Rose Petals ✿ Remus Lupin - Discontinued :(

Chapter 35

Belle's hearing was the first thing to come back to her. Voices filled the empty void which was her head at the moment, though they were distant and unclear, they were comforting.

 She wasn't dead; it was a start.

Then slowly the feeling in her hands and feet returned. Both of her hands were gripping others, and she could feel another hand resting on her knee. Whoever was gripping her right hand was slowly rubbing their thumb over her knuckles in a soothing motion while her left hand was being gripped so tightly that it began to ache. The person who was holding onto her knee barely put any pressure on her leg; in fact, if she had been wearing more than tights on her legs she probably wouldn't have felt it at all.

She let out an uncomfortable groan as her eyes peeled open, the blinding light of the hospital wing burning her eyes. She blinked rapidly as she tried to adjust her eyes, and once she did, a plethora of people cheered.

"Belle! Thank Merlin!"

"Wotcher, Lily," Belle croaked, squinting at the girl who sat to her left,"Can someone please turn off the lights?"

"Sadly, we haven't figured out a way to shut off the sun yet but we're working on it." Belle turned her head to the messy haired boy standing at the end of the hospital bed she was currently resting on, his glasses sitting on the end of his nose. "You alright, Belle?"

"Peachy," She lightly smiled. Beside James was Rose, who sat next to her leg, watching Belle with concerned eyes. Next to Rose, on Belle's left, was Remus, who seemed utterly relieved that Belle was awake.

"Don't faint in my presence again, okay?"

"Maybe my subconscious trusts you enough to pass out in your presence," Belle winked, though even that simple action sent black spots around her eyes. "Does anyone else know?"

"That you passed out? You don't honestly think that it's been kept a secret, have you? I mean, it was in the Great Hall after a catfight with Wilkes! Plus the news from this morning...Everyone knows who you are by now!"

Belle groaned, letting her head fall back against the pillow. She hated being the center of attention. Now the whole school knows her name and all she could do about it was try and ignore the stares. Sirius and James were fine with the attention, they craved it, but Belle would trade hers for anything right about now.

"It'll pass, Belle." Lily soothed, sending a squeeze to her hand. Belle nodded gratefully, shutting her eyes. She was about to say something but the door burst open, revealing the three missing members of the group. Peter, Eileen, and Sirius all glanced around before spotting the other Gryffindors next to a bed with a mildly awake Belle cringing at the loud noises.

Though she was half asleep and dazed, Belle could see Eileen was not in any way okay.  She had to rub her eyes to believe what she was seeing. Eileen, someone who has rarely cried, had tears running down her red face, dripping from her cheeks onto her uniform. Peter and Sirius looked uncomfortable and unsure of how to comfort her but looked thankful for the other girls now in their presence. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to scream at you— I feel so bad about it—I was just emotional, and everything spiraled—I-I thought you died a-and—"

"Eileen, hey." Belle let out a soft sigh, sitting up and allowing Eileen to wrap her arms around her. Belle was normally pretty emotional, so seeing Eileen so devastated made tears prick her eyes too.

"I'm so sorry, Belle."

"I know, I'm sorry too."

The two girls embraced as the rest of the group watched in awe. Well, the boys were in awe at the encounter; Rose and Lily just smiled confidently.