Minnie and Bella exited the floo inside of the hospital. "What are you going to do about Weasley mummy?"

Bella patted Minnie on her shoulder, watching as her wife and Sam exited the fireplace. A sickeningly sweet smile accompanied by darkened eyes appeared on the dark witch's face, "I'm going to do what needs to be done."

Cass was taken straight to the ICU in the muggle ward awaiting her surgery. Bella and Hermione had been outside talking with Dr. Hoffman about what was to be expected in terms of outcome and recovery while Minnie and Sam were inside of the room keeping an unconscious Cass company. Minnie was pacing the floor looking more and more like Bella. "Don't you want to sit down and talk to your sister? She can hear us, you know."

"You are such a hufflepuff sometimes, Sam. I'm trying to think. Talk for both of us."

Sam felt a little concerned for her friend but turned her attention to her girlfriend, "hey Cass. It's me. Sam." She gave a little wave that immediately made her feel stupid since Cass couldn't see her. "You have to have surgery. And then it's going to be hard. You are going to really have to put in the effort. I believe in you. You are the strongest most determined person I've ever met. If anyone can teach themself to walk again, it's you. I have faith that you'll be flying again by the end of the season. Those scouts will be lining up to cut you deals. Everyone wants you on their teams. We already know this, babe. You can do it. Plus, you have to take me to all of the dances this year. It's like an unwritten rule. I have to dance with you at least once during our seventh year. I'm going to get all of our work so that way I can help you prepare for the NEWTS. I can't believe this happened to you." She reached out and grabbed Cass's hand, leaning in to whisper. "Your sister seems a little off kilter. I'll keep an eye on her so she doesn't go off the deep end. Bella also seems a little out of sorts. She knows the truth. The three of us do. It was Victoria. I'm just a little worried Minnie and your mum will go after her. If there's any chance in hell I can stop them, I will. You are the top priority."

Minnie slowed her pacing to look at her sister, "she has to be okay," came out in a small voice. The realization of everything that had been told to her over the past hour came rushing to the forefront and the revenge took a backseat, "right?" She walked over, grabbing a seat and pulling it next to her friend. Tears started welling up in her eyes, "she has to be. She's an utter pain in my arse most days but she's also my best friend. I can't imagine doing this without her."

"We can't think like that," Sam wrapped the younger Black up in a tight hug. "Cass is strong. She's a Black. She is young and healthy. We have to stay positive."

"I know that what you are saying is right but I also can't help to think that this is going to gut her when she wakes up and realizes her dreams are over."

"We don't know that, yet."

Minnie wiped her tears, rolling her eyes, "you hufflepuffs are too positive for your own good. I'm glad my sister has you. She's going to need you to be the strong one." She relaxed into Sam's embrace for a moment before asking, "can I have a moment alone with Cass?"

"Of course," Sam let go of her friend, giving Cass a kiss on her forehead, "I'll go see if your mothers have any other information."

Minnie watched Sam leave the room before turning back to her sister, "Cass" she tried her best to hold in her sobs. "I know you can hear me. I need you to bounce back from this. I need you, sis. I know you have Sam but you are my person and I need you. I need you to come back to me. I can't imagine any of this without you, even if I hate you a good majority of the time. I love you." She rested her head next to her sister. It reminded of her all those nights she snuck into Cass's room growing up and crawling into her bed or her first year at school when she would sneak into Cass's bed because she was homesick. Her older sister was her best friend, her person and Minnie wasn't letting go. "I beat the shit out of Weasel for you. Would've killed her too if mummy hadn't stopped me. I'll get her for you. Just get better for me. Deal?" Of course her sister just laid there but if she didn't know any better she thought she felt a slight tremor in Cass's hand even if it wasn't anything, it meant something to Minnie.

"Bean?" Minnie was called out of her daydream by the sound of Bella's voice. "They are getting ready to take your sister into surgery now. I just came to say goodbye. Then your mum will be in."

"Do you want me to leave?"

"It's fine. You can stay," she walked over to stand next to the bed, bending over so she could whisper into Cass's ear. "You need to get better, kitten. You are the best thing that could've happened to me. I didn't know I needed you. You brought me a renewed sense of purpose and taught me so much about myself. You are very special to me. And I know you can hear me. I've been through this with your mother. So when you wake up and remember this, remember how important you are to me. I swear to Salazar that you will walk again. You will get to live out your dream. I will kill whoever stands in your way." Bella thought for a moment, "okay that got dark. I love you. Come back to me," she kissed Cass's forehead.

