Harry paced outside the hospital wing frantically. It was early. Way too early for visitors. But Tracey had only just told him about what had happened last night. If he'd known he would have come sooner. The doors opened.

"Where Lucy?! Is she okay?! Can I talk to her?! Is she awake?! Please let me see her!" Harry begged Pomfrey desperately. The matron sighed and held up a hand.

"I'm afraid Miss. Mathers isn't here Mr. Potter."

"What?! But Tracey said-"

"She was transferred to St. Mungos last night."

"St. Mungos?!" Harry cried in a panic. The way Tracey described it her injuries weren't that bad!

"She's being treated for magical exhaustion. The hospital said she would be back by Monday."

"Monday?!" Harry cried in horror. It was only Wednesday now! Lucy was so injured she would be hospitalized for a whole week?!

"Your father will be better prepared to answer these questions himself, Mr. Potter. He should be returning sometime around breakfast. I suggest you head to the great hall and try to eat something while you wait." Pomfrey insisted with a firm expression. The teen gave her a pitiful look before he nodded and turned away; heading back towards the great hall despite the futility of it all. Breakfast wouldn't be on for much longer, but he highly doubted he would be able to eat a crumb with this awful weight in his gut.


Lucy creaked her eyes open and then winced at the light. After a few moments of adjusting her eyes opened wider to take in her surroundings. She was in a very clinical-looking room painted in a soft blue colour. Then she realized that the walls weren't just blue, but rather had little white clouds painted on them, which lazily drifted by as if pushed by a soft breeze. She sat up slowly and looked down to see she was in an old-fashioned hospital bed, and dressed in a very quintessential hospital gown. Most worrying of all however was the heavy bandage wrapped around her hand. It was wrapped with several layers of gauze yet the blood from the wound below appeared to still be slowly seeping through the layers. She looked around again for any other clues as to where she might be when the door opened. The person who entered was an elderly witch wearing a uniform very similar to the one that Madame Pomfrey wore.

"Ah! Wonderful! You've finally woken up!" the woman said with a cheerful smile.

"Where am I? Where's my dad?" Lucy demanded fearfully. The woman's smile turned softer.

"You are at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies deary. Do you remember how you got here?" Lucy wracked her brain and slowly shook her head. "What is the last thing you remember?"

"I remember… I remember walking down the steps to the dungeon…" Lucy began softly "It… it hurt a lot… but… I can't remember why." suddenly she became conscious of a painful throbbing in her hand and hissed and reached for her bandages.

"Oh leave those, deary!" the medi-witch cried worriedly. "That wound you have is quite cursed. The folks in spell damage are still working to figure out how to remove it so the wound will heal up nicely… Do you happen to remember how you got it?"

"No…" Lucy said worriedly as she tried to remember. She couldn't tell you why, but the fact she couldn't was starting to frighten her. "Please can you get my dad? I really need him!" she begged fearfully. He could fix this. He always fixed everything.

"Hold on for just a few minutes deary, I'll see what I can do." the medi-witch assured her with a gentle smile before she retreated from the room once again. Lucy winced slightly. She hadn't meant to sound quite so demanding and desperate. Besides, being alone in this room was just as stressful as not knowing how she got here.


Emmeline watched the very last embers of emerald fire go up the chimney with a heavy heart. She knew that Severus didn't want to leave in the slightest. She could tell by the look in his eyes. There was a worry and fear there she'd seen many times now whenever Harry was in danger. She let out a breath sigh, trying to let all her own worry out in a gust. Unfortunately, the weight of it still seemed to be there, crushing her chest. She groaned and turned away from the floo and began to walk back down the hall to Lucy's hospital room.

"Ah!" Lucy's assigned medi-witch cried as she rushed up to the woman. "There you are, Ms. Vance. I thought you'd like to know that Miss. Mathers is awake."

"Oh thank goodness!" Emmeline cried in releif.

"However," the medi-witch began worriedly. "The poor dear seems a bit confused."

"How so?" Emmeline asked fearfully.

"She's asking for her father. But you had informed us she was an orphan so…" Emmeline blinked. That was the very last thing she would expect. The girl hadn't mentioned her parents at all since they'd all discovered the pair's disappearance.

"What exactly did she say?" Emmeline asked.

"'wheres my dad?'" the medwitch specified. Emmeline smiled tearfully.

"She's referring to Severus."

"Oh?"

"My fiance and I are going through the process of adopting her," Emmeline explained. The medi-witch had her own water smile and gave Emmeline's arm a cheerful pat. "She's grown quite attached to Severus."

"Well then seeing your face will be a panacea!" The medi-witch cried happily. Emmeline smiled and nodded as she stepped into the hospital wing.

