OCTOBER 3RD -- TWO DAYS LATER

     BY OCTOBER THIRD, THE ENTIRE SCHOOL KNEW WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO CRESSIDA THORNE. Everyone knew that she drank an unfortunate amount of the Draught of Peace, thinking it was water and has not woken up since. Everyone knew that it was the Marauders who had found her, and many speculated that they had been the ones to poison her in the first place (although no evidence was given).

     Every student had their own suspicions of what had happened, therefore the halls were always lit up with gossip and conversation. Some were calling Cressida stupid; thinking she was unable to tell the difference between water and a draught. Others said she had a death wish; there was no way she couldn't tell the difference between water and the draught.

     Only four people in the entire school tried to make the rumors disappear, but it was not working. Those four people were Thomas Thorne, James Potter, Pandora Rosier, and Aurelia Custelle. Thomas knew his sister was not stupid, and the moment he spent the night with James Potter in the infirmary, he knew there was something more to the story. However, Thomas was not blaming James; he had been kind to him after all.

     James Potter hated hearing the gossip; his own guilt ate away at him constantly, even though it wasn't his fault. It wasn't anyone's fault really -- more like a failure of a lie that led to disaster. But, even so, he never contributed to the gossip.

     Just last week, James Potter would have jumped at the opportunity to relay gossip about any Slytherin, especially Cressida, but that had changed. He was partially responsible for her being on the edge of death, so he wasn't going to harm her further.

     Besides, maybe when she wakes up (James hadn't given up hope yet), the girl will like him better. Or maybe James was making up false scenarios in his head to help him cope....the Gryffindor never could tell the difference.

     Pandora Rosier was never fond of gossiping. She hated talking about someone behind their backs -- especially if it was slander. The blonde Ravenclaw worried deeply for Cressida's health and constantly asked Madam Pomfrey if there was anything she could do to help. Pandora enjoyed messing around with potions, so she hoped to create an antidote like Professor Slughorn was trying to do; but still, it was to no avail.

     And lastly, Aurelia Custelle.

     Aurelia wouldn't call herself a close friend of Cressida's, not yet at least, but she had grown a liking to her. When Aurelia first heard the news from Regulus, she believed him to be joking. Turns out, he was not. The blonde had raced to the infirmary, fearing the worst, but Madam Pomfrey was not letting anyone inside unless they had a serious injury.

     So Aurelia spent the next two days by herself, missing the company Cressida always supplied her. It had gotten to the point where she debated going to Mary and Marlene, but decided against it. Cressida wouldn't want to her, so she wouldn't.

     Regulus was not contributing to any rumors, but he was not fighting against them. The youngest Black was never keen on conflict, so he spend his time avoiding it. Mostly, he was angry. Regulus was so angry with Sirius and the other Marauders, that he feared he'd lash out at anyone over the smallest things -- therefore he steered clear from people altogether.

     If his own brother had just murdered his best, and only friend, Regulus would never forgive Sirius. And at this point, Regulus' hope was depleting; he didn't see a reason to believe she'd ever wake up. If all the facts and books say she won't, then it's most likely that she won't.

     No one can escape death.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

     The Gryffindor table at the Great Hall was silent. Remus, still feeling the after-effects of the full moon, ate his breakfast toast carefully. He glanced over at Sirius, missing the usual charmful glint wandering in the Black's eyes. Sirius tried to act normal, but everyone knew it was a facade. Sirius couldn't be acting further from the truth.

     He's never killed anyone, nor would he like to, but all these rumors floating around and having practically poisoned Cressida Thorne has been destroying him. He believed the safest option would be to ignore it head-on -- pretend nothing is amiss -- but it was physically impossible.

     Remus shoved Sirius' shoulder, getting his attention, "What classes do you have today?"

     Remus didn't even need to ask; all the Marauders knew each other's schedules by heart, but he still asked.

     "Hm?" Sirius was brought back from his thoughts. On instinct, he went a little defensive, but upon realizing it was just Remus, he relaxed. "Muggle Studies, Potions, and Transfiguration... same as you."

     Stupid question to ask, Remus thought. All four boys have the same classes on Wednesdays. He looked at Peter for help.

     Understanding perfectly what Remus was trying to say, Peter stated, "We get to go to Hogsmeade this weekend. We need to re-stock our supply on Zonko's, so that'll be fun."

     "Oh, yeah. Speaking of which, we need more dungbombs." James took another bite of his cauldron cake; they were his favorites. "I gave our last one to Thomas Thorne the other day." The four boys waited for James to add something else to his sentence -- something he always says.

