Stars in Her Eyes {Wolfstar's Daughter}

Chapter 72: Waiting Games

Lily had been waiting at the castle as soon as they arrived. In fact she had apparated to the gates as soon as Nell had left the dining room of Grimmauld place. So naturally McGonagall, Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey were all waiting anxiously for Nell in the hospital wing.

Lily, and McGonagall and Pomfrey for that matter, had all been ready to rush to the shack in search of Nell, demanded that it happen in fact. But Dumbledore had insisted that they stay inside as they couldn't be sure that the girl reached the shrieking shack at all and could be freely wandering the grounds. He then assured them that none of them could possibly want an encounter with a werewolf on the full moon.

It was clear the women hadn't cared less and were still readying themselves to find Nell before Dumbledore pointed out how the girl herself might feel if she ever came to hurt any of them.

That was all that kept them inside all night, but sleep was entirely out of the question. They planned to stay inside not a second longer than the moon was in the sky, but Nell beat them to it when she walked through the doors of the hospital wing.

However, along with their overwhelming relief brought by seeing Nell alive, what the four weren't expecting was three other students by her side. Well maybe Dumbledore hadn't been surprised, but as far as the others were informed, Nell had been out their alone, and every other student was in bed.

Although Lily couldn't say she was surprised to see one of the students holding the girl up was her son.

"Oh thank god you're okay" she pulled the girl into her arms, praising whatever existed above that she was able to hold her goddaughter in one piece.

"Mr Potter, Miss Granger, Mr Weasley, I thought we had bid farewell to you last night" Dumbledore spoke from across the room, noticing the three other disheveled students standing in the doorway.

"They saved.. The entire castle owes them their lives" Nell interjected, pulling away from Lily to send a look of indescribable gratefulness to her friends.

Then just as fast, her mind flicked to the three adults missing from the room. The three adults who would never willingly be absent if she was in danger. Who, if they were back and safe, they'd already be here.

"Have you heard from them? Are they back yet?" She asked Lily in a tone of tragic desperation. Despite already getting knowing the answer, she wanted to hear it from someone other than that voice the wolf whispered in her head.

The small, barely visible shaking of Lily's head was enough to leave her without any words.

She barely processed Madame Pomfrey healing her, treating the wound on her hip, or giving her vials of numerous liquids to drink to ease the pain. They wouldn't ease her pain. She knew that.

As she sat in her usual bed of the hospital began a mental battle with images of every possible terrible thing that may have happened. It seemed the wolf wasn't the only one who liked to think the worst.

They're dead. That's what it had told her.

She knew what the wolf did. She knew it played on her strongest emotions, her biggest fears and she had essentially set it up with the holy grail of emotional torture.

She just wished she could say it wasn't true but until she saw her parents in front of her, how could she possibly convince herself otherwise?

The waiting was the worst. Forget the dull ache in her bones, the thumping of her head, the sharp pain on her hip. She could take the pain, she could feel where it hurt her and knew it wouldn't last. The waiting was still and unmoving as it consumed her, leaving no sign that it would ever end.