Lacerta Black -- James Potter --

43

trigger warnings: descriptions of injuries, depressing thoughts, brief suicidal thoughts

James didn't think twice when Lacerta did not make an appearance at breakfast, she frequently skipped meals to eat with Tonya who was also absent along with Lily. No warning sirens went off in his head at the snickering Slytherins who made whispered jokes as Regulus paled beside them. Yet, a laugh still came out of the young boy's mouth as his expression turned more and more green.

He had thought it strange when his girlfriend left the meal with only a rushed excuse, but he figured she had forgotten an assignment or needed to get a book from the library before it closed for the night. None of the Marauders had batted an eye.

With a quick glance, he noticed that Mary was absent as well. The only girls left being Marlene and Dorcas who was having a whispered conversation, they had to keep their relationship quiet so that the Meadowes family wouldn't catch wind of their disgraced daughter being a lesbian. Something felt off, not exactly wrong but the morning felt strange. A student rushed up to McGonagall where he whispered a few words in her ear that made her mouth tighten before she dashed out of the Great Hall.

Again, the warning sirens in his head were mute as he finished the scraps of his meal to leave for his lessons. He had to dash to potions after he got distracted by a lost first year, who even after a month of being at the castle couldn't find their way to Charms. The snickering Slytherins huddled in the back of the room threw him off for just a second before he settled into his seat that felt odd without his potion's partner by his side.

The sirens turned on as Slughorn entered the room and his girlfriend still didn't walk through the door with that smirk that he loved so much or an excuse that was most likely made up. In fact, the other girls still hadn't showed up as well. He could see the confusion written all over Marlene's face. 

This wasn't like Lacerta and Lily could probably count the number of times she'd skipped on one hand. He fiddled with his quill, nearly breaking it with how anxious he was to run out the door to find the map. He knew it was wrong to stalk the girls on the map they'd created but he couldn't help but worry, especially with how many people didn't like Lacerta - which was totally beyond him as she was the most amazing girl in the world to him.

As soon as they were dismissed, he ran to the dorms to find out where his beloved girlfriend was. He frowned when he saw her name in the hospital wing alongside Lily, Tonya, Mary, and McGonagall. Had one of the other girls gotten hurt?

******

The world was dark when she opened her eyes. A dull pain resounded through her body but as she shook the cobwebs from her brain did it develop into something more excruciating. Every breath felt like she was breathing in sulfur and her neck felt painfully tight with a burning that left her unable to speak. 

Lacerta didn't know how long she laid on the cool ground before she was able to push herself up, used to the pain inflicted by her parents. She found herself in one of the bathrooms in the dungeon and stumbled to the mirror. A large handprint marked her neck with dark purples and blues, her nose had a deep cut along the side that was sure to scar, and her lip was split.

Her brain worked for any memory of the night before, but the last thing she could remember was sitting down next to James for dinner. She couldn't she was laid beneath her clothes. All she knew was her ribs were aching like they were broken, and her legs were sore. Lacerta didn't want to look. 

She wanted to cry but nothing would appear. Her legs gave out as she crumbled to the floor in shock. A whole night had vanished from her memory. She could feel it inside her head though a thick wall surrounded it. As if she had been obliviated. Her chest felt hollow as she tried to digest whatever had occurred. 

Though she sat numbly, her brain was running a mile a minute. It felt like being engulfed in a current. Swept under as she struggled to get to the surface. Honestly, she didn't see a point in getting off the floor and was perfectly content sitting there in her depressing thoughts until a pair of giggles tore through her self-hatred. 

Lily and Tonya often snuck around to snog in bathrooms, and she wished she could mumble a curse as they picked the one closest to the Potion's classroom, the class they were to attend in just over an hour. "I love you so much, Tony," the ginger whispered as they locked lips, not having noticed her unmoving body on the floor. She felt like a corpse and wished she were dead. "Holy shit!" They'd noticed.

"Lacey? Can you hear me?" One of them asked, but her breathing was so rapid it was making her head spin. They sounded so far away yet their voice was right in her ear. "I think she's in shock. I don't fucking know what to do."

"Get her some water." Drowning.

"I'm going to send someone to get McGonagall." Sinking.

"There's Mary! Have her get her ass in here to get her to breath." Suffocating. 

"She's hyperventilating. Where the hell is the little punk with Minnie?" Floating.

Gone. The world went dark again.