"Emmeline!" Lucy cried in relief. The witch beamed even as she crossed the room to envelop Lucy in a strong and comforting hug.


Severus stalked down the hall with a grim but conspicuously blank expression on his face. Students averted their eyes as he walked by with fear in their eyes. He paid them no heed nor cares. He paused at the end of the hallway leading to his office and classrooms. He stared at the spot where his heart had jumped out of his throat the night before.

If he closed his eyes he was sure he could hear the shriek that had sparked such fear in him.

"DAD!"

"Dad!"

He jumped a mile then and turned to see Harry running up to him with a face etched with worry. "Dad! How is Lucy?! Is she alright?! Can you take me to see her?!"

"The healers say her chances of recovery are high. She'll likely be back at Hogwarts on Monday."

"What happened?!"

"That is unclear."

"But what is wrong with her?"

"Intense magical exhaustion, as well as a wound on her hand which appears to be cursed."

"Cursed? Someone cursed her?!"

"It's unclear. She had not yet awoken when I left this morning."

"Did someone attack her?!"

"Again. This is unclear."

"What if it was a student?! What if they attack someone else?!"

"Then we will face them." Suddenly Harry scowled bitterly.

"So what you're saying is you know nothing and aren't going to do anything about it?!"

"No. I know that she will be alright, and I fully intend to find who or whatever has done this and rectify the situation."

"How can you stand there and be so calm!" Harry snarked angrily.

"You mistake my composure for calm!" Severus suddenly snapped making Harry jump back in fear. Severus took a deep breath and covered his eyes with his hand. "Harry, I have a decade of experience keeping my emotions in check. Raging and pitching a fit is not going to help the situation. We need to keep a level head and analyze the situation."

"Sorry," Harry murmured feeling ashamed.

"You have absolutely nothing to apologize for." Severus insisted. "You are showing concern for someone who's injured. It's normal to be overwhelmed."

"She's not just someone," Harry began firmly. "She's my little sister." Severus gave him a look, rather nebulous in his effort to maintain a balance of his swirling emotions. "I know that technically she's not… but ever since Christmas… and even before that." The teen let out an exhausted sigh. "On the Hogwarts Express, I swore I would keep her safe, but it seems like I've had a pretty shite track record."

"Nonsense." Severus declared firmly. "Do not allow your self-doubt to undermine the real and profound good you have done in making Lucy feel like she is part of our family." He took a breath "Your mother and I submitted the paperwork to formally adopt her just a few weeks ago."

"Really?!" Harry cried ecstatically "That's brilliant!"

"Our job right now is to help Lucy recover. Then we can start finding whoever is responsible." Harry's shoulder sunk a bit even as he nodded in understanding. Then suddenly all the colour drained from his face.

"Dad… you don't… you don't think it was Umbridge … Do you?" He asked fearfully. The man sucked in a breath.

"To be perfectly honest Harry… the thought hadn't crossed my mind…" he admitted. How could he be so stupid!? It was obvious really! Umbridge had been the last one to see Lucy. If she hadn't (though the moment Harry suggested it a cold feeling had sunk into his bones as instinct screamed 'Who else?!') she would know likely candidates. He took a deep breath and recentered himself.

"Don't you have class?" He asked. Harry gaped.

"Seriously how can you think of school at a time like this?!"

"Occlumency. You have been practicing yes?"

"Yeah…" Harry said feebly. The truth was he had been, but always seemed to get distracted, or pulled away, or lose focus. Outside of the weekly lessons with his dad, he hadn't had much luck.

"Use it today in class. Try to put all your fears about Lucy and Umbridge out of your mind."

"Right," Harry agreed, picturing St. Margaret's beach in his mind. But it was hard to let the waves carry away his worry, which felt like a boulder in his chest.

"Go. I'll send a message to your professor… Flitwick yes?"

"Hmm " Harry responded flatly as he tried and failed to get that boulder back into the ocean. Severus sighed and gently spun the teen around towards the stairs up. Harry jumped a bit then winced sheepishly and scampered up the stairs. Severus sighed and sent a quick patronus to Filius. Not a moment after it was sent a ball of blue light descended from the ceiling. Out of that ball emerged a large shaggy sheepdog. Severus could never manage to keep a straight face whenever he heard Filius' vaguely squeaky voice come out of a dog the man could quite feasibly ride into battle.

"Nothing to worry about Severus. We're all feeling the absence of little Lucy in our own ways." Severus raised an eyebrow there.

Little Lucy?

He hadn't known she was quite so popular with the staff.

He let out a sigh before he realized that in forcing Harry not to neglect his own classes he was currently doing the exact same thing. True it was seventh-years who knew better, but he really ought to be teaching by example. With that, he stalked down the hall. He made sure to slam the door open when he arrived, just to keep the students on their toes.