The Rise And Fall Of The Stag And The Doe

Paradise

"Ready Mar?" James asked draping his arm over her shoulder warmly.

She nodded, though her heart wasn't in it.

"What's wrong?" He questioned as they trailed up the steps to the Headmasters Office.

"Nothing." She feigned a smile. "Let's just see our family."

"Mr. Black," Madame Promfrey whispered as to not disturb the other patients. "Ms. McKinnon will be asleep for twenty four hours. I've given her an extremely strong sedative so she can take that time to heal and gain all the sleep she missed during her captivity."

"I'm aware of that." He replied adjusting in his seat haughtily.

"Well you can't stay here for twenty four hours."

"Why not Poppy?" Sirius asked coyly flashing her his best smile, which was only accented by his stumbled and the bruise on the side of his jaw.

She frowned and popped her hand on her hip, trying and failing to not be swayed by his looks. "Fine, but if you disrupt any of my other patients I will throw you out."

"You both understand of course that despite that you were successful and we are ecstatic about the outcome you must never undertake a mission like that on your own."

James looked confused. "Why is that sir?"

"Because all of you including Ms. McKinnon were extremely fortunate to have survived that situation and a large majority of you were unharmed in your rescue of Ms. McKinnon." Dumbledore paused and upon seeing the look on James face continued. "From what you have told me you got there just as

"Professor, I mean this with complete and total respect," James began seriously. "But if one of my friends is endanger I'm going to go help them."

"That's honorable James-"

"No professor, it's simple," James interrupted him earnestly, "I don't know if you've noticed, but Marlene is a part of my family. And I don't know about you sir, but there isn't any risk or obstacle I wouldn't endure to protect my family."

Marlene's eyes watered as the sincerity of his words brought her away from her anger for a few brief moments. She reached over and grabbed his hand. "Ditto."

"Very well." Dumbledore muttered, for some reason not able to look at James. "Your parents should be here soon. I will leave to give you sometime alone, and return when your time is up."

"Thank you professor," James said for both of them as he sensed Marlene wouldn't.

As soon as Dumbledore left they both sat in an awkward silence. It wasn't that either of them had a problem with each other. It was that both of their thoughts were on someone thing else, something from the past and neither of them could quite focus entirely focus on the present.

Marlene had been out of the hospital wing for only a few hours. She wasn't even close to being fully healed, but she was healed enough to leave the hospital wing for a few hours. Soon, Madame Promfrey promised her that she would be healed enough to go back to classes and even play Quidditch. Where Quidditch was concerned she wasn't worried. They had been postponed the game after the attack in Hogsmeade back two weeks. That was more than enough time to get back on her feet. One of the things that was bothering her was what Dumbledore just said to her.

He had called her fortunate. That struck a cord of rage through Marlene that seemed to grow as she waited for her family to floo-in. She was lucky? LUCKY? Was he serious?! Did he have any idea what hell she endured? He did. He was the one who questioned her before she was sedated. He was the one who asked oh-so-gently for her to explain what had happened. Nothing was worse than explaining it, it was like reliving the whole thing all over again, one excoriating detail at time. It wasn't what bothered her the most though; it was just the easiest to process.