Soft whispers gently floated to her ears. Her eyes flickered opened to see that it was near nightfall in the Hospital Wing. Three boys were hovering around her bed, and a fourth lingering in the back, all eyes watching her intently.
It took her a moment to gather why on earth she’d be in the hospital wing. Then she remembered the cold, empty eyes burrowing into hers, and cruel hands smothering her breath and bruising her arm.
Images of the undead man flashed before her eyes and she bolted straight up off her pillow. Her breathing became shallow and quick, but was soon calmed by the soothing voices and kind touch of her friends.
“It’s alright, Addie, we’re here. You’re safe.”
Remus’ kind gold eyes calmed her soothingly as he gently laid her back down to her pillow and pulled the covers back up to her waist. All four of them were there, including Peter, much to Addalynn’s surprise.
“How long was I out?” she asked breathlessly.
“Only a few hours,” replied James.
“You really gave us a good scare back there, Addie,” Sirius said. “We heard you scream and came running…”
“He’s still here somewhere near isn’t he?” Addalynn timidly asked, already knowing the answer.
“Well it’s not likely he’d get in the castle, Addie…” but even as Remus said so she unconsciously lifted a hand to her neck. She could still smell his metallic breath and the closeness of his fangs to her flesh, teasingly threatening to close in. Her whole body trembled from such vivid memory. But James pulled her hand away from the spot where she was almost bit and held it in his.
“Everything’s okay, Addie; just don’t think about it. No one will hurt you while we are here.”
Madam Pomfrey came bustling around the corner in quite a fuss. She told them in a very annoyed tone that it was nine thirty in the evening and they all should be heading back to their dormitories before someone caught them out of bed after hours.
“Please don’t go,” pleaded Addalynn, tugging on James’ hand, which was tenderly holding hers.
“Hey, I’ll be back soon,” he assured her before the begrudged assistant nurse ushered him out of the room.
She laid there staring up at the ceiling in utter boredom and fright; determined not to fall asleep. But Madam Pomfrey insisted that she take some freshly brewed Dreamless Draught.
Addalynn didn’t want to fall into unconscious sleep, but it didn’t seem she had a choice judging by the nurse’s crossed arms and raised eyebrows. She lifted the steaming potion to her lips and drank most unwillingly. Halfway through, she thought she saw something moving out of the corner of her eye; the same shadow she had seen haunting the Shrieking Shack.
“Come, dear we can’t stay up all night waiting for you to finish,” the lady fussed.
Deciding it was just the aftershock of the day’s events, she sipped down the last of the dreadful potion. She handed the flask to Madam Pomfrey and laid her head back down and tried to keep herself awake.
It was several hours later and she was forced to use up most of her strength to keep her eyes from sealing shut. But as soon as her eyelids started to sink down upon her pupils, James appeared before her.
“Sorry it took me so long, but I had to wait for the common room to clear out before I could come,” he informed her lightly while discarding a lightweight silvery material onto a nearby hospital bed.
Her weary eyes met his as he walked over to her bedside. He whispered softly for her to go to sleep and know no vampires would come lurking the shadows of the hospital wing while she was in such good company.
James watched Addie’s tired eyes close and her lips part to allow breath to pass. She wasn’t sleeping peacefully, he could tell. She was asleep but not too deeply; her breathing was too shallow and she shuddered every timed she exhaled. He wondered if anyone had given her some sleeping potion. If it was the dreamless drought then she should’ve been sleeping peacefully. An uneasy feeling crept into his stomach and alerted his mind that there was something wrong. He kept seeing shadows that he thought had moved out of the corner of his eye. So out of respect for Addalynn’s wish not to be alone, he sat on the edge of her bed and gently moved her bangs back from her anguished face.
It might’ve just been because it was so late at night that the shadows seemed to move around the hospital ward. Maybe the whole vampire thing was starting to bother him too. No, his eyes were probably just playing tricks on him.
James looked out the large window at the glowing moon above. It would soon be full; there wasn’t much time to calm down Addalynn enough to let her know. She was thoroughly traumatized by her earlier encounter with that blasted blood sucking monster.
