A Marauder's Guide to Falling Together

Chapter Fifteen

"Hey Marly, catch."

Emmeline had walked into the hospital room and thrown a small object at Marlene. Marlene caught it clumsily and looked down in her hands to see a box of chocolate frogs.

"Oh yum," she said excitedly, "I haven't had sugar in forever."

Emmeline was wearing her Healer's uniform which was just simple and white much like the rest of the building. She had been discharged after a little more than a week of rooming with Marlene and it was her first shift back in training. She had promised to visit over the lunch break and true to her word she hadn't come empty handed.

"I know the food here is pretty drab," she smiled, "it's nothing compared to the feasts they spoil you with at Hogwarts."

"It's not too bad," Marlene lied. She wasted no time ripping open the box and devouring the chocolate.

"It looks like you could use a few of those," Emmeline was eyeing her wearily. This was nothing new to Marlene; she was fairly used to the comments about her petite frame.

"Yeah well, if you want to load me up on a stock of candy I won't complain."

"So have they given any good news since my departure yesterday?" Emmeline ignored the comment and looked hopeful. Marlene was sure that her new friend was eager for her healthy recovery, but she couldn't help but think that she was more excited to find out whether or not her suggested hybrid potion had worked or not.

"Not yet," Marlene said in between mouthfuls of her treat, "Patrick hasn't been in yet today to check."

After Patrick had tried another failed dose of Essence of Dittany and Murtlap Essence, which were potions meant to grow skin over abrasions and heal cuts and bruises, Emmeline had suggested a mixed version of the two along with some other herbal plants Marlene had never heard of. After she had been discharged the day prior she had disappeared with Patrick to help design the new potion. It appeared that Emmeline's best class had been Potions when she attended Hogwarts and knew a few tricks or two that could possibly put Lily or Snape to shame.

"Ah well I suppose I'm being ambitious anyways, it'll probably take more than a day to see any change."

"I don't know how much more of this I can take," Marlene mumbled bitterly. "I'm going to fail my N.E.W.T.s if I don't get back to class soon."

School wasn't quite the true reason for her misery though but she wasn't prepared to admit this to her new friend. Her first night alone after spending an entire week with Emmeline had been extremely lonely and she had had nobody to preoccupy her wandering mind from her thoughts of Sirius and of the many other feelings of sadness that came from isolation. After spending a month in the infirmary, unconscious or not, she was starting to really feel the toll of her separation from the outside world and unwelcome nightmares she hadn't experienced in awhile were beginning to make their return.

"Who is he?"Emmeline's eyes were glimmering with curiosity. Marlene had never mentioned Sirius during their time together so she was a bit taken aback by her question.

"What do you mean?" she asked, puzzled.

"Oh come on now," Emmeline rolled her eyes, "nobody is that devastated over missing school. Especially not when you have what appears to be half the Hogwarts library scattered all over the room. You've been much too sullen to be thinking about your studies so who's the guy your anxious to see?" Her hand gestured around the room where numerous textbooks lay stacked in piles on the side table and the empty bed that Emmeline had once occupied.

Marlene wanted to challenge her – Lily would probably fit into the category of 'devastated' if the roles were reversed, but Emmeline didn't know Lily and the case seemed unwinnable. "Just a guy from school."