𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥 [h. potter]

----- 𝐈𝐕 | 𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐢𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞

『 warnings: none :) 』

┌──── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ────┐

❝ happiness can be found

even in the darkest of times

if one only remembers

to turn on the light. ❞

- albus dumbledore

└──── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ────┘

SOMEWHERE IN THE COUNTRYSIDE, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1993

ELIZABETH'S EARS WERE RINGING as she began to regain consciousness sometime later. Her head was pounding, as if someone had blown it up and let it pop like a balloon, and, despite trying, she didn't yet have the energy to open her eyes. The ringing in her ears subsided just enough for her to make out multiple voices whispering back and forth somewhere above her.

"Do you think she's awake yet?" Ron.

"Obviously not, Ronald! I think she'd be talking to us if she were!" Hermione, of course.

"Oh, right, right." Ron again.

"Is it weird that she's been out for so long?" Harry.

"Not necessarily. Depending on the person and the strength of the dementor, the time someone is unconscious afterward varies significantly. It's not uncommon for one to be incapacitated for a considerable time following an attack." Now that was a voice she didn't recognize. It sounded older, much more mature than any of her classmates.

She tried to remember what had happened. They were on the train... they were fine... it was raining... she was reading... the train stopping... dementors...

"Could she be... could she be dead?" Ron again.

Finally gathering the energy to talk, Elizabeth replied, "I hope not."

Relieved sighs sounded from up above as she opened her eyes at last. The bright lamps in the compartment made the pounding in her head worse, so she closed her eyes again momentarily as she moved to sit up. It seemed as though she had fallen across the bench she had been sitting on with Harry. Only now he was kneeling in between the two benches, looking at her with a worried expression as she opened her eyes again.

"How are you feeling?" he asked her.

"What I would imagine it would feel like to fall off a broomstick at 4000 feet, and then get hit by a bus," Elizabeth said with a weak chuckle.