The Consequence of Ambition

Clear As Day

Lana's eyes flickered open and she winced against the harsh light of the room, unsure of where the hell she was.

"She's awake! Guys she's awake!" She was in the hospital wing, and within seconds the faces of Hermione, Ron, Harry, Fred, George and Ginny were all peering over her, each one adorned with a concerned expression.

"Jesus it's like a Weasley family reunion in here" she said drily, to which everyone let out a relieved laugh.

"She's still got her terrible sense of humour, She must be fine" smirked Fred

"Still better than yours" she shifted on her elbows to sit up, but she was knocked back down by a ferocious throbbing in her head.

"Shit that hurts like hell" she hissed, reaching for the back of her head, where her hands were met with a patch of matted hair that she assumed was dried in blood. Had the fight really been that bad?

"Move out of my everyone let me get a look at her." Madame Pomfrey came bustling through, parting the crowd of Lana's concerned friends like the Red Sea.

"Ah miss Beaumont good to see you awake."

"How long was I out for?"

"Oh a good couple of hours. You had a nasty cut on the back of your head but I've fixed you all up, you should be fine, but you will have a pretty angry headache for a few hours."

"You don't say" she replied bitterly. She was sure everyone would have a lot of questions. But there was only one on her mind

"Madam Pomfrey, who brought me here?" She needed to know what had happened after she had collapsed. Had Draco brought her here himself? Had he just left her on the floor?

"Professor Snape brought you in, he said he had found you passed out in one of the corridors" her stomach dropped. She had hoped Draco had brought her here herself because that would have meant it was an accident. It would have meant he was sorry. What she was feeling wasn't disappointment. It was fear. The fact that Draco could knock her unconscious and leave her there on the floor meant that he knew exactly what he was doing. And that was frightening

"What the hell happened to you? I thought you said you were going back to the common room. Do you even remember, I mean, you did hit your head bloody hard after all" asked Ron, voicing the question that everyone no doubt had. Oh she remembered alright. She remembered clear as day.

"I remember some of it I guess, and other bits are quite cloudy. But I know that I had decided to go to the owlery, I had a letter for mum in my pocket that I had forget to send, and you know how she worries. And on the way back down I slipped on the last step and hit my head, I thought I would be fine so I started to make my way back to the common room. But evidently...I was not fine. I must have passed out in one of the corridors and that's when professor Snape found me and brought me here I presume."

"Oh the glory of getting carried into the hospital wing by Severus Snape" mocked George.

"Like a pair of newly-weds" finished Fred.

"Oh shut up you two you aren't even funny." snapped Lana, trying to sound angry but the corners of her mouth creeping up into a smile gave her away. She looked around the room, she was pretty certain everyone had bought her story, well, except for the one person she knew never would, the one person who knew her much too well. Hermione looked at her with raised eyebrows and a look in her eyes that screamed I'm going to ask you a million and one questions later until you tell me the truth.

"Well miss Beaumont you will be absolutely fine but I do have to warn you to go more careful. You've been at this school for six years, surely you know how slippery those steps get. Anyway. What's done is done, but I am going to make you stay one more night here just so I can make sure you aren't going to be dropping unconscious in anymore corridors anytime soon." She actually didn't mind having to stay the night. At least it would delay Hermione's questions for a little while...