• Serena Black •
"There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other."
A bright light penetrated Serena's eyelids and slowly pulled her upward, to the surface. It was as if she was floating in the middle of a dark ocean, and the further she rose, the more the pressure was taken off her head and the brighter the water became.
Turquoise blue.
The color was beautiful and in a messed up way it also looked suspiciously familiar to her. The sun's rays tickled her face, leaving a comforting warm and safe feeling on her skin, while the light continued to stubbornly bore into her eyelids as if to entice her to finally open her eyes.
Was this the end?
It didn't feel like it.
On the contrary, she felt completely rested. All her pains were gone. But perhaps they would return as soon as she opened her eyes? Maybe it was just a hallucination that wanted to make her believe that she was miraculously healed? Perhaps only a few seconds had passed since she had closed her eyes and her body was still fighting the death battle that it could only lose.
Serena took one deep breath and finally blinked into the bright sunlight. She felt it more intensely than ever and savored every second of the feeling of clearly still being alive.
Confused, she looked around. She was still lying in the hospital wing and the rose to her right was blooming more magnificently than ever. Her eyes continued to wander around the bright room. Remus was half lying on one of the beds in an uncomfortable looking position and her mother was sitting next to her father with her head leaning against his shoulder. All of them seemed to be sound asleep, which was probably nothing unusual after two sleepless nights.
Serena cleared her throat loudly, but she got no response back. She flipped the blankets aside and was glad not to be struck by a chill. Her temperature felt normal. After the last two feverish days, this felt unusual, but quite comfortable. Carefully she let herself slide off the mattress, realizing that she was still a bit wobbly on her feet. With one hand she just managed to hold on to the bedside table to avoid falling down. In addition, there was a sudden feeling of dizziness that made her sway. But this was nothing compared to the miserable hours she had endured the previous evening.
Perhaps she should get something to eat. The last meal, which she had completely tolerated, had been quite a while ago, after all. This assumption was confirmed by a rumbling stomach and an unpleasant feeling of emptiness in her middle. Serena braved bare feet to Remus, who was closest to her, and nudged him. "Remus?"
Again, no response.
She walked once around the bed to her parents and this time tried a light shake and a little louder. "Mom, Dad?"
But neither of them seemed responsive. Serena's gaze wandered back to the small nightstand where a glass of water sat, and then back to her father. A wicked smile crept onto her lips, but she immediately dismissed the idea. After all, she didn't want him to have a heart attack. After all, she wasn't supposed to be able to stand in front of him. But why did she after all? Had Madam Pomfrey been wrong? A miracle? A second chance?
Suddenly a shiver came over her and she looked down at herself, frightened. Was she perhaps a ghost and that was why no one reacted to her touch? But her body looked normal and after she got up, the bed was also empty. She was not merely an ascended soul who had left her material shell behind. She still consisted of flesh and blood.
Her stomach gave an impatient growl, reinforcing her assumption. If she didn't get something to eat soon, she would surely keel over in some time, as penetrating as the black dots danced around in front of her eyes. Since it seemed that her family would not wake up in the next few minutes, she decided to have some breakfast already.
A glance at the clock told Serena that breakfast in the Great Hall had just ended and classes had already begun. The only place to get food now was the kitchen, and that was in the underground part of Hogwarts. Serena had only been there once indirectly, and that was in the Pensieve when she had followed her father.
She quickly put her bare feet into her shoes and stole into the deserted corridor. She was still wearing the clothes from the day before. These were very comfortable, but they also reminded her of the mortal fear and agony she had endured. She would love to change and take a shower, but she would have to put that off until later. As disgusting as she felt, food came first. She probably wouldn't meet anyone either, which was good, after all, she was supposed to be dead.
Serena began to wonder if the news had gotten out to all the students yet. She hoped not. The fewer who knew about her sudden resurrection, the less of a stir it would cause. But how was it that she had survived at all and was completely healthy again? With the best will in the world, she still could not think of a plausible answer.
Serena knew the way to the Hufflepuffs quite well, after all, she had accompanied Hailey often enough or waited for her there. Shortly before she reached the barrels that opened the entrance to the common room as soon as the right rhythm was tapped, she turned into another corridor.
The entire corridor was decorated with cheerful paintings, most of whose subjects were something edible. She passed a small bouncing and singing cupcake, a romantically set table with various kinds of wine and cheese on it, a grouchy looking loaf of bread, and a fruit bowl.
