for her to leave, Katie opened her mouth to protest, but Alicia clamped on to her arm and dragged her out of the room.
"Alicia, what the--?"
"It's okay," Alicia said, appearing to have gained composure once again. "I've seen this hundreds of times, your mum's in kind of a state right now, she didn't mean anything by it. Besides, there's someone in the waiting room to see you!"
Her eyes sparkled with laughter and excitement and Katie quirked a brow. Who on earth would be waiting to see her? Nevertheless, she followed her friend down the long whitewashed corridor. It was then, when the adrenaline of seeing her brother began to fade, that Katie realized how very tired she was. She had only slept about four hours total, and before that she had had a long day at work, coupled with going over to George's which had been even more draining. After that, she had been whisked away to St. Mungo's, where she had stayed up most of the night. It seemed surreal that it was only about eight o'clock in the morning on Saturday.
When they entered the small waiting room, Alicia exited to the left. Katie turned, surprised, to see where her friend had gone, but was distracted by the man sitting in a chair directly in front of her. George Weasley was dozing off in one of the many uncomfortable chairs of the waiting room, messy red hair fallen in front of his face. Katie felt a rush of love for her friend as she realized that he had waited up for her all night. She was about to go to him when a voice interrupted her.
"Katie?"
Distracted, Katie turned to find Oliver Wood grinning down at her. Confused, Katie stared back up at him and said bluntly, "What are you doing here?"
Coloring a little, Oliver put his hands into his pockets. "Er—Alicia told me they'd found your brother," he explained awkwardly. "And I figured you'd be tired after staying here all night, so I came to see how you were…"
Gaping, Katie noticed Alicia waving madly and grinning over Oliver's shoulder. She frowned slightly, but looked back at Wood with a curious sort of look on her face.
"Really?" she asked. She found it surprising that Wood could have been so considerate. Then again, he had been asking her on dates every day for the past two weeks.
"Yeah…"Oliver trailed off. "Look, Kates," he said, gaining composure. "I'm sorry for pressuring you into dating me. It started off as serious, but then sort of evolved into a joke, and well, I'm sorry if it's been hurting you."
Katie shook her head, still confused. "Ol, it's fine…" she said distractedly. "I appreciate your concern for me. Listen, can you hold on a second? I just wanted to check on Geo—"
But George wasn't there. Frustrated, Katie whirled around. "Al, Oli, did you see where George went?" Both of her friends shrugged.
"Was that the red-headed boy who was just here?" interrupted an elderly woman in purple robes who was sitting in one of the chairs. Katie just nodded.
"Oh…well he woke up just a few seconds ago and Apparated somewhere."
"Did he see us?" Katie asked the woman. Why had George just left?
"Yes, I think so, dear. But he did look very tired…"
"I've got to go to him," Katie said, turning back around to face Oliver. "He's been waiting up all night for me…"
"Katie, wait!" Oliver said, taking hold of her wrist.
"What is it, Ol?"
He frowned slightly. "I at least want to know how you are…"
Katie suddenly felt sympathy for the tall brown haired Keeper. He had come to see her after all. And she had been giving him the cold shoulder for weeks.
"Come sit for a while at least," he urged. "You've been up all night."
"I am a little tired," she admitted. Alicia grinned and dashed off down the hall, presumably to check up on her other patients. Katie and Oliver sat down on a small couch which was situated next to a coffee table. Several magazines were spread across it, including Quidditch Weekly, the old issue with the story on "Accident Prone Ollie". Wood blushed and covered it with Teenage Witch, which had a cover story on Serena Salmander, the singing veela.
"Little crush on Miss Serena, Oliver?" Katie teased.
Wood rolled his eyes. "Please," he said. "I don't like blondes."
"Alicia will be disappointed to hear that."
Oliver smiled. "How are you, Katie?"
"I'm just fine, Oliver. Just like I said, a bit tired."
"Are you really fine?" he asked. Katie looked up surprised, a little disarmed at the intent with which his brown eyes were boring into her green ones.
"I'm well enough off," she replied.
"You can be honest with me, Kates," he said. "I really do care about you."
Katie fiddled with her hands. "It's been a rough past couple of days," she admitted.
"With your brother?" he asked. "How is he?"
"Michael's fine. The Healers say he should be out within a week with any luck. Just a little shaken up, you know?"
Oliver nodded, laughing a little. "Can't imagine being in a coma for three months would be very easy."
Katie laughed, too. "No," she admitted. "But he seems to be handling it pretty well. Trying to laugh the whole thing off. Very Michael."
"Always liked your brother," Oliver mused. "Excellent seeker, terrific sense of humor. Good bloke."
"Yeah, he is. And I'm sure Kenmare will be thrilled to have him back…"
"Of course. Anything else bothering you, Kates?" he asked sincerely. Katie suddenly felt very open to Oliver's queries. He took her hand, blisters from quidditch having roughened his own. For some reason, Katie did not push it away today.
"I'm just worried about George…" she sighed. "He has so much to deal with right now, getting the shop up and running while still mourning over his brother. He's done so well without Fred, it's amazing. But I'm still scared for him…he called me over to the shop last night because he had a break down trying to throw out some of Fred's old stuff. I—I tried to help him out, but it ended up being him that had to comfort me. I just feel like such a burden on him right now, which is the last thing that he needs…" She sighed again. "I dunno, Ol. He keeps turning to me, but I feel like I'm only making it worse."
Oliver frowned slightly, and caressed her hand with his thumb. "For what it's worth, Kates," he said. "I'm proud of what you're doing for George. And from my point of view, which probably doesn't mean very much, I understand—you're doing wonders for him."
Katie looked down at the pair of hands on the couch. Wood really seemed to mean it.
"And Katie?"
She looked up.
"Any time you need to talk…I'm here, okay? I know there's probably dozens of people you feel more comfortable around, but I'd like to help if I can. You're an amazing friend, Katie Bell. And I don't want to lose that friendship."
Katie smiled at him, her eyes shining. "Thanks, Oli."
His face scrunched into a frown. "And please don't call me Oli."