A small knock on the door, "my turn?" Hermione entered the room, making her way over to the hospital bed. Bella scooted out of the way so her other mother could speak. "Darling, you have always been such a strong, independent little girl. I know that you are going to make it through this. You are destined for a plethora of great things my love. Your grandparents will be here when you get out of surgery. Pap Pap and Kitty wanted me to tell you how much they love you. As well as your Aunts and Teddy. Please come back to us sweetheart. I love you so much," she kissed her daughter on the forehead, standing to look at her wife. Everyone in the room had tears in their eyes. Hermione turned and nodded towards the nurses. "We are ready. Sam, did you get to say something to Cass?"

Sam walked over one last time, bending down to whisper in her ear, "I love you, Cass."

Hermione wrapped her arm around Sam's shoulder, pulling her away from the bed as the nurse came in to take her daughter into surgery, "everyone is here for you, darling."

"Give them hell, kitten," Bella stopped the bed for one last kiss before they wheeled her out.

"What now?" Minnie asked once Cass was wheeled out of sight.

"We wait. And from what I remember when your mother was in surgery, it's long, painful and agonizing," Bella offered a half smile. "Take a seat ladies. It's going to be awhile. Or you can go bother your aunts. I'm sure they are around here somewhere. It's going to be at least 4 hours. Dr. Hoffman said it could be longer."

"I'm going to go pick up my parents, are you going to be okay here while I'm gone?"

"You're leaving?" The vulnerability in her voice was thick. "Can't we send Andromeda to go get them?"

Hermione gave her a small smile before leaning in, "dad has been poorly. I want to help them get here."

Bella nodded, "I'll be fine. Go."

The four hour mark passed so quickly and Cass was still in surgery. Minnie and Sam eventually left the room in search of food or to bother Aviya, Bella couldn't be sure. Minnie did have a knack of getting under Aviya's skin; it seemed to be a Black family trait that was passed down to the children. It had taken a while for Hermione to come back with her parents but when they made it back Bella noticed how tired Jack had appeared. "Doing okay, Jack?" She asked when he took the seat next to her in the empty ICU room. Hermione and her mother went to find the girls while she stayed behind with Jack. Bella refused to leave in case someone came with some news. She wouldn't let Cass come back to an empty room no matter if she was aware of it or not. "I'm doing okay," he replied, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a few of Bella's favorite muggle candies. "Brought some for Cass, too. Kitty has them in her purse." Bella loved how much Jack loved her daughters. He had been the closest thing to a father she had ever had and knew that he cherished the girls like they were his own. Plus, he always had some sort of treats ready for the girls and Teddy when he was around. They sat in companionable silence after they exhausted every possible outcome of the surgery. They even had some time to talk about a few horror movies. "Oh here. For you," Bella conjured up a muggle mystery book she had just finished. "You'll love this one." Jack thanked her for the new book and eagerly dove into the story as Bella excused herself to go get a soda from the vending machine.

Bella wandered through the halls absentmindedly, drinking a Coca-Cola from the muggle vending machine. She was having a hard time wrapping her head around the fact that her daughter was currently in surgery which could be life altering. Everything seems so unfair with the entire situation and the fact that McGonagall seemed to be brushing it aside as an accident pushed her towards the edge. "An accident," she rolled her eyes knowing that wasn't true. She saw what Minnie had seen. It was not an accident by any means. She needed Hermione to see what she saw. At least then maybe they could move the blame where it needed to be. "Bella?" She heard her wife's voice behind her, "the nurse said Cass is in recovery and will be back up to her room in about 30 minutes. Are you okay?" She didn't turn around from the window she had been looking out of, "I'm fine. Be right there." Hermione must have accepted her response because she heard her retreating footsteps. "Mummy?" She heard from the door, turning to see Minnie standing there also with a coke in hand. She chuckled at the bad habit she passed on to her children. "You okay?"

Bella gave her daughter a soft smile, "just thinking, bean. Have you shown Mum your memory of the events? The match I mean?"

Minnie shook her head, "I tried but she didn't want to see it. She said it's not the time for that."

