Chapter 5
I do not own any of J.K Rowling's characters
I slowly came around to soft voices and although I couldn't move nor open my eyes, my hearing seemed to be fine.
"Shocking business … miracle none of them died, it was lucky you were there, Snape. Merlin! That's a nasty cut you've got there … Black's work, I suppose?" I recognised Cornelius Fudge's voice.
"As a matter of fact, it was Meghana Megera, Minister …" Severus' voice sounded far away.
"No!" Fudge sounded shocked.
"Black had bewitched her, it wouldn't have been hard considering their past, I saw it immediately. A Confundus Charm, judging by her behaviour. She seemed to think there was a possibility he was innocent. She wasn't responsible for her actions, although she obviously thought she was going to take Black single-handedly into the Ministry for questioning." Severus said.
My chest hurt with every shallow breath I was taking. I was having trouble remembering exactly what had happened but, I remembered enough to be furious with Severus for lying to the Minister. Me? Confunded? Please, as if I was that weak-minded.
"Oh well, I suppose her old Auror training kicked in." Fudge said, his voice swimming around my head.
"Be that as it may, her interference might have permitted Black to escape … and of course, there is Potter, who has always been allowed an extraordinary amount of licence by the Headmaster –"
"Ah, well, Snape … Harry Potter, you know … we've all got a bit of a blind spot where he's concerned."
"Any other student would be suspended for leading his friends into such danger. And after all the precautions put in place for his protection – out of bounds, at night, consorting with a werewolf and a murderer –"
"Well, well … we shall see, Snape, the boy has undoubtedly been foolish …"
Their voices faded in and out as I tried to force my brain to remember what had happened.
"- All unconscious by the time I reached them. I bound and gagged Black, naturally, conjured stretchers and brought them all straight back to the castle." Severus once again sounded far away. I tried to open my eyes again, but my eyelids were so heavy I couldn't manage it and as my mind lingered on Harry and his friends' welfare flashed into my head before I fell into the darkness again.
"What!?" someone had bellowed, jolting my mind awake again.
"Harry, what's this?" I heard Fudge's voice again. "You should be in bed – has he had any chocolate?"
"Minister, listen!" Harry said. "Sirius Black's innocent! Peter Pettigrew faked his own death! We saw him tonight! You can't let the Dementors do that thing to Sirius, he's –"
Sirius.
I fought hard to stay conscious, trying to focus on him.
What had happened to him?
Where was he?
Was he ok?
I tried to open my eyes as all the questions flooded my aching head but failed. I tried again to open my eyes. I could feel my eyelids fluttering but could not manage to open them fully. My chest was excruciating and felt like there was a boulder sitting on it.
I heard the door open again and footsteps approaching.
More discussions.
"Professor Dumbledore, Sirius Black –" Harry's voice rattled around my brain.
"I would like to speak to Harry and Hermione alone," said Dumbledore's voice abruptly entering my aching head. "Cornelius, Severus, Poppy – please leave us."
"Headmaster!" spluttered Madam Pomfrey. "They need treatment, they need rest –"
"This cannot wait," said Dumbledore. "I must insist."
I heard a door open.
"You surely don't believe a word of Black's story?" Severus' whisper seemed closer to me now.
"I wish to speak to Harry and Hermione alone," Dumbledore repeated.
"Sirius Black showed he was capable of murder at the age of sixteen," Severus breathed. "You haven't forgotten that, Headmaster? You haven't forgotten that he once tried to kill me?"
"My memory is as good as it ever was, Severus," said Dumbledore quietly.
I heard footsteps again and the door closed. More talking. My head was now pounding, but I forced my brain to stay alert to try to stop myself from passing out again. I needed to hear, needed to find out if Sirius was ok.
"Professor Lupin and Professor Megera can tell you –" Harry said.
"Professor Lupin is currently deep in the Forest, unable to tell anyone anything. By the time he is human again, it will be too late. I might add that werewolves are so distrusted by most of our kind that his support will count for very little – and Professor Megera is also currently unable to tell anyone anything right now and, well, she has a past with Sirius which means her support would cost her more than her job at the Ministry."
My position at the Ministry? I thought through the fog in my brain. Did Dumbledore think that meant more to me than Sirius?
My head was slipping into the unknown again. The voices I was hearing were starting to sound like a radio trying to find the correct station.