He remembered when he heard her deathly scream cut through the brisk fall air and slice into his ears. Before he could register what was fully happening, he saw Sirius’ backside rushing to the old battered shack. All he knew at that moment was something was wrong, so he had followed suit.
The sight of Addalynn helplessly fighting the vampire’s hypnotic power, under his death grip, his fangs bared and ready to take her life, would never leave his memory, no matter how much he wished it would. He had seen the way her eyes pleaded to the vampire to let her go before they rolled back into her skull and her eyelids fell over them. It had frightened him to death to see her so weak; so defenseless and alone. He didn’t even want to think about how traumatized he would be if Lily had been in Addalynn's place…
It was James that had carried her from the Shrieking Shack to the hospital ward safely in the west wing of the castle. Remus and Sirius both had their wands raised to the vampire in furious rage while James ran to Addie.
The first incantation had not fully taken its toll on the vampire’s inability to tolerate sunlight. They kept at it so that every time the vampire lunged forward, fangs bared wildly, he was kept at bay by the next spell thrown at him.
Eventually he had to back out and fly off in the form of a screeching black bat, a bloody cut on his right wing. It flew out, whimpering and struggling, towards the forest.
Guilt weighed heavily on Sirius’ heart that day, since it was his idea for her to explore inside the Shrieking Shack. He hadn’t spoken at all that day until Addalynn had woken up, lying on her bed in the hospital wing. He didn’t leave her side until he was forced to by Madam Pomfrey.
He had told James before he snuck out with the Invisibility Cloak that he couldn’t bear to look her in the eye any time soon. James looked at Sirius with great concern at the pained and guilty expression that painted his face so dramatically.
It wasn’t his fault, there was no way he could’ve known that there was a vampire lurking around in there, James thought silently as he stroked Addalynn’s raven hair with his free hand.
The clock tower rang for five in the morning and Addalynn’s eyes tore open. She didn’t bother trying to go back to sleep. “James?” she said shakily.
He turned to look at her tired face. Dark circles had formed around her eyes and her eyelids were weighing down heavily. “You didn’t sleep well last night,” he noted while he brushed away some of the bangs that had fallen over her eyes when she sat up. “Didn’t Madam Pomfrey give you any sleeping potion?”
“Dreamless Draught.”
“That should’ve put you to sleep long before I got here Addie,” James said, tucking a few stray glossy curls behind her ears. “I couldn’t bear the thought of being alone all night. The only thing I could think of to do was to at least stay awake…” she told him drowsily.
“Well, I’m here now and no one will be here until nine o’clock; that's four more hours. Now go back to sleep…” he said. He rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb and waited patiently until her eyes closed and her breathing became long and deep. He had been up all night watching over her and found that he also longed for peaceful sleep, but he wouldn’t let her, even if she would never know.
So to keep his mind occupied, he thought about how to tell her that Remus was a werewolf. She was already haunted by the memory of being attacked by a vampire, now she would find out that her best friend was another strange and supernatural beast.
He didn’t know if her mind would take it this soon after such an event, but the full moon was coming and she could very well find out at the first full moon or the full moon at the end of the year. No matter how it happens, he wouldn’t let her find out the way she had to find out about the vamp (even if the vampire incident wasn’t intentional).
James also didn’t know how well she would cope with being in the castle where the shadows were endless. She probably wouldn’t want to be alone for any amount of time once she was out of the hospital wing. But he knew The Marauders wouldn’t let her be alone regardless of her wishes.
It was eight in the morning when Headmaster Dumbledore strode in; half-moon spectacles sitting halfway down his long crooked nose and a purple pointed hat with silver stars sitting atop his head.
“Good morning, Mr. Potter, how is our Miss White doing?” he inquired kindly.
“I don’t know, Headmaster; she woke up a few hours ago and seemed a bit haunted by the memory of…yesterday…” James said uncertainly.