The fruit bowl was the entrance to the kitchen, but the Gryffindor could not for the life of her remember what the next step was. Straining, Serena tried to recall the course of action, which wasn't exactly easy for her with the renewed dizziness. Perhaps she would have thought better of it before she had climbed all the way down here. But she didn't see the point of going back all that way hungry.
Hesitantly, she slowly reached out her arm to the bright red apple in the bowl and patted provisionally over its round body. "Ouch!" the fruit returned indignantly, contracting and turning a poisonous green.
Promptly, Serena withdrew her hand and looked skeptically at the remaining fruit before touching the rough paper again, this time to stroke an orange.
Nothing happened.
This was hippogriff milking after all!
"The pear, it's the pear!" a squeaky voice suddenly spoke up behind her, making Serena whirl around in fright. But she was still the only person in the bright corridor. "You must tickle her!" the voice laughed again, this time increasingly amused.
"W-what?" stammered Serena, looking around the hallway again before she seemed to understand. The cupcake in one of the paintings chuckled again, "You have to tickle the pear!"
"Oh, um... Thank you," she replied, now having to suppress a slight grin after all. The little pastry had scared the hell out of her at first. But it certainly wasn't scary with its chocolatey dough and bright pink top.
Once again, the Gryffindor turned to the fruit bowl and reached out her index finger to tickle the gorgeous green pear. It began to squirm under her touch, started giggling, and sure enough, it suddenly transformed into a large green doorknob.
Serena grabbed it and pulled the door swinging open. Hundreds of tennis ball-sized pairs of eyes were abruptly fixed on her, beaming at her. "Hello, miss?" someone beeped, tugging expectantly at her gray top. "I'm Dobby, miss. Dobby the house elf."
"Dobby?" asked Serena excitedly. "It's nice to meet you, I've heard a lot about you."
The house elf frowned at her and seemed a little embarrassed at her words, for his ears turned a bright pink. "Where did you hear about Dobby, miss?"
"Oh, I'm sorry," she apologized quickly for being so inquisitive. "From Harry."
"From Harry Potter, Miss?" asked Dobby, his already wide eyes widening in awe. "Harry Potter's friends are my friends, too. May Dobby ask what his new friend's name is?"
"I'm Serena," she introduced herself and offered her hand to the elf, which he eyed uncertainly, as if not quite sure what she was trying to do. "Normally you would shake hands now," she explained quickly with a suppressed smile.
"Oh, Dobby knows that one. Dobby has seen wizards do it many times, but Dobby isn't a wizard!" he replied, shaking her hand more vigorously than intended in response. "Miss Serena is so nice to Dobby!"
Serena had to laugh. Harry had indeed not exaggerated about the house-elf's mannerisms, but she found him more than merely amiable. Only now did she notice Dobby's most peculiar outfit, which consisted of clothes that didn't necessarily match. He wore an oven mitt as a hat, a pair of children's soccer pants, and a tie with a horseshoe pattern.
"Aren't you supposed to be free by now?" inquired Serena in wonder, pointing to his hat.
"Dobby is a free elf," he squealed delightedly. "Dobby gets money and days off!"
Serena had to grin at the thought. She wondered what Hermione would think about that. For sure she would be more than pleased about it. A sudden dizzy spell suddenly began to overtake her, causing her to quickly settle into a chair at one of the long tables where lunch was being prepared. "Is Miss Serena not well?" asked Dobby anxiously, plodding unsteadily toward her.
"I'm just a little hungry," she mumbled, and as if this had been some kind of magic word, at the same moment six house elves tripped
approached her with a large silver tray. This was richly laden with a teapot, cups, a few sandwiches and a large plate of cookies.
"You are my salvation!" sighed Serena, beaming, whereupon the house elves bowed deeply before returning to their proper work. Dobby, meanwhile, sat down next to them and stared at them expectantly. "May Dobby ask what is wrong with Miss Serena?"
"That's a bit of a long story," she murmured, letting her gaze wander almost greedily over the selection brought to her. She had more than earned it after the escapades of the last few days. She finally decided on a salmon sandwich and took a hearty bite. Her taste buds tingled with delight and immediately she began to feel better. But her stomach was still growling, even more demanding than before, as if it was asking for more. Fortunately, the plates were fully loaded.