"Harry come here," Herminone's voice sounded as though it was far away "Quick!"
I heard footsteps and fell unconscious once again.
BAM.
The door of the hospital wing burst open and my eyes snapped open. I blinked a couple of times as my eyesight came into focus. My whole body hurt and my chest was still extremely painful as I breathed.
Cornelius Fudge, Severus and Dumbledore came striding into the ward. Dumbledore alone looked calm. Fudge appeared angry. But Severus was beside himself.
"Out with it, Potter!" he bellowed. "What did you do?" My head pulsed painfully at the noise.
"See here, Snape, be reasonable," said Fudge. "This door's been locked, we just saw –"
"They helped him escape! I know it!" Severus howled, pointing at Harry and Hermione.
Did this mean what I thought it meant? Had Sirius escaped again? I frowned at Severus who looked murderous.
"Calm down, man!" Fudge barked. "You're talking nonsense!"
Severus spun around now glaring at me and shrieked "Then it was her! Of course it was - she attacked me to help him –"
I was unable to form words right now, so I merely blinked at him.
He's finally lost the plot I thought to myself.
"That will do, Severus," said Dumbledore quietly. "This door has been locked since I left the ward ten minutes ago. Madam Pomfrey, have any of your patients left their beds?"
"Of course not!" said Madam Pomfrey, bristling. "I've been with them ever since you left! Professor Megera has only just opened her eyes!"
"Well, there you have it, Severus," said Dumbledore calmly.
Severus stood there, seething, staring from Fudge to Dumbledore before he whirled around, robes swishing behind him, and stormed out of the ward.
Fudged rubbed his face in his hands and said "The Daily Prophet's going to have a field day! We had Black cornered and he slipped through our fingers yet again! All it needs now is for the story of that Hippogriff's escape to get out, and I'll be a laughing stock! Well … I'd better go and notify the Ministry …"
Relief swept through my body at this confirmation. Sirius had escaped!
He turned and looked down at me, although his eyes looked beyond me. "Please keep me updated on Madam Megera's condition." He added as he turned to Dumbledore and left the hospital wing.
A couple of days later, I was still in the hospital wing, propped up on pillows, staring at an open book, my eyes reading the words but not really taking in what it was saying. I was still quite weak, but I was growing increasingly bored with this situation. The doors of the hospital wing opened and I looked over and winced as a twang of pain exploded from my chest at the movement.
Dumbledore was striding over to me "Meghana," he said smiling "It's so good to see you up. How are you feeling?" He took a seat at my bedside looking at me, his blue eyes full of concern.
"I have felt better," I said, my voice croaky but I managed a small smile.
"Remus said he came to see you this morning," Dumbledore said.
I nodded frowning "Yes, he did. I tried to convince him to stay but he insists it's for the best."
"Yes …Severus was quite upse,t" Dumbledore sighed sadly but his eyes glittered slightly.
He paused for a moment before continuing "And I assume Remus told you about Sirius,"
I turned slightly to look at Dumbledore, wincing as the slight movement caused the pain in my chest again "Yes." I replied a bit more sharply than I had meant.
"How are you feeling about that?" Dumbledore asked after a slight pause.
I frowned at him "Why would I feel anything about that?"
Dumbledore raised his eyebrows "Meg…I must admit I was surprised to hear that someone of your talents was cursed by mere Peter." He chuckled and then smiled at me knowingly "Sirius told me that you were cursed by Peter because you pushed him out of harm's way. You obviously still care a great deal about him, even after all this time."
I looked away from Dumbledore, looking at the book in my hands and, swallowing the lump rising in my throat I said quietly.
"I have spent 12 years believing the man I loved so much was a murderer. That he was the reason Voldemort killed Lily and James. It destroyed me."
"Did you really spend 12 years thinking that?" Dumbledore asked casually as I turned my head slightly to look at him again, I spotted his eyes flicking back up from my left hand. He was right of course, I had spent the last few years questioning everything to do with Sirius. I remained silent and there was a long pause in which Dumbledore moved slightly in the chair before he said softly.
"He still loves you," He touched my arm, gripping it slightly "-and that's something."
He looked at me sadly before jumping up "Rest up!" he said smiling down at me and turned to walk out of the hospital wing, leaving me so much more confused about what I was feeling than before.