“Well, things like these take time to get over I’m afraid. But she has you and the other three. I’m sure you’ll help her through,” said Dumbledore.
Then, with a final look at his favorite students, one that lay peacefully on her bed and the other watching over her with gentle eyes, he turned to the door, half-moon spectacles reflecting the oncoming light that poured through the windows from the early morning sun.
The morning was filled with visitors, for in came Remus next. He walked over to Addalynn and watched her skin glow in the sunlight.
”I hope she’s able to get over this, James…what if she’s been so traumatized by that vampire, that when she finds out about me- and you know she will ” she might be angry with me.”
His golden eyes still watched her deep breathing. Her chest rose and fell ever so unnoticeably that it seemed she wasn’t breathing at all. Her lips were rosy and pink just like the tint of her cheeks. Her long black eyelashes stood out beautifully against her pale skin. She looked so innocent and pure, and he felt so guilty for being such an unclean, demonic creature.
“Or worse; scared of me,” he whispered as an afterthought.
“Don’t worry about it, Remus, she’ll be fine. She doesn’t seem like the kind of person that would drop someone because they had a furry little problem. Besides, Moony, everyone has secrets,” James began, only to be cut off by Remus’ protest.
“I’m a werewolf, James; that’s a pretty nasty secret,” Remus argued. For a few minutes they waited in silence, neither of them knowing what to say to the other.
“How’s Sirius handling this? He told me last night he felt overwhelmingly guilty,” said James.
“He still doesn’t know if he could face her without breaking down. I told him he’ll never feel any better- even thought none of this was his fault ” if he didn’t talk to her about it,” Remus said.
“But do you think he will? She almost lost her soul, her life, everyone that cared about her (except for us of course). Sirius would never forgive himself if something like that happened to anyone,” James explained.
Sirius was trustworthy and undeniably loyal; he wouldn’t hurt anyone that he was even just remotely close to him (if, of course, they were on good terms).
“Alright you two, out of the way,” said a very disgruntled Madam Pomfrey.
She was shuffling to Addalynn, who Remus had noticed, was beginning to wake. Her tired eyes opened, and blinked as they adjusted to the morning sunlight. Pushing herself up with her arms she watched the nurse pour some nasty looking liquid into a spoon.
“Ma’am,” she started with an uncertain and un-wanting look on her face, “am I going to have to drink that?”
“Medicine doesn’t taste like cherries, m’dear. Now swallow all of it,” said the nurse as she handed the spoon to Addalynn, careful not to spill a single precious drop.
Deciding to suck it up she shoved the medicine into her mouth. It was the foulest thing she’d ever tasted; even for medicine. It burned her throat and stung her tongue. It was thick and gooey like molten tar and burned like fire equally so. Madam Pomfrey studied the spoon to be sure her patient had gotten it all down.
“That was by far the most disgusting thing I’ve ever had to do…” said Addie who was clutching her burning stomach.
“Well I’m terribly sorry but for someone who didn’t let herself go to sleep immediately after taking a sleeping potion,” Madam Pomfrey said in a fuss, “you’re going to need that to prevent nightmares.”
And she sauntered off, grumbling about how incredibly unsafe Hogwarts was; “Letting children run off on their own like that…” and such nonsense.
“Er, ma’am, may I go now?”
“Yes, yes, you can go,” she allowed, still walking with her back turned to the trio, waving the back of her hand at them. She came back only a few moments later with fresh robes for Addalynn and a screen to put up around her bed.
Once back in the dormitory, James and Remus went upstairs to talk to Sirius while Addalynn got ready in the girls’ dorm.
“Sirius, you need to see her,” James said rather defiantly.
“But she’ll never forgive me for telling that she had to go in there…” said a weary Sirius who was sitting on his bed with his head hanging in his hands.
“Padfoot! You’ll never feel any better until you talk to her…even if this wasn’t your fault…besides she didn’t get hurt,” Remus said walking to his friend.
“You didn’t suggest this, Moony…” said the young, handsome boy stonily, “you weren’t the one to suggest that she go into that forbidden shack. You didn’t almost cause an innocent girl to lose her life; to lose her soul,” he concluded darkly.