"I see," Bella's lips drew into a thin line. So, she would have to deal with this on her own. She was perfectly fine to do so. "We should get back. Pap Pap and Kitty are here. Cass will be back shortly. That means Dr. Hoffman will be in soon to tell us how the surgery went. Did you annoy the piss out of Aviya for me?"

Minnie smirked, "it only took 15 minutes for her to kick me out of the lab. Now quite as good as Cass but a respectable time."

Bella laughed, a genuine laugh for the first time all day. Leave it to her daughter to cheer her up and help coax her from the darkness, "keep it up bean and you may surpass the master."

When they got back to the room, Hermione, Katherine and Sam were sitting in one corner talking while Jack appeared asleep in the chair Bella had left him in with his book cracked open on his chest. Minnie walked over and shook his shoulder, "Pap Pap," she kissed him on the cheek waking him from his slumber. He was nearing 80 and spent a lot of time napping but he could always be woken up by his favorite girls.

"There's Pap Pap's little poppet," he pulled her in for a hug. Minnie pretended to roll her eyes but she loved the attention. "How's my girl doing? Holding up okay? School treating you well?"

Minnie sat in the chair next to him, resting her head on his shoulder, "everything is okay, Pap Pap just scared about Cass."

Bella heard her start to tell him how everything went down during the game when there was a knock on the door, "come in."

"Full house," Dr. Hoffman said, closing the door behind her. "Cass did well in the surgery."

Bella noted something seemed off, "don't sugar coat anything. Talk to us like you would talk to your family."

"The surgery went better than we expected, however one of her vertebrates was crushed entirely. I had to rebuild it which I did. I can not say if it was successful or not until she wakes up. Now when that happens, there is a good chance she won't have feeling in her legs. And if I'm being transparent, she won't have feeling in her lower half for a long time. In order for her to make a hopeful full recovery, she's going to need intensive physical therapy and most likely a second surgery down the road. She will be in a wheelchair for many many months. We won't know more until she wakes and we can test the nerves we had to rebuild. If they are responsive even if she can't move them on her own, I'll feel better about the recovery."

"So," Bella grimaced, "she may never ride her broom again."

The doctor nodded, "correct."

"And she also could make a full recovery?" Hermione was trying to be positive about the situation.

"That is also correct. Much like when Hermione went through surgery, it's impossible to tell the outcome until she woke up. On a positive note, Cass has been in and out of consciousness as she has been coming out of the anesthesia in recovery. She's going to be out of it for a long while with the heavy pain medication she is on right now on top of all of the potions she was given prior to her arrival. The good news is she is waking so she won't be subject to a stress induced magical coma like you were, Hermione."

"When will she be coming up?" Even though the doctor kept saying the phrase good news, Bella knew none of this was good news. She just wanted to see her girl, kiss her and tell her everything was going to be all right even though she knew damn well that may not be the case.

"They want to wait a little longer because of the strong dose of anesthesia so she'll be up within the hour. If that changes someone will be along with an update. Just as a precaution, I wanted to note that Cass's upper body is wrapped tight so she isn't exposed but she is shirtless. There are drainage tubes sticking out of the back of her wrap. You will see them but try not to worry. If you show worry then Cass will worry. She also has a catheter in to help her go to the bathroom since we aren't sure what is going to happen when she wakes. Poppy already started to heal her leg and wrist fractures but we went ahead and cast them as a precaution. Remember the best thing you can do is to stay positive and remain calm around her when she wakes."

"Thank you, Dr. Hoffman," Hermione tried not to sound like she was dismissing the woman.

Dr. Hoffman picked up on the subtle cues, "do not hesitate to come find me with any questions. I'll be back soon to check on Cass. She has a team of nurses to start her assessments after she wakes up here."

"Thanks," Bella mumbled. She looked around the room at the grave faces of Hermione and her mother. Minnie's face was hidden in her Pap Pap's neck. She surely was crying. Bella could hear the light sobs. She saw that Sam was sitting alone along the window bench, staring out crying silently to herself. She got up, walking past her wife without acknowledgment, and took a seat next to Sam. She tentatively wrapped an arm around her shoulder which caused the hufflepuff to turn and throw herself in Bella's arms. Her first reaction was to stiffen but she quickly relaxed and enveloped the girl in a hug, "are you okay?" She felt Sam shake her head no. "Me neither," she placed a chaste kiss on top of the girl's head. "We will be strong for Cass though. She's going to need all of us when she wakes."

