Venus

64- Venus's Aftermath

"Madam Pomfry! She's waking up!" Was the first thing Venus heard when the fog finally cleared from her mind. "Venus?" Neville's voice was panic stricken. "Ve?"

Venus opened her eyes, but quickly shut them again when she found that the room was far too bright. "Too bright." She murmured. She placed her hands over her eyes.

"Ve?" Neville asked again, his voice broke and seemed full of emotion.

"What?" Venus asked. She propped herself up on her elbows and slowly opened her eyes, "wha- what's happening?"

"You're in the hospital wing." Madam Pomfry had walked over, holding a goblet of some potion. "Miss Black-Weasley how are you feeling?" She asked.

"Um..." Venus wasn't entirely sure how she was feeling. A sort of tingling sensation was filling her body and her brain seemed to be working in reverse as it processed everything that she could remember happening at the ministry.

"That's quite alright," Madam Pomfry handed her the goblet, "drink up Venus, there's a good girl. I'm going to contact your parents."

Venus did as she was told. She set the goblet aside and continued to stare straight in front of her at the empty bed opposite.

Neville was watching Venus with a thousand thoughts whirring through his head. The expression on her face was dazed and confused, and it reminded him of the expressions he saw on his parents faces every time he visited them.

Madam Pomfry had been unable to offer him much comfort, as no one was sure how long Bellatrix had tortured Venus, before Sirius found them, so they couldn't be sure what the effects would be.

She had been unconscious for almost a week, but she wasn't the only one left in the hospital wing. Ron had received injuries from a brain that tried to strangle him and was sat in the bed next to Venus watching her with a look of concern on his face. Hermione was on the other side of Ron, she had been cursed by one of the Death Eaters and was having to take ten different potions a day to heal her up. Mali was on the other side of Venus, having been hexed herself, but she had improved more than the others and was set to be discharged later that day.

"Venus?" Neville asked in a small voice.

"Mmm," Venus answered in a rather preoccupied voice.

"Are you- I mean are you-" his voice failed him. He held onto her hand so tightly that he was sure that he was cutting off blood circulation.

"Mmm." Venus answered, still staring at the wall in front of her.

It wasn't much later that the doors to the hospital wing banged open and three people hurried in.

Molly Wealsey was first, with a frantic expression on her face. Closely followed by her husband, with a similar look of almost fear on his face.

Behind them trailed Sirius Black. Hardly days after everything had happened at the ministry Sirius had been cleared of all charges by the ministry, meaning he was a free man once again. But so far he had spent most of his time as a free man in the Hospital Wing of Hogwarts beside his daughter's bed.

"Is she okay?" Sirius demanded, immediately coming to Venus's side, whilst the Weasleys began having a hurried conversation with the Matron.

"She hasn't really spoken." Mali answered, saving a white faced Neville from having to speak, "I think she's in shock."

Sirius took the hand that Neville was not holding and sat down on the other side of the bed.

Venus didn't even seem to notice his presence.

"I have good reason to believe, that she will make a full recovery," the Matron was telling the Weasleys, "it might just take time."

"How much time?" Arthur asked, glancing at his daughter who's eyes were somewhat glazed over.

"That really depends on her."

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~Em xx