The Forest - R.L.

Chapter 27 - The Hospital Wing

Grace woke up at around half past five the next morning.

It had taken her ages to get to sleep, and when she did, her mind was plagued with dreams of Snape being hurt and James and Sirius fighting. It was all she could think about.

She spent the next hour staring at the ceiling, planning out what she was going to say to Remus when she brought him his breakfast. She knew he was going to take it badly, whatever she said. Part of her wanted to just lie to him, to pretend that nothing had happened. That the reason Snape was injured and James and Sirius were fighting had nothing to do with him.

Snape was going to be a bit of a problem too. Now that he knew their secret, surely he would just love to tell the whole school and watch them suffer. They couldn't bring a teacher into it, could they? Sirius would land himself in even more trouble, but with someone like McGonagall on their side, Snape's blabbering mouth could be stopped. It was a possibility.

She was also worried about James and Sirius. Those two had been best friends from the second they met, and sure, they had had the occasional fight, but none of them were serious, until now. Grace would bet all of her galleons that they weren't just going to wake up this morning and forget about it.

By the time it was seven o'clock, Grace was still no closer to coming up with a way to break the news to Remus. She had run through what seemed like a million scenarios in her head, but nothing seemed right. The last thing she wanted to do was to hurt him, yet in a situation like this, she wasn't sure how to go about it without it ending badly. Perhaps in a situation like this there wasn't a way.

The rest of the girls in her dorm were still asleep when she left, headed for the Great Hall. Once she arrived, Grace wasted no time in filling up a plate with all of Remus' favourites. She didn't bother getting some for herself, the nerves had left her not feeling hungry at all, so with a plate of food in one hand and a mug filled with hot chocolate in the other, Grace went to the Hospital Wing.

Remus was still asleep when she entered. She saw Snape lying asleep as well in a bed on the opposite side of the room. Grace set down the plate and mug on a small table next to Remus' bed, trying not to wake him up. She figured she'd let him wake up by himself – she was here quite early – so she lay down on the bed beside his and began to think again.

What was she going to do? She looked over at Remus, still sleeping peacefully on the bed beside her, his hair a mess and a fresh scar above his right eyebrow. Barely a week into the first week of their fifth year and everything had gone to wreck. What did that say about the rest of the year? Grace had decided that if she still hadn't gotten over her feelings for Remus by the end of the year then she would do something about them.

Remus' eyes fluttered open, and Grace's cheeks flushed bright red when she realised she was still staring at him.

"How long have you been here?" he asked her, his voice hoarse.

"Not long," she replied, handing him the glass of water that Madam Pomfrey had left for him.

He moved his arms to push himself up into a sitting position and immediately gasped. He cradled his left arm to his chest and winced. Then he remembered that he had broken it – it had been the first thing Madam Pomfrey had healed when he had woken up in the Shrieking Shack.

Although it had been completely healed, it was still incredibly sore, so Remus tried to push himself up only using his right arm.

Noticing he wasn't getting very far, Grace put her arm underneath his back and gripped his chest on the other side and pulled him upwards.

"Thanks," Remus smiled at her, before grabbing his plate and mug off the table. "Where's yours?"

"Not hungry," Grace replied. She wasn't much of a breakfast person, so it wasn't too unusual for Grace to skip breakfast, especially on a weekend.

Whilst Remus ate, Grace just sat silently on the bed, playing with a loose string. It surprised him, he had rarely seen her so quiet.

Once he had completely finished his breakfast, Grace took a deep breathe in.

"Remus..."

"Yes?"

There was more silence. "I... last night. Sirius... he, um.....Look I just want you to know that it wasn't your fault, it wasn't your fault at all-"

"What happened, Grace?" Remus asked, his face paling.

"He... he led Snape down to the Whomping Willow and..."

"Oh, no. No no no. Please tell me I didn't hurt him, I-"

"You nearly killed me, you monster!" Snape roared, sitting up in his own bed across from them. Their talking had obviously woken him up. "Dumbledore must be insane if he's letting feral animals like you into this school, endangering the lives of-"

In four swift steps, Grace had crossed the room, grabbed a fistful of Snape's black shirt and pointed her wand at his face. "Take it back!"

"Grace, no!" Remus cried, attempting to swing his legs over the side of the bed.

Grace ignored him. "Take that back, or-"

"Miss Thorne!" came shrill voice from the door. Madam Pomfrey had just come back from finishing her breakfast. "Merlins beard, what do you think you're doing?!"

Grace immediately released her grip on Snape's shirt and retracted her wand. She didn't reply, just stared at the ground in front of her.

"How dare you do that to one of my patients! Out, now," Madam Pomfrey demanded, holding the door open. "Come on, I'm taking you to see Professor McGonagall. These actions will not go unpunished.

Grace looked at Remus one last time before she left – he was staring at the bed sheets in front of him, looking completely devastated. He wouldn't even look at her.

What had she done?

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An update already? What is this!?

This whole snape thingo won't drag on for too much longer. Maybe only two or something chapters. After that I've got nice happy things planned so get ready kids.

- Grace