The Squib and the Werewolf (book 2)

81. Living Or Dead

When Voldemort had taken over, the Order had almost completely fallen apart.
No one wanted to help them anymore, because the risks were too great.
But despite this, the dedicated Order members did everything they could to fight Voldemort behind the scenes, and save as many lives as they possible.
When they heard about an underground laboratory experimenting on Squibs and Muggle-borns, they got a small team together and raided the place.

The victims from the laboratory were taken to the Order's secret hospital, run by Healers, without the Ministry's knowledge. They dealt with injuries caused by death eaters.
The Muggle-borns that had been locked up at the laboratory, who were still alive, were not in too poor a condition, so they had been sent home to their families. But the Squibs on the other hand, were close to death.
And the Healers had to put a lot of work in, to keep them alive.

Remus had never accepted his sisters death, even though everyone in the Order tried to convince him that she was gone.
So when Kingsley reached out to him and told him that his sister had been found, he dropped everything and headed to the secret hospital, to see her.
When he arrived at the safe house, the Healers were running around in a frenzy, and he felt bad for getting in their way.
With so many injuries caused by Voldemort and his followers, they were overworked.
But Remus had to see his sister, even if that meant butting heads with some Healers.

After getting directions to the ward at the end of the building, Remus entered a room with three beds, only two of which were occupied.
One held a young boy, and the other held a middle aged woman.
It took Remus a second to realise that the woman in the bed, was Raya.
"Ah, you must be Mr Lupin".
Remus spun around and saw that a male Healer had entered the room.
"I am. But please, call me Remus" insisted Remus.
"Very well. My name is Healer Bert MacMillian. Me and my assistant Catherine Johnson have been placed in charge of this new ward" informed Bert.

"What has happened to my sister?" Questioned Remus, as he approached Raya's bed.
"It would be easier to tell you what hasn't happened to her" sighed Bert.
"The Prophet said she was dead" replied Remus.
"Well she isn't, not yet anyway. Keeping her and Adrian Webb alive is my main goal, since we weren't able to save Tabitha Twitch, the elderly woman they were found with"
"Why did the woman die?"
"The moment they were rescued and taken off the Potions that were keeping them alive, all of their vitals dropped. Raya and Adrian's hearts were strong enough to keep beating until we could get them here. But Tabitha's wasn't, and we lost her".

Bert looked sadly at the empty bed, before looking back to Remus.
"I would love to tell you that they are out of the woods. But I'd be lying. We are doing everything we can to keep them alive, but I'm not sure it's going to be enough. There was something in the lab that was sustaining them. But once it has worked it's way out of their systems completely, we don't know if their bodies will be able to cope" continued Bert.
"Can't you figure out what the potion was, and recreate it?" Asked Remus.
"We are trying. But we only have so many Healers working here. And all of them risk their lives every single day, when coming here after finishing their shifts at St Mungo's. There are also a lot of patients in this make-shift hospital that we have to look after... We are all doing the best we can" answered Bert.

"Do you know what exactly was going on in that lab?" Questioned Remus.
"We can only hazard a guess from the evidence collected there. The Order found dozens of Muggle-borns, all of whom had been drained of their blood. So, we assume that the death eaters were trying to see if by placing Muggle-borns blood inside Squibs, they could give them magic" replied Bert.
"But that's impossible, right?" Quizzed Remus.
"Yes, it is. But it appears the death eaters have been trying to do it, even though no one has ever succeeded at it before".

"She looks so broken" mumbled Remus.
"As a matter of fact, neither her nor Adrian have a broken bone between them. But that doesn't mean they are unharmed. They have blood poisoning, numerous bruises and cuts. They are both extremely dehydrated and malnourished. And they have had every inch of hair stripped from their bodies. Not to mention the fact that they are caked in filth, as neither of them have been washed recently... They were also found naked, so we cannot rule out sexual assualt. Although I think it is unlikely, since they were there to be experimented on, and not there to please bored death eaters" informed Bert.

"I'm her big brother. I was supposed to protect her" admitted Remus, as he held back the tears.
"In the world we live in, it's impossible to protect anyone... Why don't you go home? It's going to be a while before she wakes up. I can get someone to send you an owl once she is awake" suggested Bert.
Remus shook his head, "No, I am not leaving her side. Not when she needs me most".
"Very well then, you can stay here. I will let you know as soon as we have any updates on her condition" replied Bert.

****

Remus sat by Raya's unconscious body for hours, as the Healers came and went.
Every now and again, Raya's heart beat would drop, sending Remus into a panic.
But she was a fighter, and she pushed on, every time.
"I have some news" announced Bert as he re-entered the ward.
"Good or bad?" Questioned Remus.
"Both. We finally found out what the silver liquid that was running into their veins at the lab is. Unfortunately though, it is one of the rarest substances on the planet" revealed Bert.

"What is it?" Asked Remus.
"Unicorn blood" answered Bert.
Remus's jaw dropped, "They were given unicorn blood?".
"It would appear so. It was how the death eaters kept them alive, for they wouldn't have survived those brutal experiments otherwise. Unicorn blood can keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death" admitted Bert.
"But slaying a unicorn is illegal. And its blood is incredibly rare. Not only that, but if you drink it you will have a half-life, a cursed life".

"I know. We aren't sure what effect the unicorn blood will have on Raya and Adrian since they didn't drink it by choice, it was fed into their bloodstream intravenously. But we expect there will be some effects, for there is always a price for dabbling in unicorn blood" sighed Bert.
"Do you think they will be able to survive without it? If it was keeping them alive, won't they die once it is completely flushed from their systems?" Questioned Remus.
"We aren't sure. But we hope not. Since we can feed them up and heal their injuries, they won't be close to death anymore. So, we are praying that they will be able to live without it".

"What if they have become addicted to it, and cannot survive without it?" Remus asked quietly.
"Then they will die in the next 24 hours. But that's not what worries me most. Neither of them have woken up yet, despite our best efforts to rouse them. We are worried that they have both slipped into a coma, from which they cannot be awoken. Unicorn blood will sustain you, but it won't heal you or give you a good life. Perhaps the curse they recieved from being pumped with unicorn blood, is that they will be stuck in a coma, forever" replied Bert.

"Don't say that" snapped Remus.
"I just want you to be prepared for the worst. Because me and my colleagues don't hold out much hope for Adrian or Raya making a full recovery" admitted Bert.
"Raya will be fine, you'll see. She's a fighter, and she won't want to leave her children as orphans. She will get through this" insisted Remus.
"Well, I hope you are right".

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For those of you that have read my other books, you may find some similar names in this chapter from some other series's that I have written.