Elegy//Harry Potter [3]

11

Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat in the Gryffindor Common Room, waiting anxiously for news about their friend. Hermione would send glares to Ron every once in awhile, blaming him for the situation of her best friend.

After a few hours of waiting, Professor McGonagall walked through the portrait of the Gryffindor common room.

"Potter. Granger. Weasley," the professor said. "A word, please." 

Everyone in the common room turned to look at the three as they made their way out the portrait.

"Right this way," McGonagall led the trio to the infirmary, where Snape and Dumbledore were waiting. 

Madame Pomfrey was there as well, but she was attending to another patient -- a fourth year Ravenclaw who wrote too much on his essay that his hand cramped up and he couldn't write anymore.

"Hello, Harry, Ron, Hermione," Dumbledore said.

"Is she alright?" Harry asked.

"She will be, yes. But for now, the only thing you can do is go to your classes. Professor Snape had the privilege of giving Autumn a potion."

"What potion was it?" Hermione asked, curiously.

"Nevermind that, there's just. . . one small thing. Autumn has no memory of this ever happening. She doesn't know that Cayden exists. And we'd like it to stay that way."

The three stared at Dumbledore in shock.

"No offense, Professor, but I don't think that's exactly the right thing to do?" 

"No offense, Weasley, but do you remember what happened when you did. . . 'the right thing'?" Snape said, staring at Ron with a mighty rage. 

"We've built a sort of, wall," Dumbledore spoke again, interrupting the silence. "The wall is between her memories of Cayden and her other memories. If the wall even cracks, we aren't a hundred percent sure what would happen. You cannot breathe a memory of Cayden. Even saying her name could break the wall." Dumbledore looked at the kids with a sort of enigmatic look. "I'll give you a few moments before you go back to the Common Room. She should be back by next week."

Dumbledore left the hospital wing, McGonagall following closely. Snape still stood, glaring at the girl and the trio.

"Pity that she had to. . . forget," Snape said, venom practically spitting from him. He spun on his heel and exited the wing.

The three stared in silence at Autumn, who rested placidly on the hospital bed. Her hands were sprawled out beside her. Harry was positive that if her hands were together on her stomach, people would she was dead. Autumn's hair was draped across her face, none of the teachers had the decency to move it out of the way.

Hermione and Ron had stopped looking at Autumn and had turned their vision to Harry, who hadn't got the memo. He looked at her blankly, no particular thoughts or emotions ran through his mind.

"Harry? What's going on up there?" Ron asked, trying to lighten the mood.

Harry opened his mouth to say 'nothing', but something went through his brain, so he said that instead, "I think this is the only time Autumn's looked peaceful. With everything going on last year. . . We've never really had a chance to relax."

"Maybe this'll be good, then. Autumn might have a chance to forget why she was never peaceful."

On the way out, they heard a piercing scream. But they didn't turn back to see who it was. They all knew who it was.

>>>

A week had passed, and none of the classes were the same. A few of Harry, Hermione, and Ron's classmates had heard that Autumn was in the hospital wing, and said their condolences. Even a Slytherin. But, low and behold, not all Slytherins were like that girl: Draco and his group of friends were sniggering constantly.