YOU WERE GONE.

IVY FELT NUMB AS SHE SLOWLY WOKE UP — numb was the only way to describe it with how much pain potion was given to her. It hurt to peel her eyes open, but she managed it nonetheless, flinching at the bright light above her. She blinked a few more times before looking to her left when she realized she was in the hospital wing.

The next thing she realized was that Sirius was sitting to her right, his head down on the cot as he slept in an uncomfortable-looking position. At the foot of her bed was Harry, who was knocked out as well despite the sun coming through the window. It was midday, but they'd been up all night worrying about her.

Slowly, Ivy raised a hand to tap Sirius and wake him up, only to stop when she saw thin cuts on her hand that were still healing. She knew they'd fade to scars and then disappear completely, but not for a long time. And based on the pain she'd felt in the graveyard, she didn't need a mirror to know that they covered her whole body.

Though her eyes were watering, she still woke Sirius up, wanting to speak with him — wanting to make sure Harry was okay without waking the exhausted boy. Harry was, after all, a heavy sleeper and would remain asleep so long as they whispered.

"Siri," she murmured, running her fingertips over his cheek.

In an instant, Sirius was awake, striking grey eyes landing on her. And when he saw that she was conscious, he let out the biggest relieved sigh of his life before scooting close, wrapping his larger hand around hers.

"How are you feeling, Darling? Are you in pain? I'll get Madam—"

When he got up to move, she used all her strength — which wasn't much at the moment — to keep him in place. "Please, don't leave," she begged, her voice trembling from lack of use. "Don't leave, Siri."

"I won't," he promised, bringing her hand to his mouth to kiss her knuckles. "Val told us what happened in the graveyard."

"Is - is Cedric okay?" she asked, fearing the worst.

"He's two cots down, and Val is three — Madam Pomfrey said some nonsense about not putting you next to each other. Said neither of you would get any rest. And you can see Harry for yourself. Everyone made it out okay."

"Good," she said, still feeling a bit numb. "That's good."

"What happened to you, Ivy?" he asked her, knowing he couldn't skirt around it. "You - you were gone."

Ivy shook her head, a tear falling down her cheek. She didn't want to think about what she'd been through. "It was awful," she said before choking on a sob. "They used the Cruciatus Curse so many times. An - and they'd tell me that Harry was already dead. I was so scared."

Sirius moved closer and ran his fingers through her hair, undoing the knots gently. "You're safe now," he whispered, his lips hovering over her forehead.

"What about... Pettigrew?" she asked, almost scared to speak his name. "Where is he?"

"He's gone. He'll receive the Dementors' Kiss come morning. It's what he deserves," he told her. "Lucius Malfoy has been taken into custody as well along with Barty Crouch's son who has been pretending to be Professor Moody. Val wasn't able to identify any of the others in the graveyard, though."

"What if they come back?" she questioned, beginning to shake. "What if this just made them more mad than ever?"

"I'll never let them take you from me again, Darling," he promised, determined to keep that promise this time. "If you thought I was clingy before, just you wait. I won't leave you alone."

"Good," she said, leaning into his touch as he wiped the tears from her scarred cheeks. "I don't want you to ever leave."

| | |

Ivy had many visitors throughout the day — and much to Madam Pomfrey's annoyance, she, Valerie, and Cedric were yelling back and forth between each other, making sure they were all okay. The distance between their cots didn't hinder them at all.

Of course, Ivy spent a lot of time sleeping, as she was exhausted after being tortured for weeks on end. True to his word, Sirius didn't leave her bedside, not even when she had to answer the hard questions the Aurors asked about what happened to her while she was gone.

Her last visitor of the day was one she wasn't expecting — Draco.

His eyes were red, a sign he'd been crying just as much as she had, but for a wholly different reason. His father was awaiting trial and would likely be shipped off to Azkaban, leaving him alone with his mother.

"Oh, Dray," Ivy cooed, her heart breaking when she saw his crushed face.

And his expression only crumbled more as he saw the wounds covering her body. "I'm supposed to be the one feeling bad for you," he muttered before climbing into the cot with her, sitting on the opposite side of Sirius. "I'm so sorry, Ivy."

Careful with her wounds, she wrapped an arm around Draco, holding him close. "I've told you before and I'll tell you again — you aren't your father, Draco."

"What if I am just like him?"

"You're not," Harry said, shaking his head. Just like Sirius, he'd refused to leave the hospital wing. "I wouldn't have a crush on you if you were a git."

Despite being upset, Draco managed to scoff as if everything was fine. "You have a crush on me, Potter? How embarrassing."

"You're the one that asked him to the Yule Ball," Sirius reminded him with a teasing smile. "But Draco, take it from someone who knows what you're going through — someone who was raised by the equivalent of evil incarnate. You are who you choose to be, not who your parents shape you to be."

"Thanks, Sirius," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"Well, that's what cousins are for — to sway you from the dark path that your blood calls you to."

Ivy lightly swatted his chest at that, and Sirius just caught her wrist and kissed her hand. Then she looked at Draco again. "Are you going to be okay with just your mother?"

Draco hesitated, genuinely unsure of that answer. He didn't even know who his mother was when she wasn't being told how to act and dress by Lucius. "I... I know it can't get worse, at least. Mum just wants me to be safe — always has."

"That's what we want too," Harry said. "And you know that if you ever feel unsafe this summer, you can come to us."

