The Disgraced of the House of Black - A Multi-Character Fanfiction - Part One

194. Awaking to a Nightmare

It was well past noon the following day when Althea's eyes opened for the first time. The first thing she had become aware of was searing pain. Her entire body ached, screaming in protest as she tried to move. Her head hurt also, pounding and throbbing terribly. She closed her eyes again in order to momentarily relieve herself of facing the bright lights of what she realized must be the Hospital Wing.

She suddenly became aware of a hand holding her own. Forcing her eyes open again, she saw Remus sitting beside her, holding her hand as he rest his head against his other hand, either with worry or exhaustion. Next to him, she saw that her mother was laying against his shoulder, her eyes red and puffy.

"What happened?" she whispered, her voice cracked.

Remus' head jerked up as Eliana quickly lifted her head.

Moving to sit on the edge of the bed, Ellie asked, "How do you feel, Althea?"

"Sore," she said noncommittally. "Where are the others? What happened? Is everyone okay?"

As Remus and Eliana shared grieved looks, Althea asked shakily, "Who...who died? Is Harry okay? Neville? Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Ron? What happened?"

"Oh, Althea," Eliana whispered, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks. "Sirius and Amara, they...they..."

She couldn't finish her statement. She had begun sobbing again. A lump formed in Althea's throat as she shifted her gaze to the ceiling, tears stinging in her eyes.

Blinking quickly, she asked in a thick voice, "Everyone else?"

"Everyone else is fine," Remus said, sniffling slightly. "Hermione was hit with some kind of curse that's giving Madam Pomfrey a lot of trouble, but she says she's figured it out now and Hermione will be all right. Ron also got into something bad, but he'll be all right too. Ginny just had a broken ankle which, of course, was fixed right away. Luna made it out completely unharmed."

"And Neville?" Althea asked softly, turning to look at him.

"He had a broken nose and a much lesser version of what you're feeling right now," Remus explained. "He's all right."

"So...everyone aside from..." she couldn't finish her statement.

It was too horrible, too sad.

"They just had a baby," she whispered shakily, a tear falling down her cheek. "What's going to happen to the baby?"

With a heavy sigh, Remus again replied, "Amara and Sirius named us Minnie's godparents, so we'll be watching over her. She's with Molly now."

Althea winced as she reached up to quickly wipe away a tear.

"Althea," Eliana said shakily. "If you ever scare me like that again, I'll-"

She broke off, her breath catching in her throat.

"I promise, I won't go doing anything stupid," Althea said with a small smile, but even so, the grief raged within.

.

Althea was still unable to rise by the time the Hospital Wing door opened that afternoon. Eliana had gone to relieve Molly of the baby, but Remus was still sitting beside her. He had been telling her all about the duel between Dumbledore and Voldemort as well as Voldemort's attempt to possess Harry, but he quickly fell silent at the sound of the door. Turning, he saw Harry himself enter the room.

"Thea," he said softly, stopping beside her. "How do you feel?"

"Very pained, but I'm all right," Althea replied, but something in her tone told him that she knew.

Someone had told her. Weakly, he sat down beside her. Althea leaned forward from where she had been sitting up, ignoring the stabs of pain rushing through her, as she embraced him. Harry returned the hug, but he was blinking very quickly, as though determined to not cry.

He quickly pulled away, muttering, "I need to check on Hermione and Ron."

The two of them had remained unconscious and were laying in the two beds on either side of Althea. Neville, Ginny, and Luna, who had remained with them a large part of the day, had just gone to dinner.

After staring at them for a moment, Harry asked, "Are they going to be okay?"

"They'll be all right, Harry," Remus said gently. "It will just take time."

Harry nodded, keeping his gaze on the floor. Tiredly, he sat down in Ginny's abandoned chair, his stare fixed on the floor.

.

"What's going to happen to her?" Molly asked worriedly as Eliana lay Minnie to sleep in her crib.

Softly, Eliana said, "Remus and I are his godparents, so I suppose we'll raise her."

"Eliana, if you need anything, Arthur and I are here to help," Molly said.

Eliana nodded, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"I just can't believe they're gone," she whispered shakily. "I mean, Amara's my best friend, and Sirius-"

She quickly covered her mouth with her hand as a small sob left her lips.

"Come here," Molly said, wrapping her arms around her as Eliana began to cry.