He stood up and faced his two best friends. A haunting look was lingering in the shadows of his stormy gray eyes. Sirius unfolded his tall frame to full height, towering over James and Remus.
“You have no guilt because this wasn’t your fault…”
“Sirius I’ve had enough of this guilt trip you’re taking. It wasn’t your fault; end of conversation. Now get out there and talk to her if you’re feeling like this! I really think she'll listen to you. She won't blow you off or yell at you. Addalynn probably doesn't blame you for any of this. If you tell her, she'll understand.” James said.
James walked to his best friend and grabbed his arm and shoved him to the door. Sirius stumbled and looked back at James with and unreadable mask. James gave Sirius one last look of defiance and nodded his head to the red door.
“She’s probably down in the common room all alone, waiting for us to come down,” James prodded.
Reluctantly, Sirius put one hand to the door and swung it open. Taking in deep, supposedly calming breaths, he descended the staircase to the bright red and gold lounge area.
Sure enough, there was no one except for Addie. She stood up expectantly when the echo of his soft footsteps reached her ears. A look of confusion crossed her face at his disgruntlement.
“Please, a fine lady such as yourself should be at her leisure whenever she pleases,” spoke Sirius in a surprisingly soft chiding voice, gesturing that she should sit back down. He sounded bitter and worried.
His brows were unusually furrowed together in uncertainty and his eyes reflected a pool of guilt. It was only noon and the sun was coming in through the window. It was a very cheery day outside, but Addalynn had the feeling that she wouldn’t get to enjoy it.
He pulled another chintz armchair in front of her so he could speak to her eye to eye. Gentle hazel eyes that glowed like sapphires, watched him with compassion. It was almost too much for him to bear to see Addalynn treat him so kindly after what had happened because of him.
“Addalynn, after I tell you this I expect you’ll never talk, or even look at me, ever again; but I need to tell you. I would be lying to you if I didn’t and that would be much worse,” he warned.
His loyal gray eyes darkened like the eye of a storm. “I had the idea of you going into the Shrieking Shack to find that letter…” his gaze fell to his hands that were wringing each other so painfully that his knuckles were turning white.
“And you almost lost your soul,” he continued, his eyes closed. “I don’t know what I’d do with myself if something like that happened to you….”
“Sirius, look at me,” said Addalynn firmly.
Determination engulfed her eyes, turning them a dark forest green; like emeralds. But she didn’t appear to be angry.
“Sirius, what happened was not your fault-“
“But, Addie you could’ve lost your soul…” he started. His voice began to shake with the horrors of what could’ve happened. “You could’ve died; you would’ve been lost to an everlasting nightmare and it would all be my fault…”
“Sirius, it was not your fault…” she tried to convince him.
“Please forgive me for putting you through that….” he pleaded.
His eyes had retreated to the floor again, but this time a soft hand lifted his gaze back to her face. Her touch was so gentle and almost unnoticeable. He expected her to let go, but instead her left hand came up as well and held the other side of his face.
“Would you have told me to go into that shack if you knew what was in there?”
“Of course not…”
“And did you leave me there when you heard me scream?”
“No…”
“Would you every hurt me intentionally?”
“Never, Addie, never….”
“Have you ever had that gut feeling that you know when someone is trustworthy?”
“Yes….”
“Then I suppose you know what it feels like to have three good friends that you would die for that would do the same in return…” she stated. He nodded his head slightly in agreement. "I may be new to the friendship thing, but I know enough about you to judge that you wouldn't do something like that to me."
“Yes…but what that vampire could’ve done to you was unforgivable, Addalynn.”
Releasing his face she sat all the way back in her chair with perfect posture and crossed her legs. Her hands rested comfortably on the armrests. From this position she was quite menacing and the emotions in her eyes were hard to decipher.
