The Unknown of the Order (Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery

St. Mungo's

Sarah sat with her face buried in her hands, trying not to think about recent events. Barnaby had been tortured so badly, the healers at St. Mungo's weren't certain if he would live. Diego had been tortured as well, Merula had betrayed them, and they'd left Sirius, Lupin, and Moody to fight the Death Eaters alone. 

She had to choke back a sob. Diego put his arm around her. 

"Sarah?" said a kind voice. 

Sarah looked up into the eyes of a young healer with short, white-blonde hair and bright blue eyes. "Chiara?"

Chiara smiled. "It's good to see you. Though I wish it were under better circumstances." She looked the two of them up and down. "Are you quite sure you wouldn't like treatment as well? You look awful."

Sarah said, "I'm fine," as Diego shook his head, but the truth was, she felt worse than she looked. The pair of them were covered in dirt from the cellar. Diego was still dazed from being knocked out twice and put under the torture curse, and Sarah was exhausted from the amount of power it had taken to get rid of Merula and Selene, as well as apparate here without a wand and with two unconscious bodies. She had blood all down the front of her robes from a severe nose bleed. 

"How's Barnaby?" Sarah asked. They'd been stuck in the waiting room for over an hour. 

"He's stable," said Chiara. "It will be a few days before he has fully recovered. It looks like he may have been subjected to the cruciatus curse." She paused, looking at Sarah significantly, but  Sarah offered no explanation, so she continued, "But he will be alright, at least, physically."

"Physically?"

Chiara sat down next to Sarah and placed a hand on her knee. "His mind may have been affected," she said. 

"Affected how?"

"He hasn't woken up yet," said Chiara. "If he does, he may not be the same. The cruciatus curse, if used for a long period of time, can cause the victim to become insane."

"What?" Sarah stared at Chiara. 

"Don't lose hope yet," said Chiara. She held Sarah's hand. "I know how tough Barnaby is. If anyone can make it through this, he can."

Sarah nodded. Chiara stood up. "It might help if he hears familiar voices," she said. "He's asleep, but you can go and visit him now if you like." She looked them up and down again. "Just clean yourselves up first."

She left, and Sarah stared at the wall, taking it all in. Barnaby had been tortured for days. He might not ever wake up, and if he did, he might not even recognize her. 

She jumped when Diego touched her back, pulling her out of the black hole she'd slipped into. She hadn't known she was crying until Diego wiped a tear from her face. "Would you like to go and see him?"

She nodded. Without a wand, he scouring charm did basically nothing, so she hurried to the bathroom to clean herself up a little. Then, Diego took her by the hand and led her to the elevator, pressing the button for the fourth floor, "Spell Damage."

When the elevator opened, they nearly ran into Mrs. Weasley, who had stepped out of the lift looking quite as distraught as Sarah felt. 

"Oh, Sarah dear," she said, pulling her into a tight hug. "I just heard about Barnaby. Will he be alright?"

Sarah tried to answer, but instead, finding herself wrapped in the warmth and protection of a parent, she decided to relish the comfort and let Diego speak for her. 

"They hope so," said Diego. "They're just waiting for him to wake up."

"I'm sure he'll be just fine," said Mrs. Weasley. "He's strong. He'll pull through."

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley," Sarah said. Mrs. Weasley patted her kindly on the shoulder. "What are you doing here?" Sarah asked her. 

The grave look returned on Molly's face. "I've just been to see the doctors about Arthur."

"What happened?" Sarah asked. "Is he alright?"

"He..." Mrs. Weasley bit back a sob. "He should be alright. It looked very scary for a while, but the healers were able to save him."

"What happened to him?" asked Diego. 

Mrs. Weasley looked around anxiously. "Best not to discuss it here," she whispered. Sarah understood this to mean that whatever had happened to Mr. Weasley had something to do with the Order of the Phoenix.

Mrs. Weasley took a deep breath. "Well, it's been a long night. I'd better get back and let the children know Arthur's doing better."

Sarah hugged Mrs. Weasley again before saying goodbye. They found Barnaby's ward easily enough. He shared the room with two other patrons, both of whom had their beds covered by a privacy curtain. 

Barnaby lay in his bed, a pained expression on his face, even in sleep. He looked better than when they'd first seen him in the cellar. The healers had cleaned off the grime and dirt as well as healed all his cuts and bruises. But, he was still pale and thinner than she'd ever known him. 

In fact, now that he looked so weak, it was nearly impossible to tell the difference between him and his father. Sarah repressed a shudder, then leaned against the bed to put her hand in Barnaby's. His hand felt cold.

"Hey," she said softly, remembering that Chiara had said talking to him might help. "It's me, Barnaby. It's Sarah. And Diego, too."

She looked back at Diego, who gave a small jolt of surprise before saying, "Hi, Barnaby."

"You'll be alright now," Sarah continued, reaching up with her free hand to push the hair from his face. It had grown longer than she'd ever seen it before. "You're safe." She fought at the tears, but the came anyway, along with a quivering, anguished voice. "I'm so sorry this happened, Barnaby. I'm so--" The sobs came, and she couldn't talk anymore, so she laid her head on the bed.

Diego put a hand on her shoulder. "It's not your fault, Sarah," he said. "It's thanks to you he's alive." 

Sarah couldn't stop sobbing, so she didn't reply. She just held Barnaby's hand and cried while Diego rubbed her back. 

Eventually, she was gently nudged awake by Chiara. Diego was slumped in a chair, asleep too. Barnaby hadn't moved an inch. Chiara told Sarah visiting hours were over, and promised to send her an owl if there was any change. 

Sarah woke up Diego and the two left for Headquarters. 

They were surprised upon arriving to hear that the sitting room seemed full of people. Sirius Black rounded the corner and hurried up to them. 

"Thank goodness!" said Sarah. "Are the others alright?"

"Yes, we're all fine," said Sirius quickly. "Though the Lees were able to give us the slip."

"And Merula?"

"Her too," he said. He pulled Sarah's and Diego's wands out of his pockets. "Here. I was able to nab these back from Selene."

"I suppose thanks are in order," said Diego. "How did you find us?"

Sirius waved his hands. "We'll have time for all that later. I've got the Weasleys here, as well as Harry. We're all a bit shaken up. I'm waiting for instructions from Dumbledore about what to do next. Listen, the beds here are all full, and you two aren't supposed to be seen around here anyway. Can you go somewhere else to hide for a bit?"

"Of course," said Diego. "We'll find somewhere to go."

"Right, see you all later, then."

He hurried back to the sitting room. Sarah was so exhausted she didn't know if she had the strength to apparate again, but she said, "We should be safe at Penny's for a night."

"Alright," said Diego. "Let's go."