"I know," he nodded. "And I will."

| | |

It was several days before Ivy was well enough to Apparate home, and just the trip took a lot out of her. She didn't exactly protest when Sirius swooped her up in his arms and carried her to his room so that she could rest. And for once, Kreacher didn't complain when Sirius ordered him around simply because he was telling him to help Ivy, the Pureblood he was so devoted to.

And it was safe to say that Sirius was more affectionate than normal, which was a lot because he was already very affectionate. Harry was a bit nauseated at the sight of him always holding her, resting his face in her neck, and pulling her onto his lap. But he didn't dare complain, knowing that Ivy had been missing for months, and the physical touch was bringing comfort to both of them.

"Mistress Ivette," Kreacher said, bringing a tray of soup up to Ivy's room. "Master Black has made soup."

A second later, Sirius ran into the room, Kreacher having beat him. "I said I could bring it up, Kreacher."

"Kreacher wants to take care of Mistress Ivette," the House Elf said, putting the tray on Ivy's lap, who smiled sweetly at him. "Does Mistress need anything else?"

"No thank you, Kreacher," she said. "Thank you very much. I appreciate your hard work."

Kreacher bowed and then let himself out, and Sirius rolled his eyes at his behavior — he'd never been so polite when Sirius was growing up.

"You're too kind to him," he grumbled, coming to sit next to Ivy on the bed.

"I think you're just jealous," Ivy teased while sitting up with Sirius' help. "I'm Kreach's favorite and Harry is Dobby's. You don't have a House Elf to dote on you."

"I don't need another House Elf. We've already one too many," he grumbled. "And it's my job to take care of you, not Kreacher's."

"So you are jealous," she said with a sly smile.

"Well, I did make the soup, not Kreacher. He's taking credit for my hard work."

Ivy laughed at that. "He told me you made it. Thank you, by the way," she said, leaning up to kiss the underside of his jaw.

"You're welcome. Now, eat up," he said. "Then we're going down to the pool. Poppy said swimming is a good, low-strain exercise for physical therapy."

In an instant, Ivy's face paled, and he noticed, which worried him. "What's wrong, Bunny?"

"C - Can we not go near the pool?" she asked, looking down.

He studied her scared expression, not understanding her sudden fear. She used to love swimming. "Tell me what's happened."

"When... they weren't using curses," she mumbled, tears welling in her eyes, "they would force my head underwater. I thought they'd drown me with how long they kept me under. I just - I just don't want to swim, if that's alright with you."

"Of course, we won't," he said gently, hiding his clenched fist from her. He wanted to fly right to Azkaban and end Lucius Malfoy's life — along with Barty Crouch Jr. and Peter Pettigrew, even though Peter was already a lifeless shell after receiving the Kiss. "Maybe you and Harry can throw a Quaffle around. He's out of practice what with Quidditch being canceled last term."

"I'd like that. I mean, I've never been on a broom, but I can learn."

Sirius pulled back from her in disbelief. "You've never been on a broom?"

"Mother always said proper ladies weren't meant to ride them," she said, frowning a little at the thought of her mother. "Much less play Quidditch."

"That's it then. All summer will be dedicated to turning you into an expert flyer."

"But what if I fall off? Harry broke his arm and lost his bones because of flying."

"My bones grew back just fine, thanks," Harry said, standing in the doorway. "I'm headed to Ron's, and then Draco is coming over. Just wanted to say goodbye."

"Have fun and don't get into any trouble," Ivy requested.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Sirius said in a firm tone, which neither of them took seriously. Even he smirked. "Which isn't a long list, admittedly."

Ivy shook her head and looked at Harry. "Don't do anything your godfather would do."

| | |

"Remus, I'm fine. Stop babying me!" Val snapped as the werewolf yet again came to her flat to make sure she was all right.

"You were tortured, Val. And Ivy isn't well enough herself to check on you," Remus sighed.

"I'm fine!" she snapped, swallowing thickly. "It was nothing compared to what she went through. I'm fine."

"You're not, though," he said, shaking his head. "You could have died that night."

"But I didn't," she shot back, grabbing a mug to fill with hot water so she could have some tea. "Look, I think you're projecting, Remus. I really am—"

"Don't say you're fine," he said sharply. "You aren't sleeping. You aren't eating. And they said you haven't been into work since it happened."

Rather than face her feelings, Val just scoffed playfully. "What? You're stalking me now?"

"Call it keeping an eye on you," he muttered. Then Remus grabbed a teabag and handed it to her. "I've been through this war before, Valerie. I know the effects it has."

"It's not the same, though," she said, still wanting to pretend like everything was okay. "You-Know-Who is dead. His followers will die out eventually. They're powerless without him."

"Yeah, because a group so powerless could start a riot, infiltrate the safest school in the world, rig the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and kidnap Ivy while keeping her hidden for months," he said sarcastically. "You're smart, Val. You know this isn't over."

She shut her eyes and huffed angrily — she was angry at herself, not Remus. "What do you wanna hear, Rem? That I was terrified for myself and the others in that graveyard? That I thought I was going to die — that I wanted to when that curse hit me?" she asked, her voice raising. Merlin, she hated that tears welled up in her eyes. "Want me to admit that I'm way in over my head with this Auror stuff? That — fuck!"

When she choked on a sob, Remus brought the younger girl into his arms, letting her cry into his chest.

"You're going to be okay," he murmured, kissing the top of her head. "And we're going to win this thing."

Val nodded into his chest in agreement. "Even if it kills us all."