Just You Wait | James Sirius Potter (On Hiatus)

Chapter 26: Take A Break

Soon after the duels begin, I receive an owl containing a letter from St. Mungo's around midnight. Any owl from St. Mungo's lately has been bad news, so of course, receiving one, especially on the night of the full moon, is a shock. By now, the Hogwarts faculty is well aware of dad's situation so I only have to make a quick visit to McGonagall's office to confirm my absence for however long I needed before flooing out of Hogwarts straight to St. Mungo's. The Headmistress even allows me to bring Alice with me, because I refused to force Rose to fall behind in her excessive amount of classes, and she in turn refused to let me go alone.

Healer Scamander greeted me immediately after I stepped out of the fireplace, making a note of Alice's presence without missing a beat. She leads us down the hallway, until we reach Room 147, the same room my dad had been in last time. I reach for the doorknob, but pause for a moment when Healer Scamander quietly informs Alice that protocol won't let her go any further, and that only family was allowed in the room. Alice gives me a quick hug before letting me go and step into the room.

As soon as I glance over to the hospital bed, I am overwhelmed with a sense of deja vu. Once again, my dad is half-conscious on the bed, wrapped in bandages. Only this time, the hysteria from the first time is gone. Mum is sitting at the edge of the bed, one of dad's hand in hers, and Teddy is sitting on the other side with dad's other hand. Teddy rises from his seat to hug me, and leads me over to his chair, refusing to take his chair back. I cautiously sit in Teddy's place, as if any noise I made would disturb the careful silence in the room. After a few minutes of silence, Healer Scamander enters the room and places a few charts onto a table in the corner. Mum immediately straightens in her seat, as if preparing herself for the worst.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Healer Scamander begins, "but I have the results of his tests."

"He'll be alright, won't he?" Teddy says.

"Your father's been through a lot," Healer Scamander begins, "With his recent visit as well as the effects of being turned at such a young age, his body is prepared to handle such trauma, but his transformation earlier tonight, or should I say, yesterday, seems to have produced more severe wounds. When lycanthropes get older, as, unfortunately, the life expectancy of lycanthropes is shorter than the average wizarding lifespan, their bodies have a tendency to spend less energy on fighting injury or infection from their transformations. Mr. Lupin seems to be just over the average life expectancy of lycanthropes."

At this, mum stands abruptly, wincing at the sound of the chair scraping the floor. Teddy takes her arm, and I run over to take her hand.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Lupin," Healer Scamander continues, "I believe that modern medicine won't let Mr. Lupin leave us just yet."

At this, mum visibly relaxes, her hair turning a pale blue in relief, the color mirrored in Teddy's hair. Healer Scamander smiles slightly, reaching out as mum knocks over the chair in a rush to hug her. After a moment, Healer Scamander passes mum to Teddy and turns to me.

"Ms. Lupin, I believe that your friend is still waiting for you outside the door."

"Right," I say, heading for the door.

Alice is half asleep outside the door in an armchair that Healer Scamander must have transfigured for her. I gently shake her awake and as soon as she wakes up, she begins asking a series of rapidfire questions.

"Is your dad alright? What happened? Are you ok? Are your mom and Teddy there?"

"Sort of. Bad transformation. I will be. Yes."

Satisfied with the answers, Alice takes me into a hug.

"Thank you for being here, Alice."

"No problem."