“That vampire didn’t get the chance to do anything to me because you and James and Remus came running the moment you heard me scream. Or at least, that's what I can assume happened as I was quite incapable of counting the seconds at the time. That more than makes up for anything you could’ve done to hurt me. But if it’s forgiveness you looking for then you will always have it from me whether you ask for it or not,” she said, her voice deep. She spoke clearly and slowly to make sure that he had caught every word.
“Thank you, Addalynn,” he said, finally looking up at her.
“You should not have to thank me for forgiving you, Sirius,” she stated.
The day went on as normally as it possibly could. Students were bustling about trying to finish their first week of homework. Most of the students were outside on this gloriously bright day playing Quidditch or simply fooling around in the fresh air.
But Addalynn, not feeling brave enough to venture outside with everyone else, nor scared enough to be forced out into sunlight, stayed in the library, in front of a large open window of course, content to read books and study.
Her studious behavior startled James and Sirius as they headed out to the Quidditch pitch. They had teased her, of course, to no end as she and Remus proceeded with their academic duties. Pouring over her books she found she couldn’t resist picking up a few fiction books. Reading nothing but facts in utterly boring and Latin based dialect was boring anyways. But something with the substance of adventure and the unknown was greatly intriguing.
She was growing increasingly tired after a few hours of hunching over dusty books and jotting down endless notes…her chin started to nod down to her chest and Remus noticed she was getting tired.
“James told me you didn’t rest well last night…maybe you should go back to your dormitory and get some sleep,” said Remus. He looked up at her with his sweet golden eyes, and for the first time, she noticed how tired he looked. Dark circles formed under his eyes, a long thin scar marked the very edge of his jaw, but was barely noticeable, and his face appeared very weak.
“Remus, are you alright?” she asked in sincere concern. She leaned forward a bit in her chair to study his face more closely.
“Oh I’m in perfect health,” he said with a strained grin, “I’m just a little worn out is all…long week you know. Listen, Addie, I really do think you should try and get some sleep. It’ll do you good, calm your mind some,” Remus suggested.
Once again, the subconscious paranoia caused her eyes to take more notice of the school’s shadows, and it was making her increasingly uncomfortable. She looked down the nearest isle of ancient, dust collecting, books, out of pure curiosity.
The shadows seemed to follow her around now. She noticed them more and more since the vampire incident. They seemed darker and appeared everywhere. No longer did she feel safe alone, but still, she didn’t know who was safe to be around. She knew she could trust Remus, James, and Sirius without question (so far as she thought for the moment). It was a little risky for her to be running on instinct, but she figured being a little impulsive was probably good for her.
“No, Remus, I’d rather stay here with you,” her worried tone concerned Remus, but her face calm as night.
Remus said nothing, and instead resumed in his ‘extra-curricular’ work. Addalynn thought he was researching for his Transfiguration essay, but he was in fact, researching vampires. They hadn’t really gone over them that much in Defense Against the Dark Arts in their fourth year and he decided it was high time he learned about them.
If they were left out in the sun without being in their coffin, they would be destroyed at the mercy of flames. They could be killed with a wooden stake driven through the heart (but you had to get close to them for that). A cross would keep them back; therefore they can’t set foot inside the House of God. He’d not found anything that he didn’t already know, so these musty old books were of no help to him.
It was around eight o’clock in the evening when the stars started to twinkle and moon began to shine. The dark blanket of night cast over the bleak horizon. The two put their books back onto their proper shelves or the librarian would become very upset (and that term is used lightly).
The mood had considerably lightened in the past hours between Remus and Addalynn. They joked about some of the teachers and James’ undying love for Lily Evans. They even dived into a deep philosophical discussion about the difference between being a fool and being foolish. Hours later they still hadn’t come to any conclusion.
Lighted torches scattered the stoned walls of Hogwarts and lit their way through the dark halls. They walked through an unusually dark corridor with a very carefree sense of being. Neither of them was paying the slightest bit of attention to their surroundings.
Addalynn sure wasn’t paying attention to the shadows that disappeared and reappeared with the dancing flames of the troches. For an early November night, it was quite dark out; but still neither of the two noticed.