Lifeline

4. Hunter Clement

Third Person POV

Evelyn looked at her empty house for a moment. The wound of divorce was still fresh. Jackson and all her other friends had been very supportive of her, but even they could not permanently ease the silence of her home that was constantly present. It had been years in the making. They had loved each other, at a time, but he had never supported her job as an auror. Finally, he had decided that so long as she had such a dangerous job, he could no longer sit there and worry for her constantly. And she understood. It saddened her, but she understood.

At some point this week, she would be changing her surname back to what it was before she had been married, and leave the name 'Moonstone' behind. She nearly cried thinking of it, but it had to be done... she could never move on with that constant reminder of him.

Without thinking of a location as to where she would be going, she left the house, wanting to escape the silence.

***

Evelyn walked into the hospital wing at Hogwarts, going right to John Doe's side. (John Doe was a name used for unidentified persons). She was there, by his bedside, staring at the face that was more familiar than it had any right to be. She continued to stare, trying to force her mind to make the connection out of sheer force if will. Why did he look so familiar? She wanted the answers so badly it was infuriating! She stayed there for over a minute, simply staring at him with a frown on her face, trying to force everything into clarity.

She then noticed something on the small table next to his bed... It was a photograph, face down. Curiously, Evelyn picked it up.

She then froze, muscles tense.

Her heart felt like it dropped to her stomach. The photo slipped from her fingers, fluttering to the floor, and suddenly, it was difficult to breath. The room was spinning around her, and in a moment of vertigo, her feet slipped from under her. She fell, crashing into the ground with formidable force.

The photograph. A picture of her and Poppy and Hunter. Oh, Hunter...

Struck by shock and panic from the revelation, her head, which she had hit in her fall, could no longer hang on to her consciousness...

***Some Time Later***

"Evelyn!"

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she heard her name called, followed by footsteps fast approaching her. Her murky brain processed this, but didn't remember how to respond. Where was she? Ugh... She was lying down... there was a cold, hard surface beneath her. Was she on the floor?

Someone was calling her name and shaking her shoulder. Was that Poppy's voice?

Wait... Poppy...

Hunter!

Before Evelyn could even think about it, she snapped her eyes open, and she sat up as quickly as possible. These were both actions Evelyn instantly regretted.

"AH!" She screamed in pain, forgetting why she had sat up in the first place. The light burned her eyes, and her head whirled with dizziness and pain. Where was that high pitched ringing in her ears coming from? Some part of her brain managed to register that Poppy was kneeling on the floor next to her. Poppy had her hands on Evelyns back and collarbone, keeping her upright.

"Careful," Poppy chided lightly. "You hit your head really hard, I suspect a concussion, which I can give you a potion for.... Oh, I'll need to give you some medicine for that nasty cut..." Poppy wasn't so much talking to Evelyn as she was making a checklist for herself. Evelyn blinked, still in a daze, as her eyes began to adjust. Miraculously, a part of her mind still functioning managed to register Poppy's words. Cut?

Confused and still trying to remember how to function properly, Evelyn reached up, tenderly probing the back of her head. Gentle as she was, the slight pressure managed to hurt just a bit. Her fingers now felt warm and wet, and sure enough when she pulled them away, there was a sticky red substance on her fingers. Blood... blood, fresh from her veins. She turned slightly, adjusting both her neck and her spine to get a look behind her. There, all around the floor where her head had been, was a puddle of her blood. Some of it was fresh, but much was now dry and crusted onto the floor. Evelyn realised she must have been there a while before Poppy had found her just now.

"Evelyn?" Poppy's voice was careful. "Can you tell me what happened to you?"

What had happened to her? She blinked a moment. Then - oh!

Memories resurfaced, hitting her with the force of a truck. Gasping in a breath, her eyes widened and focussed upon the bed where Hunter now lied. He was exactly the same. Perfectly preserved, there he lay, the same as when she had last seen him that day, that horrible day when everything changed. Then Evelyn realised. The photo...

"Evelyn?" Poppy asked once more, and now Evelyn acknowledged her. She turned to her once-friend, tears forming in her eyes as the new betrayal stabbed her in the heart. Poppy was shocked by the look Evelyn now gave her.

"Evel-"

"You knew." Evelyn's voice was weak, a meager whisper. Poppy frowned.

"What did I know?"

Evelyn just stared. Then she got mad. How dare Poppy play the fool.

Not caring that it was a bad idea, Evelyn stood, the pain effectively dulled by her anger. Poppy sputtered, trying to tell her to take it easy, but that just made Evelyn even more enraged.

"You knew he was Hunter! You knew and you didn't tell me!"

Poppy froze. How had she-?

Oh. Oh! The photograph! Poppy's eyes went wide as she realised the error of her ways. She had left to photograph on Hunter's bedside table...

Standing as well, Poppy held her hands tentatively in front of her.

"Now, Evelyn -"

"Why didn't you tell me?" She demanded. "I have more of right to know than you! I'm his sister! So why didn't you tell me, you stupid wench!"