A small nod, "yes, ma'am."

"Ma'am?" A small laugh escaped through her nose. "You haven't called me that since the first time you came over our house and I caught the two of you making out."

Sam groaned, "don't remind me." She loosened her grip slightly so she could look up at Bella. "She has to be okay. She has dreams." She heard her girlfriend's mother agree with her. "Plus," she tried to discreetly wipe a few tears, "we haven't talked about our plans for after school."

"Don't even worry about that. It's months away. I can't speak for my daughter but we both know she's just like me. And judging by the way she speaks of you and makes moony eyes when she does so, you are already included in whatever future she had been picturing," she conjured a tissue and handed it to the girl. "Let's just focus on remaining positive so Cass doesn't spiral when she wakes up and it's not what she was expecting. From my own personal experience, us Blacks aren't the best at receiving bad news. And believe it or not, she's even more stubborn than me. Just be patient with my girl, she's going to need you."

Sam nodded, "you can count on me. Thank you. I think I need a minute. I'm going to go call my parents. Let them know what the doctor said." She stood up, grabbed her phone and started making her way towards the door.

"Take your time. Sam?" She waited for the girl to turn around, "you know you are a part of the family right? You aren't alone here."

She gave the dark witch a small smile, "thank you, Bella."

"Anytime, kid," she rolled her eyes for show to dispel any sort of notion that she cared for the young girl even if it was true. Sam was important to Cass and grew on her over the years. She was a good kid for a muggleborn American hufflepuff. Bella looked up and saw her sister at the window. Clearly not wanting to crash family time, she held up her finger. "I'll be right back." She excused herself from the room, "you could've just come in instead of stalking around the room like a creep."

"It wouldn't be my style if I wasn't a little creepy," Andy shrugged. "Walk with me? Do you have time?"

"Cass will be up within the hour. I want to be there when she comes back even if she's not awake."

"A quick walk then," She led her sister down the hall to an empty lab. "In here."

"From stalking in the hallways to an empty lab, creepy Auntie Andy is always on brand," Bella sat down at one of the stools and rested her face in her hands.

"Go on."

That was all it took. Bella unleashed a guttural scream that even made her sister recoil a little before coming over, wrapping her arms around her, "I don't know what to do, Andy." She was panting from the exertion of the scream.

"What did Dr. Hoffman say?" She listened as Bella explained everything that was told to them to the best of her recollection. "I can't believe this is happening. It seems just like yesterday that I babysat her for the first time."

autumn 2007*

Bella and Hermione had to take Minnie to one of her doctor's appointments for a routine infant wellness check. Andy was sure it was her three month appointment but one can never be too certain when she wasn't actually paying attention. All she remembers was Bella telling her not to kill their daughter while they were away. Normally they asked Jack and Katherine to babysit but they weren't in town for this appointment so after Cissy turned them down for work, Auntie Andy the last resort stepped up to the plate. "What's the worst that could happen in a couple of hours?" Those words were Andy's mistake. She had expected Cass to be running around the Manor but so far they had spent 20 minutes doing and redoing the same puzzle over and over again. Andy was getting bored. Just as she was about to suggest moving on to a different activity, Cass's belly grumbled loudly. "Are you hungry, love?" Cass looked at her belly then at her aunt and shook her head vigorously. "Should we go out to eat? They just told me to babysit. They weren't specific on where the sitting was to occur. I'm feeling a bit of a Big Mac. What about you? McDonald's?"

Cass's eyes lit up. She had quite an affinity for the fast food which stemmed from Bella's obsession with the restaurant while pregnant, "hungee."

"Okay, what your mummys don't know won't hurt us," she stood and scooped Cass up in her arms. "Coat… you need a coat. See," she put Cass onto the changing table after sniffing her bum to see if she needed a nappy change. She still smelled fresh so she put her little coat on and a hat. "See I'm responsible." Cass giggled when Andy tossed her in the air. "My Dora liked to be thrown around like a sack of potatoes too. Come on kid, let's get some burgers. Should I leave a note for your mothers?" Cass blew a raspberry, "my thoughts exactly. We will be back in plenty of time." She did tell Twiggy that they were going out and would be back within the hour. It was one quick turn at the apparation point and Andy had landed them just at the outskirts of Diagon Alley. She knew there was a McDonalds within walking distance of the entry to Diagon. Salazar knows how many trips she made to that store for Bella when she was carrying Cass. "If your mummy knew I was about to take you into muggle London, she's Avada me on the spot."