     Peter furrowed his eyebrows, "Are you going to ask Evans to go with you, again?"

     Shaking his head, James replied, "Nah, not feeling up to it this week. Maybe next time."

     A few seats further away, Lily Evans heard the entire conversation. She gasped a little, finding hope that James will finally get the hint that she doesn't like him. The red-head looked over to Marlene, making sure she heard it as well.

     Marlene brought her voice to almost a whisper, "Am I hallucinating, or did Potter just say that?"

    "He did," Mary looked over to Lily slyly, "How are you feeling, Miss Evans?"

     Lily managed a smile, "I can't believe that just happened -- but he did just say it was for this week only," she groaned. "Ugh, if he goes back to pestering me next time I'm not sure what I'll do. Now that I'm thinking on it, why do you reckon he said next time and not this weekend? Surely it can't be over the whole Thorne situation, right?"

     Marlene rested her elbows on the large, wooden table and leaned closer to the two girls. "I think it is; everyone's mood has been off lately. Some are celebrating the Slytherin Princess' demise, and others are worried. I think he's worried, or else the entire castle would be lit up in fireworks and Sirius' awful singing voice."

     "I spoke with her just hours before all of this happened; she didn't seem like the type of person James Potter would stress over, don't you think? But I'm glad some maturity got knocked into him and he's worried over someone that's not himself," Lily responded.

     Mary grimaced as she saw who walked into the Great Hall. "Speaking of people who aren't acting like themselves...."

     Marlene caught her stare and frowned, "Aurelia."

     The blonde made her way to the Slytherin table, sitting next to Barty and Evan. Regulus hadn't shown his face at the Great Hall since yesterday, and Aurelia didn't have any other people to sit with, so she went to Barty and Evan.

     Mary sighed, "It's been months, Marley. Can't we have one of those sad and mushy make ups?

     "No, she was wrong so she has to come to us and apologize. My ego doesn't do well otherwise." Marlene attempted to liven up the mood, but it failed. Marlene had also dearly missed Aurelia, but was wondering if Aurelia was missing her. If these past few months had proven anything, it was that Aurelia didn't care.

     Lily watched the interaction between the two girls. She sighed, "Oh for goodness sake. I'm losing my sanity just listening to this." The redhead abruptly stood up from the table and began walking toward the Slytherin table across the room. She caught Severus' glance and sent him a small wave. She hadn't talked to him much this year and made a mental note to catch up with him sometime.

     Lily finally arrived to where Evan, Barty, and Aurelia were sitting. Barty looked up at her, grossed out. "What are you doing here, Mudblood?"

     After years of being called slurs, Lily would be lying if she said it didn't affect her anymore. But, she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of a reaction, so Lily ignored him. Instead, she faced Aurelia. "Mary and Marlene wanted to talk to you. Please come, I can't bare their whining anymore."

     Aurelia thought of a snarky comment to throw at Lily but decided against it. If Mary and Marlene were ready to apologize, maybe she'll hear them out. "I'll be right back," the blonde said to Evan and Barty before getting up from her seat and following Lily to the Gryffindor table.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

OCTOBER 7TH -- SUNDAY

     The Quidditch game on Friday had gone terribly. It was Regulus' first game as a Seeker and he completely screwed it up. He had been distracted and not in the correct mental state for a game; his thoughts dwelled on Cressida.

     Noah understood perfectly, though, so he did not kick him off the team immediately like he would have with any other person. Noah wasn't struggling as much, but he still felt uneasy knowing his sister could officially die at any given moment. The draught should have gotten to her heart and lungs by now, stopping her from surviving any longer. But for some unknown reason, the girl was still miraculously alive.

     Gryffindor had won the Quidditch game and they still threw a mini party -- 'tradition waits for no one', as Sirius had said. James attended for a bit, wanting to get completely wasted alongside the eldest Black.

     Mary and Marlene were on the road to making peace with Aurelia. They had apologized -- in their own, strange ways -- but it was progressing. Aurelia was still not sitting with them in classes or during meals, but she was at least greeting them in the hallways and not sending scowls every few seconds.

     Aurelia was not an easy forgiver. If someone had hurt her, she'd make sure they did their penance. Mary and Marlene had apologized, but now they need to fight for their friendship.

     Thomas Thorne was losing sleep. His break from school given by Flitwick was coming to an end on Monday, but he wasn't sure if he could focus on classes at all right now. He had written to his parents asking for advice, however, they'd been unresponsive.

