Black [Theodore Nott]

Chapter 48

Carina was put into sleep by Mad-Eye when she still continued to fight Lupin's grasp and run after her father. Carina woke at in Hospital Wing of Hogwarts, she got up in a snap, but then fell back in to bed when a sudden whiplash came to her head.

"Miss Black, you must stay in bed." Madam Pomfrey said.

Carina did not comply, she looked around and saw the others: Hermione, Neville, Luna, Ron, Roman, and Ginny still in bed. Where was Harry? In instinct, Carina got up and moved her legs out of bed, she ignored Madam Pomfrey's calls to stop. When she got out of bed, she fell back to the ground. Carina – breathing heavily – felt a surging pain from her foot, she looked down and saw her left foot wrapped and was bleeding. Then she remembered. Roman pulling her away by his sharp teeth, Lupin cradling her as he tried to stop her from entering the Veil, Mad-Eye putting her to sleep... and Sirius... falling into the Veil.

"Carina?"

A pair of dirty shoes came into view. Carina looked up and saw Tom with a solemn look.

"What happened?" Tom asked as he helped her back to her bed. Carina did nothing as he did. She was frozen in place. Tom reached for the chair beside Carina's bed and sat down, he took Carina's hands as she stared in to nothing.

"Carina." Tom whispered. "Say something... please..."

"He's gone..." Carina said. "He's gone..."

"Carina." Tom said in a hush tone. "You must understand... we couldn't do anything –"

"It's not fair." Carina whimpered. "I just got him back."

A sob escaped from Carina. She buried her face in to her hands, her knees pulled to her chest, she pulled herself in to a shell, wanting to be left alone.

"I just got him back." She cried. "It's not fair..."

"I know, dear..." Tom said. He tried to hold back his tears as he comforted his niece, but they just fell when he did. He had lost a brother – he loved Sirius like a brother and now he was gone, just like his sister. And Carina has lost her father, a father she had just known two years ago.

"It's not fair..." Carina continued to cry. "I just got him back."

"I know, sweetheart... I know..." Tom said.

Sweetheart.

Sirius always called her 'sweetheart'.

•†•

After a while of crying, Carina had stopped and was just staring in to the open space. Her back resting on the back of the bed and her wounded leg elevated with a pillow. The others around her who had woken – Hermione, Roman and Ron – just looked at her with sadness; they saw when Carina cried when Tom tried to console her. Nothing stopped her from crying for her father; now Carina was just looking in to nothing, in her mind it replayed of Sirius's death. That moment that happened too quick for her to fathom what was happening. Bellatrix Lestrange's loud scream of delight that she had killed Sirius.

I killed Sirius Black!

Carina's heart dropped at the sound of Bellatrix.

I killed Sirius Black!

She tightened her hold on her blanket.

I killed Sirius Black!

Carina covered her ears, trying to block away the woman's voice.

I killed Sirius Black! I killed Sirius Black –

"Miss Black."

Carina looked up and saw Madam Pomfrey with a concerned look.