"Walk," Cass was squirming in Andy's arms.

"Okay but you have to hold my hand or it's a full body bind for you, young lady," she put Cass down and she immediately took the small hand in her own. She didn't try to fight her aunt and happily held her hand. What would normally be a five minute walk took closer to 20 minutes with Cass's little legs and her being insistent on walking on her own fruition. When they finally made it, Andy had never been more ready for a burger. "We are here," she announced, stopping Cass in front of the glass doors. Andy opened them and saw that the restaurant was near empty with a few muggle families scattered around. She felt comfortable enough to let Cass walk next to her. They approached the counter and Cass wanted up. "What do you want, love? Burger or nuggets?"

Cass smiled at her Aunt and nodded. Andy had no idea what that meant so she ordered a Big Mac for herself, a cheeseburger happy meal and an order of nuggets in case Cass wasn't pleased with the burger. "You're old enough for a coke right?" She looked at her almost 2 year old niece. "Cokes to drink, please." Andy was able to balance the tray of food including the drinks on one hand while carrying Cass to a secluded part of McDonalds close to the little play area for the kids. She knew her niece loved watching the other kids play.

"Mine?" Cass put her hand over her chest.

"Yes," Andy unpacked her happy meal, handing her the toy to play with while she unwrapped the burger and fries. Cass could barely see over the table so Andy quickly grabbed a booster seat for her. Once Cass was able to see her food, she quickly put down her toy and started shoving the fries into her mouth. "Dip?" She asked, looking up at her aunt with a mouth full of fries.

Andy stared at her trying not to laugh. Clearly the Black etiquette ended a long time ago. She took out a couple packages of ketchup and empty them into a pile by Cass's fries. "Thank you." She picked up her burger, dipped in the ketchup and took a bite that was a little too big.

"You are welcome, my sweet," Andy dug into her own lunch, enjoying the time with her niece. There was no doubt that this little girl was the spitting image of her mother. She was shoveling her burger and fries into her mouth while making judgemental faces at all the muggle children running past. "Slow down, this isn't a race. If you choke to death on your food, Auntie Andy is going to be murdered." They enjoyed their meal together. Cass babbled every couple of bites and Andy enjoyed spending time with her so much. Her niece at this age reminded her so much of Dora. She was also mischievous, over excited and loved a good snuggle just like Cass. Cass finished her burger and pointed towards the chicken nuggets, "more? Peas."

"Well how could I say no to that?" Andy ruffled her niece's hair and put a few chicken nuggets in front of her watching as Cass grabbed a nugget and dipped it in her ketchup before taking a big bite. "You, my dear, are the perfect lunch company. We should make this a regular occurance. Auntie and Cass time."

"Milkshake or playtime?" Andy asked her niece when their lunch was gone.

Cass loved ice cream but she really wanted to go down that slide, "play? Peas?"

Andy laughed and helped Cass out of her booster seat, "go on then, love." She watched as Cass ran over to the very large play area. She had seen Cass play in play areas larger than this before so she didn't have any concerns letting Cass go in alone. She watched as the girl interacted with the other children, laughing when the judgemental stare came back out. Her cell phone buzzed in her pocket. "Fuck me, a message from Bella."

Bella (3:26pm): you better pray to Salazar that you bring my baby back in one piece. Where did you take her?

Andy (3:28pm): calm down, we will be home soon.

Bella (3:30pm): where are you?

Andy didn't think it was the best idea to mention muggle London to her sister when she already seemed a little more than pissed.

Andy (3:34pm): we went out to lunch. Almost through. Be home in 20 minutes.

Bella (3:37pm): if you aren't home by 4pm I'll be out back digging a hole for your grave.

