Damaged (A Marauders Era story)

First Year, Part 21 (The Easter Holidays )

"Are you alright, Alexa?" The first voice asked.

I tried to answer but ended up only coughing again.

"I can't believe this happened." This voice sounded rather dazed and unbelieving.

"What happened? How did she even get in that water?"

"You pushed her in there, didn't you Potter!" I knew this voice as belonging to Lily Evans.

"What do you know? Where you there?"

"It was Potter who saved her, actually. I saw him, he was the one who got her out of the water, Evans."

I tried to open my eyes to look around me, but my vision was too blurry from tears and my hands were covered too much in the mud from the wet ground to wipe them away. All I saw was mists of color around the people who hovered over me. Even in my confused state, I recognized the moods as worried, confused and fearful. It was exactly how I felt at the moment.

"We need to get her to Madam Pomfrey," The soft voice that had first spoken said. "She's shivering and turning blue with the cold."

"What happened?" Another voice asked again.

"Somebody giver her a jacket."

"Merlin, she's actually turning blue."

"I know you had something to do with this," The voice I recognized as belonging to Lily spoke again. She sounded mad. "My friend saw you bullies bothering her earlier in the hallways."

"Out of the way, out of the way," I heard a thundering voice say. I recognized the voice as Hagrid's.

Suddenly, I felt myself being lifted up into huge arms. I struggled to get away from the person on instinct.

"There now," Hagrid said, "Calm down now, Alexa. Yeh're safe. I'm takin' yeh to Madam Pomfrey"

I relaxed into the warmth that emanated off of him, my teeth chattering and my body shivering from the cold as he carried me away from all the students and their questions.

"Wha' happened?" Hagrid asked as he carried me back to the castle.

I couldn't answer him, so I just shrugged my shoulders in answer. I felt if I opened my mouth again, I would start another coughing fit, and my throat burned enough as it was.

Soon we had reached the infirmary and Hagrid set me down gently on one of the beds before Madam Pomfrey began to fuss over me as was her custom with her patients.

Pomfrey covered me in thick blankets and cast warming spells on me, and I managed to stop shivering uncontrollably after a while. She handed me a cup of warm tea, but I couldn't bring myself to drink it, fearing I might cough it up.

"Drink it," Madam Pomfrey commanded gently but sternly when she saw me shake my head in response, "It has honey in it and it will soothe your throat."

I took a hesitant sip and then drank more fully after realizing I wouldn't cough it up, letting the sweet, warm liquid sooth my dry throat.

"Alexa, Dear," Madam Pince looked down at me, concerned. "What happened? A few students have told me that this is James Potter and Sirius Black's doing, though I don't know whether to believe it or not. It seems harsh, even for those two. Is it true? Did they have anything to do with you nearly drowning?" Her face took on an expression of anger as she spoke. "Because if they did, I will see to it that they are given a severe punishment they won't ever forget."

"I-I," I wasn't sure what to say. If I told her James Potter and the others had thrown me into the lake, what would happen? Would they be expelled for nearly killing one of the students? Or would they be punished with detentions? The punishment would be severe, whatever it was.