BLOOD AND CHOCOLATE - REMUS LUPIN

36 - "AN EMPTY SEAT"

The hospital wing was unbearably quiet for the majority of the day. During any breaks they had, whoever was available out of Marlene, Lily, and the four boys dropped off her school work to keep Hollis up with the busy O.W.L. prep schedule that had been enforced since the beginning of the year.

During these visits, none of the Gryffindors said anything about the reason that Hollis was still in the hospital wing, McGonagall's advice ringing in their ears.

Even the most selfless of people will eventually let those they really care about see their pain.

And so, they waited until Hollis was ready to tell them first. 

But how the hell do you even bring that up? thought Hollis as she let Madame Pomfrey apply a salve to her back. Hey, so remember that time when I was a bitch to Lucius and then played quidditch and started hanging out with all of you? Yea, well, my dad used the Severing Charm on my back because of that. What class do we have next again?

As much as Hollis hated feeling helpless, it really was easier to have someone besides herself mend her cuts.

"How much longer do you think it's going to take?" asked Hollis as Madame Pomfrey screwed on the tin lid of the glass jar full of lilac colored paste.

The Healer frowned and looked at Hollis's back.

"If you stay on this track, maybe six days?" Pomfrey said to Hollis as she set down the jar with a clink.

"Please, Madame Pomfrey, it's been over a week," Hollis pleaded desperately. "I miss my friends."

Pomfrey scoffed slightly.

"Your friends are in here quite enough, Miss Rosier," she sighed disapprovingly, shaking her head.

Hollis raised an eyebrow slyly.

"Even better a reason for you to get rid of me, isn't it?" Hollis pointed out, taking a sip of pumpkin juice off her bedside table.

Madame Pomfrey was not impressed.

"My back is feeling so much better, please let me out sooner," Hollis begged. "If I just don't sleep and let it heal- I can do part of it on my own- then we can cut that time in half, right?"

It was the truth; her back had almost fully healed and was starting to scar over. Even Madame Pomfrey couldn't stop something this deep from leaving a permanent mark, but it was as good as it was going to get.

"Fine," she sighed clearly, and Hollis beamed. "But," Pomfrey said, looking at her very clearly. "The next few nights are going to be late ones if I'm going to squeeze everything in. You signed up for this, Miss Rosier."

Hollis nodded eagerly, willing to do anything to get her out of the void hospital wing and back to her friends. "Thank you!" she called out as Pomfrey walked away back to her office.

The Healer just shook her head.

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Remus sat in DADA quietly, staring at the wooden empty desk to his left. The class felt odd without Hollis's clever comments and laughs in the air. He had been visiting her in the hospital wing every day, but never alone. Remus was always accompanied by another Gryffindor, because he was scared that if he went alone, Hollis wouldn't talk to him.

He didn't know that she did somewhat remember his hand in hers, but he could have guessed. That kind of contact, that deep gut feeling wasn't something easy to shake off. He wasn't quite sure what had caused him and Hollis to grow particularly close instead of one of the other Marauders.

Maybe it was because Remus noticed how her eyes changed instead of her expression to mask pain better than any of them did, because Hollis helped him first on that full moon, because even in a group of dozens in their classes, their eyes were always finding each others. Maybe it was because they both understood what it was like to be in pain to the point of helplessness.

A light tap on Remus's right shoulder from the desk behind him broke him out of his thoughts. He turned to see Sirius with a concerned expression on his face, Lily and Peter looking from behind him as well.

"You're doing it again, mate," Sirius whispered as he leaned forwards in his seat. "Staring at her desk isn't going to make her heal sooner or tell us anything."

Remus tore his eyes off the empty seat quickly.

"Right. Sorry."

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Marlene and Lily sat across the table from each other a few minutes before dinner officially started. Potions had been dismissed a few minutes early due to Frank spilling a Swelling Solution all over himself and Slughorn having to assist him, shooing the rest of the class away from the gruesome scene. 

The two girls had gone straight to the Great Hall, unlike most of the other fifth years. Both of their gold-tinted plates full of green beans and pumpkin bread were untouched in front of them. The seat next to Marlene felt odd and empty.

"Do you want to eat in the hospital wing with Hol?" she asked, looking up at Lily.

Lily nodded hastily. She hadn't been enjoying the silence, either. They both slid out from the wooden table, grabbing some plates to bring to Hollis. On their way out, the two girls ran into the Marauders, who were coming from the direction of the Gryffindor common room. James looked at the plates and back up at Marlene.

"I'm assuming you're taking one of those to Hollis?" he asked, grinning at Sirius, who took it as an opportunity.

"Unless you're planning on eating all that yourself, which," Sirius joked, "there is nothing wrong with."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Yea, we're headed to the hospital wing."

"Mind if we come?" asked Remus, and the other three boys nodded along. Before Lily could say anything, Marlene stepped in front of her and smiled.

"Of course, we'll wait out here while you grab some food."

The Marauders jogged off, Peter yelling that they would be right back. As soon as they were out of hearing distance, Lily turned to Marlene angrily.

"Really, Marls?" she sighed, rubbing her forehead.

Marlene rolled her bright eyes exaggeratedly at Lily's exasperation.

"I know it's hard, but we have to accept that Hollis is just now their friend as much as she is theirs," Marlene told Lily in a lightly scolding tone. "Would you rather her be with the Slytherins? No. Come on. People love those guys."

"Ugh, I know, it's just hard with one of them being," Lily sighed, "You know," she paused for a second. "Potter."

If she kept it up at this rate, Marlene would be rolling her eyes all night. Before she could reply, the Marauders came running back with their food. They got a few odd looks as they carried their meals, but didn't notice with their preoccupation with their own conversation.

And when the six Gryffindors opened the hospital wing doors, they weren't expecting to see Hollis with who she was.

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