"Dobby has time," the house elf chirped, crossing his bony legs in anticipation.
A truckload of sandwiches and cookies later, Serena had finished her tale, feeling more satiated than possibly ever in her life. While still not over her happiness that she was alive and the delicious food, Dobby looked at her sadly. "Well, that wasn't very nice of Professor Snape at all. Do you want Dobby to sneak Professor Snape some cockroaches in his pillow? Dobby has done that before for Master Weasley and Master Weasley."
Serena snorted into her cup, imagining in her mind how her stern Potions teacher would react to such a thing. While she was amused by this, however, Dobby didn't seem quite so thrilled based on her reaction. Uneasily, he slid around in his chair. "Is Miss Serena laughing at Dobby?"
"No, no!", Serena quickly assured him. "I'm just laughing at Master Weasley and Master Weasley."
"Is that us being gossiped about?" a familiar voice suddenly sounded from the doorway. Serena turned to the source with her hair blowing and grinned widely. "I wouldn't dare!"
"I'm glad you're feeling better!" said George with relief, coming up to squeeze her in a tight hug. He didn't seem particularly surprised, however. Serena would have thought that seeing a girl who was thought dead sitting in the kitchen would have moved the twins a little more. But presumably nothing could get the two of them off their guard.
"Do you know what happened?" asked Fred, pushing himself next to his brother. "Oh George, now move over."
"No," Serena replied with a laugh as they both nearly crushed her. But soon they finally let go of her and gave her back her physical freedom. But she didn't miss the furtive glances they gave each other, which only they knew how to interpret.
"What is the meaning of this?" asked Serena suspiciously. "Did you blackmail someone to get a cure after all?" Even though it was impossible to make a new potion in such a short time, the two exchanged mysterious glances again, before looking at Serena in a disconcerted manner. "You look like I've lost my mind, when I wouldn't put it past you."
"Says the one who just came back from the dead," George teased, playfully poking her in the side, whereupon she cried out in surprise and jumped backwards. "And that hardly seems to surprise you."
At that moment, more house elves, led by Dobby, came rushing toward them with numerous other dishes. "Master Weasley! Master Weasley!"
"You always act like it's hard to steal food from the kitchen," Serena remarked with her arms crossed and her eyebrows raised. "When it's practically thrown at you."
The redheads shook their heads in incomprehension as the most delicious things were offered to them by the elves. They were virtually treated like royalty, and they were shoving it to the fullest. "That was hard work!"
"Yeah, took a long time to gain their trust," Fred added, which made Serena smile. "I'm sure."
"What do the others think about it, anyway?" asked George, shoving a spoonful of plum pudding into his mouth, "that you're still alive."
"Shit!" exclaimed Serena, jumping up as if stung by the acromantula. "They don't even know that yet! I was actually going to go right back."
"What do you mean?" asked George, chewing, the amused expression promptly creeping back onto his freckled face as Serena stuffed one last cookie into her mouth. "Did you just sneak out or what?"
"I didn't have to," she muttered, randomly shoving as many things as she could onto one of the tablets. Maybe she would be able to make up for her sudden disappearance with a hearty breakfast, after all? As she loaded the plates, however, she was careful not to catch a raisin muffin or plum pudding. "They were all sound asleep."
"Crazy!" breathed Fred, leaning toward his brother, though in doing so he whispered louder than he probably intended. "Write that down!"
Serena frowned, but since she was in a hurry, she decided not to inquire further. With the twins, it was usually best to be as uninvolved in their affairs as possible anyway. "Can you guys give me a hand?"
Together they finally loaded two whole tablet fulls, kindly carried by Fred and George. Together they then made their way back to the hospital wing. Serena hoped she wouldn't see the sterile room so much in the near future. In the meantime, the corridors had filled up with loudly talking students who were just going about their lunch break. Serena involuntarily ducked her head and hoped that no one had noticed her absence from the hospital wing. Absorbed in her thoughts, she thus promptly bumped into someone. "Sorry."
"Careful, Black."
Serena turned around. Hall watched her go with a grin on his face as she continued unperturbed on her way, unable to refrain from rolling her eyes briefly as she did so. On the stone marble staircase leading to the second floor sat a couple she knew very well. They had their backs turned to the three of them, and from the looks of it, the boy was about to kiss the girl. Apparently against her will.
