(Book Four) Brave {CLP SERIES}

{Chapter 40}

H A R R Y ' S P O V

As Crystal stumbled toward her bed, I saw Bill catch her to steady her. He walked her over toward her destination and helped her up. She thanked the man and was asleep within moments.

I knew she hadn't gotten nearly enough sleep the last week, she had been worrying constantly. Madame Pomfrey came out with two bottles of purple liquid and quickly placed them down on a bench at the sight of Crystal asleep. "No, no, she can't go to sleep yet, she must drink the dreamless sleep potion first!" Madame Pomfrey said. Tonks quickly but gently woke Crystal up and she downed the potion making a face when the sour taste of the liquid hit her. I watched as she fell asleep once again. "Harry, are you ready to have a rest yet?" Madame Pomfrey asked.

He shook his head. "Not quite yet." He said. The nurse nodded her head and placed the potion beside him.

"Well, when you are, drink this first."

I felt an inexpressible sense of gratitude to Dumbledore for asking the others not to question me. It wasn't as though I didn't want them here; but the thought of explaining it all over again, the idea of reliving it one more time, was more than I could stand.

I caught sight of the real Moody lying motionless in a bed at the far end of the room. His wooden leg and magical eye were lying on the bedside table.

"Is he okay?" Harry asked.

"He'll be fine," said Madam Pomfrey, giving me some pajamas and pulling screens around him. I took off my robes, pulled on the pajamas, and got into bed. Ron, Hermione, Tonks, Mr Weasley, Bill, Mrs. Weasley, and the black dog came around the bed and settled themselves in chairs on either side of me. Ron and Hermione were looking at me almost cautiously, as though scared of me.
"I'm all right," I told them. "Just tired."

Mrs. Weasley's eyes filled with tears as she smoothed his bedcovers unnecessarily. I took the goblet and drank a few mouthfuls. I felt myself becoming drowsy at once. Everything around me became hazy; the lamps around the hospital wing seemed to be winking at me in a friendly way through the screen around his bed; my body felt as though it was sinking deeper into the warmth of the feather matress. Before I could finish the potion, before I could say another word, my exhaustion had carried me off to sleep.

C R Y S T A L ' S P O V

I woke up tucked underneath the covers of the beds in the Hospital Wing, the only source of light in the room being the lamps beside each bed. There were three new people in the room all of which were tired looking and looked extremely pale. The others had drifted off to sleep some time ago, leaving the hospital wing quiet. The seats beside me were filled by Ginny, Draco and Theo. "Oh Crystal." Ginny said once she turned around and saw my face. Draco and Theo snapped their heads around to face me, no longer tired looking, instead, wide awake.

To be honest, the last people I thought I would see would be the two Slytherin boys before me, but here they were, standing right beside Ginny.

I sat up on my bed and allowed them to hug me, trying my hardest not to think about what happened. "We were so worried." Ginny tackled me in a second hug. The two boys didn't hug me, seeing as though Ginny probably hugged me enough for all three of them.

"Are you alright?" Draco asked me.

"I'm not entirely okay, but I'm much better than what I was a few hours ago." I said.