The Marauders: Padfoot

"It Doesn't Have To Be A Happy Memory."

I heard noise all around me. My head ached from the sound of it, although it was quiet.

My eyes fluttered open to a bright white light. It was blinding and I instantly shut them. Where was I?

Then it all came flooding back to me, and my head began to pound even more.

I groaned. How had everything gone so wrong.

I weakly pushed myself up, my arms nearly buckling under the immense amount of effort it took.

I was in the hospital wing.

A boy in the bed opposite was watching me.

"Hey." I groaned, reaching up to rub my head.

Madam Pomfrey came bustling over.

"You must rest my dear." She chastised, placing two more pillows beneath me so that I could sit upright.

"Why am I here?" I mumbled.

"Hypothermia. You should be good to go later this evening." She said, patting me on the head before briskly walking away to tend to other patients.

I recognised the boy opposite, he was in my astrology class. Bruises covered his face and arms and I itched to ask him how we had gotten them. He smiled at me, his mouth lifting a little at the edges before he grimaced in pain and threw his head back on the pillow.

"Do you need me to get Madam Pomfrey?" I asked him, concern etching on my face.

He shook his head and pushed himself back up.

It took all the courage I had to make conversation with him, this really wasn't me at all.

"I'm Seren." I said, watching him closely.

"Nice to meet you Seren, I'm Aidan." He grimaced before lifting a hand to his mouth. I watched closely and found that it was covered in blood when he lowered it.

"You really need Madam Pomfrey."

"Poppy's done everything she can, I just need to heal on my own now."

The day went hazily. I slept, woke up confused to what time it was, talked to Aidan, and went back to sleep. This pattern repeated itself many times before I noticed the sky outside the infirmary starting to darken.

"How did you get all those bruises?" I asked nosily.

"Dueling." He noted quietly, glancing down at his bedsheets.

I nodded. It must have been some duel for him to come out looking so bad.

"Don't worry, I had green hair and was spitting slugs when I first came in here yesterday, Poppy's done a great job." He smiled.

He had been taking various potions throughout the day and seemed better now than he had done when we first started conversing this morning.

I noticed how he called Madam Pomfrey by her first name.

"You're in here a lot by the sounds of it?" I observed.

"Occasionally." He said, with a subtle smirk.

Around an hour later, Aidan and I were both discharged from the hospital wing. It was a great relief to get back into the main part of Hogwarts, and not have to stare at the constant white sheets, white bandages and pale faces on the hospital wing.

"What house are you from?" I asked Aidan as we made our way to the staircases.

"Ravenclaw." He replied.

I glanced up at him, eyebrows raised. He ran a hand through his curly blonde hair before looking back at me.

"Don't let that make you believe that I'm smart though." He laughed.

When I emerged in the common room, all eyes fell on me and I instantly felt embarrassed.

"Seren!" Lily exclaimed, throwing herself into my arms. I was pushed back into the wall by the force and I winced as my back hit the hard stone.

"Sorry! We've been so worried! Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let us visit as she said you were being let out today, I've been waiting down here all evening!" She exclaimed, her words stumbling over each other in a desperate race to escape her mouth.

"It's true!" James exclaimed, joining her. "I even brought her food up, she wouldn't leave." He added.

"Come on, you're probably tired." Lily said, nodding in the direction of the staircase that lead up to our dorm.

As my eyes swept over, they caught Sirius's, who was sat in the corner of the room with Peter.

I quickly looked away and nodded, following Lily upstairs after saying a short good night to James.

"Don't worry, I've warned him not to come near you." Lily told me as we walked upstairs.

I knew who she was referring to without even having to ask. I had wondered why Sirius hadn't come to see me when I entered the common room. But if he had really wanted to, he would have anyway.

A dull ache filed my entire body, almost making me feel as thgouh I would sink into the floor if it weren't for Lily's tight grip on my arm.

I slumped down onto my bed and stared up at the intricate wooden cieling above me. I wondered how Lily had known to keep Sirius away. Had he told her what had happened?

Part of me hoped that he hadn't, but part of me knew that Lily would have to know, I couldn't keep this from her, and I knew the words would struggle to leave my lips, so maybe him telling her was for the best.

A little while later, the door creaked open and in walked Flora.

"Hey Seren, it's good to have you back." She whispered, walking over to the base of my bed.

Flora and I didn't really talk much, we were both rather shy and she was in hardly any of my subjects.

"Someone gave me this for you on my way up." She said, holding out an envelope that sprakled with the faint hum of magic.

I held out my palm, and as soon as it touched my skin, it opened, as though it had been expecting me.

"Who would have charmed an envelope to your touch?" Lily asked, suddenly sitting up to watch me.

I glanced over at her, as Flora threw herself on her bed. We were both wondering the same thing.

Dear Seren,

Meet me at the astronomy tower at ten. There's going to be a meteor shower tonight.

- Aidan

I sighed a breath of relief.

"It's not him." I reassured her.

She watched intently, now even more interested by who had sent me the letter.

"I made a friend in the hospital wing." I said softly.

I folded up the letter and placed it on the wooden cupboard next to my bed.

I watched her as she grinned playfully before reaching over to grab it. Her eyes darted across the page before her mouth broke into a large grin.

"It's not like that." I felt the need to tell her.

"Whatever you say." She shrugged, flicking her wand at the letter so it turned into a swan and glided over to land on my bed before turning back into a square of parchment.

A swan. That reminded me.

"I cast a corpeal patronus." I whispered, staring down at the letter.

Emotions began to flood me at the memory, but I quickly brushed them away, reminding myself that I was going to meet Aidan later.

She sat up again, interest flooding her face and a glint dancing in her eyes.

"What form did it take on?" She asked.

"A swan. That charm just reminded me." I said, playing with my fingers nervously.

She watched me, and I saw the realisation dawn on her, and suddenly her smile was gone.

"It doesn't have to be a happy memory." She mumbles, more to herself than to me.

I gave her a sad smile. She understood.