Andy rolled her eyes and put her phone back in her pocket. She looked up to scan the area for her niece and didn't immediately see her so she assumed she had made it inside the climbing area to get to the slide. "Cass?" She got up from the table and walked fully into the area looking for her niece. When she didn't see her she tried calling her name again waiting for a little giggle if she was playing hide and seek. No giggle. "Cassiopeia Bellatrix Black. If you can hear me, you come out right now." The tone of her voice had the muggle children scrambling away from her. There were no noises that sounded like Cass's. "I'm too old for this shit," she sighed, climbing into the play structure. "This is a lot higher than it looks," she kept climbing until she got to the top. "Oh perfect. Squeeze my ass through these tunnels. That'll be fun." She crawled through the tunnels, stopping when a strange little muggle boy tapped her. "She's over there," he pointed to a tunnel that led to the slide. "Thanks kid. You need a tissue," she handed him a napkin that she had in her pocket. She climbed through the tunnel and saw her niece crying in the corner. "Kitten, what's wrong?"

"Too high," Cass scooted over towards Andy, crawling into her lap.

Thankfully Andy was short enough that she could sit comfortably in the tunnel, wrapping her arms around her niece, "it is rather high. You are okay though. Auntie Andy has you." She rocked her back and forth, comforting the girl. "You know your cousin Dora also got scared when she would come to these places." Cass looked up at her aunt as she talked. Andy wiped a few of the tears away from Cass's cheeks. "She never really liked heights either. It must run in the family. You know," she kissed the top of Cass's head, "you remind me so much of my Dora when she was your age. She would've loved you to pieces. When Dora got scared of the slides, you know what we did?" Cass shook her head no. "We went down the slide together. Would you like to sit in my lap and go down?"

"Yes," she looked excited again.

Andy let Cass move off of her lap so she could maneuver over to the entrance to the slide, "okay," she reached back, grabbing her niece and putting her down on her outstretched legs, "ready?"

"Slide!!"

Andy laughed, pushing off so her and Cass could ride down to the bottom together. "Here we go," she said as they rode down to the bottom. Cass giggled the entire way.

"Again?" She looked up at her aunt expectantly.

"One more time then we have to go home. Mummy is waiting for us." Cass immediately took off running up the climber making sure Andy was behind her every step of the way.

present time*

"That's when I knew she was just like my Dora. She's going to be okay. She has to be. But how are you, Bella?"

"Spiraling," she answered honestly. "Remember when father used to have enrichment time with me?"

"When he beat the shit out of you for something we did?"

Bella nodded, "those are the first memories I had when I experienced anger and darkness. We both know my past isn't pretty."

"You've come so far. Don't put yourself down."

Bella shook her head, "I dont think I'm saying this right. It's not about where I've been and where I'm at now. It's the fact that I can feel the darkness pushing against me. I'm trying so hard not to let it win. Does that make sense?"

"Minnie showed me her memory. That's why I had to see how you were." Bella just gave her a sad smile, "not well. Look. You are a strong and very stubborn woman. Don't get sucked into the darkness when you haven't even had the chance to speak with Cass yet. Who knows what will happen when she wakes up but I know one thing."

"What's that?"

"She's going to need her mummy. If it's all bad news and she can't fly anymore, she's going to need you to be strong for her. She's not going to need you to go off on a half-cocked revenge brigade."

"All of my revenge brigades are fully-cocked but I see where you are coming from. Truthfully, I need her just as much as she needs me. Cass feels like an extension of myself. That sounds weird."

"No it doesn't. I understand completely. I felt that way when my Dora was still here and it's even stronger with Teddy. He's a grown man and I still make him text me everyday just so I know he's okay. You'll never stop worrying about your daughters. I'm here for you Bella. Even if you think you are too far gone into the darkness. I'm here for you."

Bella looked in her sister's eyes for signs of deception and when she was satisfied she didn't see any, "I know you are, Andy. Thank you."

"Cass is back," Minnie interrupted. "They brought her in but she's still asleep. She looks sad and small. Like the doctor said, she has tubes. I don't like it."

"Come on bean. We all need to be there for her," she grabbed her daughter's hand before turning to Andy, "you coming?"

Andy shook her head, "I'll be around later. Remember what I said."

Bella nodded once, leaving the lab hand in hand with her daughter. "I think Auntie Andy believed me," she heard Minnie say quietly.

"She does, sweetheart. We will figure all of that out after we make sure your sister is okay."

They made their way back into the room and Bella felt hopeless the moment her eyes landed on her daughter. She was exactly as Minnie had describe plus all the horrors she had been imagining since she received the first picture. She did in fact had tubes coming out of her back, a catheter and two black casts on her leg and wrist. "At least they gave her black ones," Minnie whispered, grabbing Bella's hand to bring her out of her thoughts.

"Has she said anything yet?" Bella looked around to her wife and in laws.

