Serenity | 1

TWENTY SIX

"Half-Christmas"

The first thing Serenity was aware of as she woke up was the feeling of a hand in her own. At first, she thought of Lucius but a single gentle squeeze told her that this hand was much less calloused than his. She squeezed back, feeling the owner of said hand jolt in surprise and hearing the rustle of movement around her.

"Ren?" The voice, gentle with a hint of nervousness, reached out to her. It's familiar warmth coerced her eyes open. Merritt's eyes widened as she threw her arms around Serenity, the latter grunting suddenly through her grogginess. As her sister squeezed her tighter than she had before, Serenity's eyes fluttered shut in order to feel her little sister and only her sister. The Ravenclaw sat back with a wide grin on her face and her hands never left Serenity's shoulders. "I'm so glad you woke up today, we go home tomorrow and I would have hated for you to not get to say goodbye. I would have stayed, like usual, but Ez, Dex, Mac and Winnie are going back home- to their home." She shook her head through the correction with an unwavering smile. "Lakita and I had to physically remove Lucius so he would get some decent sleep but Lakita just left to get him. It's awful what happened, Narcissa shouldn't have provoked you. I tried to help, really, I did! But Ez held me back and I understand now that it was because it was dangerous and you could handle yourself anyway but... but we're sisters. We have to stick together no matter what, especially now that our family is no longer our family." Realisation seemed to dawn on Merritt and she stood, eyes wild as she fluttered back and forth on her toes. "I should send an owl to Dad. He'll want to know what happened even if none of the others cares. Oh dear, oh dear, he must worry so much-" As she began to pace along the side of the bed, Serenity's eyes fluttered against a sudden wave of dizziness. Merritt's hands continued to wring even after Madame Knaggs interrupted her.

"Merritt Rier, I do hope your incessant rambling is necessary this time, the last few times have- oh goodness!" Placing the tray of varying medicines on the empty bed beside Serenity's, Madame Knaggs hobbled over to her patient and pressed her hand to her forehead. "It's good to see you awake dear, after three days of full rest I was starting to worry." She sat on the edge of the bed and lifted a cup of a thick liquid to Serenity's lips. "Drink, it will make you feel much better." Once Serenity was handling the cup herself, she stood and brushed her dress down. "You gave us a nasty scare, dear." Grimacing at the aftertaste, Serenity caught sight of Merritt pacing once again and mumbling to herself.

"What happened?" Madame Knaggs opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by the infirmary doors bursting open. Professor Dumbledore entered, followed by Professor Sprout, Professor Slughorn, Lakita and Lucius.

"Aconite," Lakita spoke up, brushing her hand gently over Merritt's shoulder as she passed by the Ravenclaw to greet her sister. She sat on the edge of the bed and rested the back of her hand on Serenity's forehead. "You're burning up." She muttered with a frown yet moved away as Lucius offered Serenity a goblet of water. "Professor Slughorn found that his store of Wolfsbane had been ransacked." Serenity looked for confirmation in her headmaster and head of Hufflepuff. The two of them nodded and she swallowed a lump in her throat.

"W-wolfsbane? Someone tried to poison me?" As they nodded with their own perplexing thoughts rattling inside their minds, Lucius propped his legs up and held her against him.

"It was Narcissa." He stated in an animalistic growl. This caught the attention of everyone in the room.

Merritt squealed in shock as Lakita approached her in order to comfort her. The two of them frowning as Lakita wrapped her arms around Merritt's shoulders. Professor Sprout gasped and repeated the name in disbelief.

"Goodness, not again." Madame Knaggs, shaking her head and collecting the tray of medicines, began busying herself around the room once again.

"Lucius!" Slughorn exclaimed. "We have discussed this, you cannot make such accusations. Miss Black is still serving her detention." He grimaced and twiddled his fingers as he recalled retrieving Narcissa from Apollyon Pringle's office late the previous night after her second night of detention. The blood on her shirt, the way she trembled at each step and how her fingers clutched the fabric of her robes intently still haunted him. She had nearly run his stock dry of his pain-relief potions. Thankfully, she had experienced the worst of it now.

"Indeed, you are right, Horace. Miss Black will bear the consequence of her actions for quite a while and, I suspect, Miss Rier will have to take this holiday to relax and recover. I'm sure dear Katelyn can arrange for you to go home this Christmas."

"You can come to my home, if you want," Lucius offered, "my Father is a surprisingly talented healer." Serenity smiled up at him, unable to think of anything other than how much he stayed loyal to her despite the challenges they were facing.

"She's already coming home to her family, Lucius. You're always welcome to stop by at any time." Lakita stepped away from Merritt, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow at the Slytherin. His expectant grin dropped and he nodded. Lakita turned back to Merritt and reached out to her hand. "You should come, Merritt. You're Serenity's sister which technically makes you my sister." As her fingers intertwine with Merritt's, she grins. "We can be your new family." Merritt's face lit up, her grin spreading from ear to ear.

"Really?" Lakita nods. Merritt looks over to Serenity, seeing an equally convincing smile on her face. "Really really?" With a final nod as confirmation, Merritt squeals and throws her arms around Lakita's neck. Serenity watches their embrace with a gentle smile. Professor Dumbledore nods to Madame Knaggs and the two leave the room. Professor Slughorn hesitates, unsure whether he should be the one to apologise to the girl that was poisoned from his own stock yet finds no time as Dumbledore also summons him and Professor Sprout. As the potions master makes his leave, Professor Sprout approaches the bed. She takes a seat on the opposite side of Serenity, glancing between the teenager's intertwined hands and their equally soft smiles. Patting Serenity's free hand, she sighs and can't bring herself to smile.

"It's a shame this happened at all, dear, if I don't see you before you leave then I wish you speedy recovery over the Christmas break. Serenity thanks her and leans her head back, the base of her head sitting comfortably on Lucius' arm.

The herbology professor also leaves.

Lakita and Merritt take her place on the bed as they begin to construct a letter to Julia. Grinning as she watched them, Serenity tugged on Lucius' hand that hung off the edge of her shoulder and looked up to him. 

"You will come to visit me, right?" He smirks, placing a gentle kiss to her forehead and her eyes closed blissfully.

"Merlin couldn't stop me."