"Stop it, Cormac, I don't want to now," the girl whined, while McLaggen spread one slobbery kiss after another on her neck, giving no meaning to her words. "Now don't you go crazy, Hailey!"
Tears streamed down the Hufflepuff's face. "My best friend is dead, of course I'm going crazy!"
Serena's heart contracted painfully at those words. She wanted most to rush up to her best friend and tell her that everything was fine, that she was still alive, but Fred held her back.
"Oh nonsense," McLaggen tried to soothe her, shaking his head in amusement as he placed his hand on her thigh. "She's just a little sick."
"I told you," Hailey snorted as her so-called boyfriend merely snorted and withdrew his hand. "You're overreacting, I'm sure it's just a harmless flu, food poisoning at worst."
As she stared at him uncomprehendingly, McLaggen again parked a hand on her leg. This time, however, it traveled directly up her skirt. Hailey shook off his fingers and sparkled at him from behind a veil of tears. "I told you I didn't want to now!"
Serena finally had enough and unceremoniously pointed her wand at the pair. This time, no one stopped her. "Conscindere."
As if grabbed by invisible hands, McLaggen was pulled away from her best friend, who looked around for her rescuer with confusion and glittering eyes. When her gaze finally lingered on Serena, her mouth dropped open in bewilderment. "I-I... How... Are you... A-a ghost? A-are you a ghost of Hogwarts now? O-or a vampire or something?"
Serena had to laugh as tears came to her own eyes. "No, I... well, I hope not."
Hailey had risen from the stairs and fell around her best friend's neck. "I knew you could make it!" she sobbed into her dark curls before breaking away from her again, only to continue to stare at her in bewilderment. McLaggen, meanwhile, had also picked himself up and pointed at Serena. "What did I say? She's fine!"
"Shut up!" said Fred and George in unison, and the latter added, "And if you don't get the hell out of here now, I'll let you be the test subject for our Fanting Fancies."
McLaggen didn't need to be told twice. With one last wait-and-see glance at Hailey, he finally moved away. The Hufflepuff, meanwhile, was busy jumping up and down excitedly in front of Serena after the initial shock, not even paying attention to her rag of a boyfriend. "You won't believe what's going to take place in December! It was just announced, By Merlin's Beard, I'm so excited! And you can be there now too and..."
"Can you tell me about it on the way?", Serena interrupted her, grinning. "I really need to get back to the hospital wing."
Euphorically, she nodded and the four of them finally climbed the remaining stairs. Hailey excitedly talked about this year's Yule Ball, which was "complete bullshit" in the twins' eyes.
"It's actually a nice idea," Serena interjected. Even though she had never been to a similar event, she thought it would be fun. After all, a ball was something almost every girl dreamed of once. It would definitely be an experience worth having.
"This is beyond nice," Hailey declared, babbling on again without taking a single breath. "Okay, we need dresses, shoes, and something for hair. I'll go with Cormac and we'll find someone for you too, maybe one of the French? There's no way you're settling for anything less than average after the last few days! You definitely deserve that."
Serena couldn't believe that despite the action just now, she still wanted to go to this ball with McLaggen, let alone still want to be with him. She refrained from commenting, however, because it hadn't gone over very well the last time. She didn't want to avoid another argument. Especially since they had just found together again.
Hailey didn't leave her side for a moment and was completely occupied with planning the Yule Ball. In between, she would only pause to stare at Serena in disbelief and mutter "crazy" or grill her about what might have led to her rescue and if she had noticed anything. The twins, meanwhile, were unusually quiet. Probably because they were simply not interested in something like a ball.
As they turned into the corridor that led to the hospital wing, angry voices were already coming towards them. "Crap!" cursed Serena and quickened her steps until she reached the closed wing door. There she paused briefly. Her friends, meanwhile, were busy catching up and losing as little food as possible.
"SNIVEELUS, I SWEAR YOU'LL PAY!" bellowed an angry voice on the other side of the door, which was followed by a muffled thud. "WHERE IS SHE?"
Serena gave the others a worried look, then slowly opened the door. Snape was grabbed rudely by the collar by her father and pushed against the opposite wall, while Remus was in the process of calming her distraught mother. The situation certainly had nothing of the idyllic scene Serena had expected when she had woken up.
The movements of the four people in the room froze abruptly as the squeak of the door hinges reached them and they saw the girl, who was supposed to be dead, standing at the doorframe, alive and kicking. Serena felt the tingling in her face announce a creeping blush. "Uh... I brought breakfast," she mumbled, smiling guiltily.
