As the Stars Drift By

The War pt.1

A/N: Trigger Warnings for mentions of hospitals, graphic mentions of wounds, blood, and injuries, loss of sight in one eye, mentions of drowning (in a dream), brief mentions of labor and birth, mentions of torture, character death, depression, mentions of throwing up, and angst. Let me know if there's anything I missed that you think I should tag!

Thea awoke, dazed and confused. It took her several minutes to fully absorb her surroundings as she slowly came to her senses. Her left eye was completely obscured. When Thea raised a hand to investigate, her fingers met gauze, cotton, and medical tape. With her other, unobscured eye Thea observed the stark white room around her. To the right of the bed she laid in, there was a cart containing several medical supplies. Was she in a hospital? She didn't remember going to any hospital. The last thing she remembered was...It was...

Thea couldn't remember the last thing she remembered. How odd. Thea looked to her left. There was a chair pulled in close, right to the edge of the bed. Someone was resting within it. The figure, a man with shaggy black hair, looked familiar. But Thea couldn't quite place how she knew him. Thea thought that he mustn't be very comfortable sleeping in that chair. His chin was tucked into his chest, bending his neck at an odd angle. His arms were crossed tightly to his chest. No, he didn't look very comfortable at all. Why was this man sleeping next to her bed? Thea racked her brain for answers as to who he could possibly be.

Sirius, the name popped into Thea's head. That's right, it was her brother Sirius.

"Sirius?" Thea croaked, her voice barely above a whisper. Oh. Her voice was incredibly scratchy and felt weak. That was odd, too. Sirius didn't wake up. Thea supposed he mustn't have heard her. She reached out trying to shake Sirius awake. She pulled her hand out from underneath the blankets, surprised to see that it was covered with many bandages. She flexed her hand once, then twice. She didn't feel much pain, but the bandages indicated that she must be pretty hurt. How had she gotten hurt so badly again? Thea tried to think, tried to remember -but the more she thought, the more her mind hurt. If only she could wake Sirius up, then he might be able to tell her what had happened.

She reached for him again but he was just outside her reach. She'd have to move closer to touch him.. Thea twisted to her left, moving her torso and legs to try and reach Sirius. That was a mistake. The instant she shifted onto her left side, Thea's right leg moved in tandem with the contortion of her body. And it immediately exploded into pain. Thea cried out loudly. Her cry woke Sirius up instantly. He jolted forward, lurching into awareness.

"Thee!" Sirius said, quickly recovering from his sleep. Thea gripped her right hip, trying to quell the agony. She could say nothing through the pain though her eyes met Sirius' with a pleading look. "I'll go get the nurse."

Sirius swung open the door to the room, calling instantly for a nurse. Thea leaned back into her bed, trying not to twist her leg further. Each movement of her right leg felt like a thousand, fiery stabs. Sirius returned, looking frazzled, with a nurse in tow.

"Ms. Black, my name is Cynthia and I'll be your nurse. You are at St Mungo's Hospital. Today is December 29th, 1978. You were in an accident but you're recovering well. I'm going to administer some essence of dittany to your leg, as well as a numbing spell to the area, okay?" The nurse pulled back the blankets to get a better look at Thea's legs. Thea's left leg was covered in one or two bandages. Her right leg, however, was completely wrapped in a thick layer of gauze and tape. She could see no skin through the immense amount of wrappings. Cynthia tapped her wand to Thea's leg and instant, cool, relief flooded into her, reducing the pain to a dull throb. Cyntiha then took great care to slowly remove the bandages. The process was long and arduous, but Thea didn't feel much pain from it after the numbing spell. Once her leg was uncovered, Thea thought she might faint. It looked terrible -deep cuts and gashes covered the entire leg from her ankle all the way up to her hip. It was mottled with bruises as well, all in various shades of healing.