Suffering and Recovering [A Marauders Era Fanfic]

Ch. 9 ~ Panic Attacks and the Sorting

Hey guys! Here's another chapter for you! 

With my luck, the Marauders managed to snag the carriage after us. From what I could hear, the only people talking were Remus and Peter. 

The other two were glaring at the back of our heads. 

Everyone in the carriage was chatting animatedly, pretending that it didn't bother them. But I knew it did. Lily, Marlene, Mary and Doe were all looking frustrated. Alice had a smile on her face, but her eyes were darting between Frank, Sev's face, and their carriage. Frank was glaring at them openly, when he wasn't focusing on Alice, and I caught Sev trying to fight the impulse of turning around and cursing them. Instead, he settled on removing his wand arm from Lily's shoulders (who was on his right) and twirling his wand between his fingers. 

Oh, and did I mention that I met Emmeline? She's a Gryffindor, as well. She showed up at our carriage right before it left Hogsmeade station, and she was pretty surprised to find me there. After everyone filled her in on all that she missed, though, she was okay with the new addition.

Suddenly,everyone went quiet. I looked up from my hands, which I had been absentmindedly staring at, only to find myself gazing at the most beautiful castle I'd ever seen. 

"It's beautiful," I whispered. Everyone gave a small start at my words -it was as if they were lost in awe, too- and grinned.

"I know!" Alice squealed, still staring at the castle. Frank wasn't staring at the castle, though... he was staring at Alice. 

Aww! They are the cutest couple! 

Lily placed her hand on mine from across Sev. "Welcome to your new home, Jackie Potter!" she whispered. 

I don't know if it was those words, or the fact that Hogwarts looked a lot like Beauxbatons, but something sent me into a panic attack right there, in the carriage. I felt like I couldn't move. My heart was racing so fast, I was sure everyone could hear me. I felt tears streaming down my face, and I curled up into fetal position on the floor of the carriage. 

And then I had a flashback. It was of Eli, lying on the floor of Beauxbaton's Great Hall. It was a flashback set in a way that I felt like I was actually back there, at Beauxbatons. Suddenly though, I jerked out of the flashback and back to reality. 

My vision was blurred from my tears. However, once I focused on the group in the carriage, I could hear murmuring and whispers from all around me. 

"Are you okay?" Lily's voice called to me as I wiped my eyes with a tissue someone handed me. "You were sobbing uncontrollably. You kept saying something about someone named Eli." I looked up at her face as she said his name. She was frowning. And then I looked around. 

The carriage wasn't moving, and everyone was staring at me. 

Bloody hell, panic attacks have the worst timing! 

"What?" I said suddenly. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine..."  I said, standing up and brushing any dust off of my robes. At their unconvinced faces, I gave a short laugh. "Thanks, guys, but you don't have to worry about me." 

"Not after what we saw," Doe retorted, staring at me intensely. 

"Doe's right," Frank said, frowning slightly. "The least you could do is give us some answers." 

I sighed, knowing that they were right. "Okay," I mumbled. "What would you guys like to know?" 

All I heard next was a buzz, as everyone tried to speak at once. "One at a time, please," I said, a bit louder than necessary.