     He also visited the infirmary every single day, for long hours until Madam Pomfrey had to kick both him and James Potter out. Regulus would visit sometimes, but he didn't like staying for too long; it made it seem too real. Regulus knew he was still in denial, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

OCTOBER 11TH -- THURSDAY

     James and Thomas had created a daily tradition of going to the infirmary for the entire day after classes ended, do homework together (James would help Thomas with his), and then play games toward the night.

     James was appalled to learn that Thomas was unfamiliar with games such as Wizard's Chess, Exploding Snap, and Runok Ko. Of course, the brunet taught them all to the small boy, and was beginning to enjoy his company.

     James would light on fire one of his school parchments at night since Madam Pomfrey would turn off all the lights. Thomas tried arguing that Lumos would work as well, but James said that using a spell was boring; fire gave both warmth and comfort as well as light. The burning paper would hover between the two boys as they continued their playing of various games.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

OCTOBER 16TH, TUESDAY

     Regulus Black finally decided to man up and go to the infirmary. It was the first time he's done so in a week, but even before then, he would only visit briefly. At first, Regulus was in denial. First, his brother had distanced himself from the Black family (although Regulus couldn't blame him), and now his best friend was slowly slipping away, too. If Cressida was gone, he would have no one left.

     He sat down in the chair next to her laid, unconscious body, and averted his eyes away. Nothing in her appearance had changed since October 1st, quite scarily actually. It seemed like no time had passed at all -- when it had.

     Regulus took a deep breath and reminded himself not to get up and walk away. His hands began fiddling with each other.

     If Cressida did not wake up in two days, they would be sending her to St. Mungo's indefinitely. That would mean that she would be taken away, most likely forever. So, this might be one of the last chances Regulus has to talk to her as if nothing was wrong. He'll pretend for now.

     "Um," he began, figuring out what to say, "These past two weeks have been pretty boring. You're not missing out on anything, don't worry."

     He waited for a response, but then remember that was impossible. "Dumbledore had a big speech in the Great Hall just a few days ago; I swear that man had something in his tea -- none of what he was saying made sense. But then again, that was usual." Regulus leaned back further into his chair. He brought out his wand and began playing around with it.

     "Rosier and Crouch have become less unbearable. I think you'd like them. They're helping host the Halloween party back in our common room in a week and a half. I was never fond of dressing up and the idea of Halloween, but I know you love it so I might attend this time. Just this once, though."

     Regulus sighed, "Merlin, Cress. I actually thought about harming Sirius over this whole," he gestured to her, "situation. I just get so violent sometimes and have those thoughts. I don't know what to do with them."

     "Lately, I've been hesitant to go home, but I don't enjoy being at Hogwarts either. Something big is coming Cressida, I can feel it and so can my parents. I know what's coming and I'm trying to do what I do best; run away and avoid. It's difficult, and it's getting harder by the minute. I know I shouldn't even be talking about this and my parents would.... do things if they found out I was, but I don't have anyone else to talk about this with," Regulus' right leg began bouncing with anxiety. "Fuck, this is messing with my head. I can't think straight."

     "The worst part is, part of me is excited for what's coming. Is that messed up? Probably. But there are rumors of someone rising to power who can better the Wizarding World. Someone who can put an end to the Ministry's biased views and rid the Wizarding population of dirty bloods permanently," Regulus took another breath to even his breathing. "I wanted to ask your opinion over this, but I can't, so you're just going to listen to what I have to say."

     "This is new, and so far it looks promising. This...Dark Lord can make our world better. My mother said I'd be a great recruit for the Dark Lord's mission, but that's the only part I'm worried about. However, this is something I don't think I can avoid -- it'll happen sooner or later."

     Regulus gave a dry chuckle, "Sorry, I went on a tangent. But I was being honest, I considered actually murdering Sirius," he frowned, "I think he would deserve it, too. I just get so angry sometimes..."

     Regulus bowed his head into his hands. His thoughts were all over the place.

     On the bed, the girl's fingers twitched ever so slightly.

     The boy hadn't noticed; his attention was elsewhere.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

     Cressida Thorne had spent the past two weeks in the place between life and death, fighting for her life. She had gotten weaker by the second, but kept pushing forward. Funnily enough, the place between life and death had looked awfully like King's Cross Station. She supposed that was where she had the happiest memories, so the 'purgatory' so to speak, would take the form of the station.

     The entire place was a bright shade of white, except for one archway leading in the direction of Hogwarts. She figured that archway was where she needed to go, but it wasn't all that easy.

     Since she had taken the Draught of Peace, her exhaustion prevented Cressida from reaching the archway within seconds. It had been like her feet were spelled to the ground, unable to move. The girl had spent days fighting for them to move, and then another handful of days trying to travel.

    It had been hell.

