Disclaimer: The OC's in this plot as well as fragments of the plot were created by me. The story title comes from a song of the same name by Taylor Swift, I do not claim ownership to it. Everything else belongs to the amazing J.K Rowling. Thank you for reading.
When Coralie woke up the next morning, she was half surprised that the Dreamless Sleep potion Madam Pomfrey had bought her before she had gone to sleep had even worked. She’d been so nervous about Nathaniel that she had been sure that some kind of dream would have slipped through, true to its name though, not a single dream made its way into her mind.
Now that she was awake though, it was a completely different story. Her mind was hell bent on exploring absolutely every single possibility of the way Nathaniel and Sirius’ conversation could play out. First she had imagined the violent ending, they had been screaming at each other and then began to throw hexes at one another until they both ended up in the Hospital wing. Another turn out had been Sirius admitting it, though Coralie knew otherwise she could see Sirius agreeing just to annoy the hell out of Nathaniel. Either way, or any of the other ways she had thought about- it wouldn’t be pretty.
“Anyone home in there?” Coralie snapped herself back into focus, noticing that Angus was now sitting on the edge of the bed and staring at her with teasing eyes.
“Just dreaming about a little brother who actually comes to visit me” She teased, poking his tongue out at him. He laughed in return and stuck his tongue back out at her.
“I see you’re feeling better” He teased, crossing his legs on the end of her bed. She smiled down at him and shifted her legs a little so he could sit comfortably.
“I found out who did this” She whispered and the smile was immediately wiped from his face, the look in his eyes told her to go on when he couldn’t find the words. “It was Shelena, I know you’re going to say that I’m just being prejudiced but she came in her last night and told me to my face”
“Are you sure?” Angus asked worriedly, she gave one stiff nod and he closed his eyes and bit down on his lip. “I have to tell Jacob now, I’ll be back later though. Promise!” He said, tearing out of the hospital wing quicker than Coralie had the chance to reply. She could hardly believe how mature her little brother had grown up to be in such a short time.
Dear Lily,
I’m afraid this letter may not make much sense, I begged your sister to send it for me but she refused, you know how she gets but I am writing this letter so that I can inform you that your father has fallen ill. He was perfectly fine the other night but he started complaining about chest pains and you know how paranoid I can be, needless to say we took him to the Doctor’s and they believe he has an infection of some kind. They say he will get better but I didn’t want to keep you in the dark. I hope you are enjoying school anyway and we all love and miss you back at home
Mum, xoxo.
Lily could hear her heart beating wildly in her chest. No, it couldn’t be true. Her father was brilliant, he loved everyone and everything no matter what. He couldn’t be sick. Despite what her mother said, she knew what infections and chest pains could mean- he had a hard road in front of him and Lily found herself praying that he would pull through. She couldn’t live without him, he had to pull through.
“Lily?” A voice asked, she realised it to be James’ instantly and so she wiped the tear from under her eye and put on a brave face.
“Yes, Potter?” She asked, trying desperately to pretend that there was absolutely nothing wrong with her or anything part in her life right now. Oh, how hard she tried. It didn’t last long though, he only had to send her that questioning look and she had burst into tears.’
“Oh Merlin, Lily- I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you cry, oh please stop!” He begged and if Lily hadn’t received that letter from her mother, she would have laughed about how much of a little boy he sounded like when he begged but her situation changed her entire reaction, instead she found herself crying harder.
“I’m sorry” She managed to get out between her sobs just as he had somehow managed to move next to her and wrap his arms around her.
“It’s alright. Do you want to talk about it?” He asked softly and Lily could hardly believe her ears. She’d been told that James really had a good heart inside from many people- Coralie, Miranda, Alice and many others but she had never believed them, but in that moment she began to realise that they may have been right.
“My dad” She whispered, holding back another sob before she continued. “He’s sick” James stared at her solemnly before squeezing her arm softly.
“I’m so sorry Lily” He whispered, before adding. “I hope he gets better soon though. If he is anything like you Lils, then he’ll pull through” Lily nodded and chuckled softly, her mother always told her that she had the same temper as him. She was so much more like him than her.