The first to rush up to her was her mother, who pulled her into such a tight hug that she could barely catch her breath. "How are you feeling? I always say that you can't rely on doctors! They tried to make me believe then that I couldn't get pregnant at all!"
"I'm fine," Serena said, grinning a little. That was typical of her mother. But after thinking she was dying, she didn't mind her behavior. She was even happy to let her paw at her forehead again.
Snape landed on the floor with a muffled sound, signaling that apparently her father had awakened from his stupor as well. Spreading his arms, he ran toward her. "Catnip!"
Remus, meanwhile, had also joined them. His brow furrowed as he hugged Serena, but that didn't put a damper on his obvious relief. "How is this possible?"
Serena merely shrugged helplessly. "I don't know, all I know is that I woke up and all my pain was gone." Her mother was still eyeing her anxiously. "Why didn't you wait here then? Or woke us up?"
"I tried," she explained,"but you were unresponsive and I was so hungry.... I'm sorry."
"I can't believe we fell asleep!" her father fussed, ruffling his hair. All the while, he was still looking at her shaking his head, as if he still couldn't believe it. I guess neither of them could. It felt like a dream to Serena. This time, however, not like a nightmare, but a beautiful one. The most beautiful one she had ever had.
"I guess we were all a little overtired," Remus interjected thoughtfully, putting an arm around his goddaughter. "But the main thing is that Serena is all right."
Serena sat down on the edge of one of the beds and noticed that her Potions teacher had disappeared. "What was Snape doing here?"
"Finding out if he's going to lose his job or not," her father replied darkly. "But don't worry, I'll take care of it."
The twins set the tablet down and sat on the opposite bed, while Hailey settled down beside her. Meanwhile, Remus had fetched Madam Pomfrey, who approached them looking confused and her skirt billowing. "Do you have any idea what might have happened?" he asked.
"No..." She replied, frowning, and began to examine Serena in detail. When she finished after what felt like an eternity, she shook her head in disbelief, "She's perfectly healthy."
"But how can that be?" asked Serena's mother.
"I've never come across anything like this before," Madam Pomfrey muttered in bewilderment, running her hand through her hair, which was loosened from its tight bun by this movement. "I really don't know... The only plausible solution to this.... this medical miracle would probably be a... well, a misdiagnosis..."
"A misdiagnosis?" repeated Sirius, snorting. The healer nodded, chagrined. "I... maybe... maybe the poison was completely killed by the antidote after all, and these... these symptoms were a simple side effect or something.... I've never heard of such a thing, but I can't explain it any other way."
"The main thing is that Serena is well again," Katherine sighed and stroked her daughter's still quite tangled and partly greasy hair. Madam Pomfrey nodded with relief and turned to Serena. "Apparently you have a really benevolent guardian angel up there. However, you should get back to me right away if you start feeling weird."
Serena nodded and looked after the healer as she left the room again. As she did so, she muttered to herself in disbelief. From the corridor, more footsteps now echoed through to them, as did loud commotion. Apparently, the lessons had just ended. Once again, the double doors opened and a redhead carefully stuck his head through. "By Merlin's invisible underpants!" shouted Ron into the hallway behind him. "I think I'm seeing ghosts!"
Serena laughed, and gradually Harry and Hermione began to enter the room as well. "That's not necessarily an unusual thing at Hogwarts," she grinned.
"Oh Serena!" Hermione slapped her hands over her mouth and came rushing towards them. Serena was then greeted gustily by all three of them, and they began to push the beds together and polish off the rest of the food they had brought, just as they had done the night before. Even Nate, Neville and Ginny joined them after a short time, when they had heard the news and this greeting was no less emotional than the others.
It was one of the most beautiful moments Serena had ever experienced. She was alive and hopefully would be for a long time and she was together with the people she loved the most. They were all happy and content. Instead of tears of goodbye, tears of happiness flowed that day and at that moment, Serena didn't even care how she had survived. She was just grateful that she had and for all the special people in her life that made it worth living.
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Wow that was a long chapter! I hope you liked it! 🥰
Here is a song that I kinda had in my mind while writing this chapter. Maybe you'll enjoy it as much as I did! Btw Don't forget to check out the playlist dedicated to this story. It's called Serena Black {Wattpad}. The link is also in my profile bio!