"Not yet, love," Katherine gave her a sad smile. "I think she's going to be out for awhile."

"Where's Sam?"

"Aunt Cissy came and took her. Sam, she lost it when they wheeled Cass back in here," Minnie sighed. "Hufflepuffs."

"Hey now," they all turned to the familiar voice of Teddy. "There's nothing wrong with us Puffs."

"Teddy!" Minnie got up, throwing herself in his arms. He had always been more of an older brother than a cousin to the girls. "You came!"

"Of course I did. How is she?"

"We don't know yet," Bella hugged her nephew. He was already filled in by his grandmother since he stopped to say hi to her first.

Everyone took turns hugging the newest addition to the room before he got a chance to go over and see his cousin, "she's too stubborn to let this hold her back."

"Thank you for coming," Hermione kissed his forehead. "It means a lot to all of us. Bella, Minnie? Would you like to come with us to get something to eat?"

"I'm good here, mum."

Hermione knew Minnie wouldn't want to leave now that Teddy was there. She walked over, putting her hand on Bella's shoulder. She waited until her wife looked up into her eyes. They seemed off, distant, "are you okay, love?" Bella shrugged the shoulder Hermione wasn't holding on to. She squatted down, looking up at the dark witch, "Bella, please talk to me. I know this is a really unsettling situation but we need to be strong together. Are we okay?"

Bella was upset about the entire situation. And yes, she was mad at Hermione because she wouldn't even entertain the idea of looking at Minnie's memory. She didn't want Hermione to know she was teetering on the edge of darkness so she relaxed her face, and focused. "I'm fine, pet. Just worried is all. Go have dinner with your parents. We will be fine here. I can't leave her."

"I'm going to drop my parents back off at the Manor after this and come back for the evening."

"And if you aren't back before Cass wakes up?"

"I will be."

Bella gave her wife a quick peck on the cheek and told her she loved her. Teddy came over and took a seat next to his favorite aunt, "how are things down at the DMLE?"

"Your daughter is lying there potentially paralyzed and you want to talk about work?"

Bella let out a dark chuckle, "humor me."

"Nothing too exciting," Teddy went on about everything that had been happening at the DMLE recently from murders to robberies and everything in between. Seemed like business as usual.

"Did anyone at the school call in regards to the accident?" Bella asked out of morbid curiosity.

"No," he shook his head. "Granny sent me her patronus and I hurried over as soon as I got it."

Bella just sat there getting angrier and angrier at the school especially at the headmistress for brushing this under the rug. Minnie started telling Teddy about the school year so far so Bella took the time to practice a couple of deep breathing exercises she learned from her soul healer all those years ago. She wasn't sure how long Teddy and Minnie had been sitting there conversing but she felt a hand on her shoulder pulling her out of her safe space, "I'm back, my love." Hermione pulled a seat next to her wife by the head of Cass's bed. Apparently the nurse had been in a few times to check vitals, put things into her IV and change the catheter or so Teddy had relayed to Hermione. Sam had even returned to the room at some point. Bella had missed all of that. "Are you sure you're okay?" She had heard her wife ask.

"Fine, pet," she sat up and took in her surroundings. "I think I zoned out there for a minute. Stress of the day and all. I assure you. I'm fine."

"Look," Sam had stood up, walking over to the other side of the bed near Cass's head.

Her eyes were fluttering open for the first time since she was brought up from surgery a few hours prior. She stared up at the ceiling for a minute before looking around the room. "Did we win?"

"Of course Slytherin won," Minnie scoffed.

Cass smiled a little while wincing in pain, "what happened?" Her eyes scan the length of herself. She saw a cast on her wrist. "Did I break my arm?"

"You fell sweetheart," Hermione said matter-of -factly, causing Bella's blood to start boiling all over again but she remained quiet. She noted the anger on her youngest daughter's face too.

"From my broom?" Hermione nodded. "Why would I do that? I've never fallen off my broom before. Why a ridiculous accusation."

Bella snorted, "now you sound like me, kitten. How do you feel?"

"Tired," she answered honestly.

"Cass?" Sam reached out and grabbed her hand that wasn't in her cast. "How do your legs feel?"

"What a strange question," Cass turned to look at her girlfriend before scrunching up her face, turning towards her legs then to Bella. "Mummy? Why can't I feel my legs?"