“Thank you James, honestly” She smiled at him, “I owe you for this” He smiled right back at her, squeezing her arm again before letting his hand fall back to his side.
“Just happy to be of your service Miss Evans” James joked, taking Lily’s hand in his and kissing it softly. “And remember, I’ll always be around if you ever need me. Seriously, any time of the day and anywhere. I’ll be there”
“Thank you James” Lily whispered once more, letting James disappear back into a corridor with a tiny smile on his face.
Coralie smiled over at Nathaniel, grateful that he hadn’t ended up going after Sirius the night before and had instead spent his evening studying different wizard poisons. She was even more grateful when he whole-heartedly believed her when she said it was Shelena who made the drink, though Nathaniel still seemed to believe that the drink could have been made for either of them. It was a valid point, she hated both of them so even having one of them down would be much easier for her.
“When do you think Madam Pomfrey will let you out of here?” Nathaniel asked, snapping Coralie back into reality. “Has she even worked out which poison Millen used yet?” He added, sending a glare in the direction of said healer’s office.
“Nate, don’t insult her while I’m still stuck in here” Coralie said, her eyes widening slightly to make her point. “She’s been looking after other people as well, She’ll figure it out soon!” Nathaniel rolled his eyes, Coralie knew that he thought Madam Pomfrey to be useless though Coralie herself felt differently. “And as for when I’ll be out, it could be any time this week”
“I don’t like you being in here” Nathaniel said truthfully, running his fingers through his hair before Coralie laced their fingers together in order to calm him down. “She can get to you far too easily in her for my liking” Though the sentiment was sweet Coralie couldn’t help but to roll her eyes at him.
“She can get to me just as easily in my own bed” Coralie replied seriously, while the thought was scary in itself it was completely true. What was stopping Shelena from using a little vial of poison during the night to knock Coralie off?
“At least then you have the girls to look after you, Lily and I have already agreed that we need to look out for you more” Nathaniel retorted with a smug smile, as a Ravenclaw he loved being able to show off his wit against Coralie who sometimes found it a little tiresome.
“What in Merlin’s name were you doing talking to Lily?” Coralie asked, a little bit of anger seeping through in her voice. She had always tried her best to keep calm but there were always those little things that threatened to snap her in two.
“I didn’t tell her about Shelena, we just both agreed that we need to make sure you were never alone” Coralie scoffed, the idea was absolutely stupid. Sure, she’d been frightened by what Shelena had done but that didn’t mean she was willing to lose her freedom.
“That’s not going to happen Nate” She said, squishing the anger inside of her down as much as she possibly could. “I need time alone, I need to be able to think sometimes”
“You will be able to think” Nathaniel breathed, rubbing his eyes slightly. It was obvious that he too was fighting down his anger. “I just want to look after you, okay?”
“I know” Coralie whispered and he smiled brightly, knowing that he had won over her. “Just be warned, I already have a big brother to protect me- I don’t need another one” Nathaniel let his smile falter for a minute before he shook his head and sighed in relief, leaning back into the chair.
Angus,
I’m not completely sure whether I understood your letter correctly, you mean to tell me that Coralie was poisoned by the Millen girl? I hope this is some kind of sick joke, for that bitch’s sake at least- I’m going to tear her apart.
I’ve told Violet and she demands to know whether Coralie is alright, we plan to pop over to Hogsmeade village next week so you and Coralie can meet up with us and tell us absolutely everything you know- no holding back or keeping anyone safe. We need to step our protection up and it seems they have stepped up their attack. Make sure you keep an eye on Cora and our cover story for mother is that she got food poisoning.
Enjoy the rest of the week and remember to keep Allisyn posted.
Jacob and Violet.
Authors Note: And there you go, Chapter Forty Two! Sorry this chapter is quite a lot smaller than usual, I promise the next chapter picks up. Not much to say this time guys but I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I will you see on Monday with Chapter Forty Three!
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