Forgotten Girl

Hospital Wings and Hard Lessons

Lilli woke to the sound of distant whispers and a pounding pain in her head. A small groan brought the whispers to a stop and Madam Pomfrey to her side. The matron helped her up, stacking pillows behind her.

"How are you feeling?" Her great aunt asked, pressing the back of her hand against Lilli's forehead and a bar of chocolate into her hand.

"Cold," she said, taking a bite of the candy. The sweet flavour dissolved on her tongue, but shivers began to wrack her body.

Madam Pomfrey tutted, "Well, I'm not surprised. Three hours in the rain, the dementors, then it was another half hour before your friends could bring you in. Dumbledore had to deal with the Dementors first. Remus is down helping him."

Lilli nodded, glancing around the room. The whispers she had heard were Hermione, Ron, and Harry, who were all looking sheepishly in her direction. Once they met her gaze, they turned away, with only Harry having the decency to look embarrassed.

"How long have I been out?" Madam Pomfrey tucked another blanket around her, handing her a potion as well.

"An hour since you came in. And I want you to stay here for the weekend, love. You were out much longer than the first time," she scoffed slightly, "Dementors at a school. Honestly, what was that man thinking?"

The matron scuttled away after watching her finish the potion. Lilli sighed, staring up at the ceiling as she finished her chocolate. Twice now, she had passed out with the Dementors. She supposed it had something to do with that Halloween she couldn't remember, back when she was 3 months old. 

Her musings were interrupted by Winna and Leo, who must have heard she was awake. Winna sat beside her, Leo settling at the foot of the bed. Both deposited more chocolate into her lap.

"Between Madam Pomfrey, you two, and my uncle, I'll turn into chocolate!" Lilli laughed, before another shiver raced through her. Leo frowned, pulling off his sweater and handing it to her.

"You're still cold?" Winna asked, folding Lilli's freezing hands between her warm ones, "Goodness, you are!"

Lilli groaned, burying herself among the pillows, "I've always been prone to the cold, but this is ridiculous. Who won the match?"

"Hufflepuff," Leo said, keeping his voice down so the Gryffindors didn't hear them, "I got my galleon. Just as Potter went down, Diggory got the snitch. Didn't realise what had happened. Diggory even offered a rematch, I heard."

Lilli whistled, long and low. Nice as Cedric Diggory was, he never offered rematches. 

"How long are you in here?" Winna asked, propping her chin in her hand. 

"The weekend. She doesn't like how long it took me to wake up." The doors swung open and Remus entered the hall, two large bars of chocolate in his hand and leaning heavily on a cane. He stopped beside Harry, talking softly with the group for a minute before he came over to Lilli. Winna and Leo stood.

"We'll be back later, Lils." Remus took Winna's seat, handing the other bar of chocolate to her. She took it, pushing the sleeves of Leo's sweater back and ignoring the look he gave her. It was that look adults gave when they think they see something you know isn't there, like a crush.

"I didn't wake up until a half-hour ago," Lilli murmured, letting the fear creep into her eyes for the first time, "And I can't seem to get warm."

Remus moved to sit beside her, twitching the curtain around the bed so it shielded them from the Gryffindors. He hugged her close, letting her bury her face in his sweater.

"It'll be okay, little light," he whispered, "You're gonna be okay. Thia's going to come see you as well, sometime this weekend."

She leaned away, back into the pillows as she broke off a square of chocolate. The two were quiet for a while, before Lilli said, "She told me about Sirius and Peter."

~

Harry watched as the girl was examined by a woman dressed in green healers robes with a dog at her side. The girl was shivering so badly he could see it from where he was at the other end of the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey came over to him, checking his temperature and fussing.

"What're they doing?" He asked the matron, who looked up in surprise.

"Elliana and Thia?" Harry nodded, "Elliana had a bad reaction to the dementors. Thia is a healer from St Mungo's."

"Will she be okay? Why is she shivering so badly?" Harry wasn't sure why he cared so much. Maybe it was because she was the only one who reacted like he did to the dementors. Or maybe it was just because she was so small, he felt like he should protect her.

"She'll be fine," Madam Pomfrey assured him, "Thia is a good healer."

~

"Am I going to be okay?" Lilli asked her aunt, hazel eyes scared. Thia pushed back her hair fondly.

"You'll be fine. I think being around all those dementors triggered something in you that makes your body think it's reliving those few nights."

"What nights?" Thia bit the inside of her lip, cursing herself for slipping.

"Ask Remus, yeah? He knows better than me." She kissed her forehead, "Get some rest, babydoll. I'll see you in the morning."

~

"Thia said my body is reliving those nights," Lilli watched her uncle carefully, "What did she mean?"

"That night," Remus glanced down the wing at Harry, who was talking with Ron and Hermione, "No one found you. They found Harry, but no one knew to look for you. I was... working in Scotland, and didn't hear... didn't know until two days later, when I came home.

"I went to the house, hoping that maybe you would still be there. And you were, tucked in a corner of the bedroom." Remus smiled sadly, "I took you to a friend, who was very helpful. But we couldn't get you warm. Just like now. We had to keep you in a crib with a heated stuffie to keep you warm."

"Oh," Lilli pulled her knees to her chest. Remus didn't talk about that night willingly, no one did, but he'd never withheld something about it either. A shiver shook her body, despite the blankets and heating charms surrounding her.

"It took 3 days past when I found you to warm you up," he said, tucking blankets in more firmly, "My guess is it will be that long again."

"So 3 more days then, if the Quidditch Match was the first night," Lilli groaned, "This will feel like forever."