    She was isolated and alone, tired out of her mind, and feeling hopeless. But Cressida never stopped fighting.

    After what felt like forever, she finally pushed through and managed to cross the archway.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

     Cressida Thorne's eyes begged to open. She forced her fingers to move, feeling the blood flowing through them again. Her lungs yearned for a large intake of breath since the draught had slowed her breathing rate, so she did.

     Cressida managed to turn her head to the side, squinting still from the fatigue and weight of her eyelids. Her vision was blurry, but she could somewhat make out who was sitting next to her. She could recognize her best friend's figure from miles away.

     Regulus was still looking down, forcing himself to stop having violent thoughts. He brushed his fingers through his hair roughly, not caring that he was only harming himself in the process.

     Cressida shook her head, finding a screwed-up amount of humor in the scene. Instead of a spiteful chuckle, only a whispered groan managed to escape her lips. "I'm going to kill Sirius Black."

     Regulus' head shot up with his eyes wider than ever. He jumped up from his seat and hovered over Cressida's body. His head shook furiously in disbelief. Upon seeing that it wasn't his mind playing evil tricks on him (which he felt were justified), Regulus allowed a heavy sob to sound.

     The boy never cried in front of other people, ever -- but this was the only exception he'd allow himself to make.

     "Cress," Regulus grabbed the girl's hand tightly; his eyes darted all over her face. "Pomfrey!" he called, "POMFREY!" This was real, it was happening. "Merlin, Cress. Don't you ever fucking do that again." Although he was trying to be angry, it was physically impossible.

     Cressida tried to lean her body forward but didn't have the strength to do so. She's never seen Regulus so happy before, it even managed to spring a smile on her own face. Her voice was still raspy for it had not been used in ages. "I can do whatever the fuck I want, Reg."

    Regulus grinned, there she was.

     He spent five minutes making sure the girl was okay. Madam Pomfrey was nowhere to be seen so he was taking matters into his own hands. Regulus checked her temperature, heart rate, gave her water, and told her to rest and build strength (to which she replied by smacking his head).

     "I'm fine, Regulus!" she raised her voice and immediately regretted it. She winced at the strain. A wave of nausea hit her, but it left as quickly as it came. Probably some lasting side effects, she thought.

     Regulus grumbled, not liking how unserious Cressida was treating the situation. As his mouth moved to speak, he could feel the dried stain of his tears. "I thought you were dead, everyone did," he lowered his tone once more. "Even the professors... they believed there was no antidote. Bloody hell, you have no idea the stress everyone was going through two weeks ago."

     Cressida forced her body to move. She pressed her back against the headboard and relaxed her muscles for a quick moment. She cleared her throat, still finding pain in speaking. "Two bloody weeks?" the girl groaned at the soreness but still managed to throw an insult. She always had the ability to slander the Marauders, no matter the situation. "That git, I swear I'll end his life. Firewhiskey my arse."

    "The firewhiskey's not the point, Cressida." Although Regulus felt the same, he wasn't sure if Cressida heard any of what he told her while she was knackered, so he wasn't going to agree. "How do you feel?"

     "Emotionally or physically?" she asked with a soft voice, "There are two different answers for that."

     "Physically first."

     "Tired, but not tired at the same time. Does that make sense? My body feels stiff and my muscles are weak, but I'm not sleepy enough to actually fall asleep. I just need to get up and move again; I'm miffed in this bed," she paused, feeling around under the covers. Her eyes widened in disgust, "And sweaty."

     Regulus always knew the girl was high maintenance (just as he is), so to be in a sweaty bed must be wrecking her. But even so, he faintly smiled knowing that at least her personality remained intact. "And emotionally?"

     "Spiteful. How dare that daft idiot says that vial was firewhiskey? Who on Earth would turn down a glass of alcohol after a long day? If I resented him before then I hate him now. And for the others just to stand there and watch? It was like they were waiting for that moment for years."

     Regulus shrugged, "I thought so, too." He let the girl continue her rant, knowing she had a lot to let out.

     She spoke more about murder and her feelings of hatred against Regulus' older brother. Cressida had to pause from moment to moment to clear her voice or rest her head against the bed's headboard. It was clear that sudden movement was causing her discomfort, yet she didn't stop.

     "Cressida," he pulled her out of her thoughts of homicide, "You're alive. You fucking survived a draught that should have killed you. That's what's important right now," he paused as if reading her mind, "You can get back at those insignificant pricks later."

     "But --" Cressida paused, knowing she did no have the energy now patience to argue with him at the moment. She felt her body weakening instantly, washing over her like a wave. It may have been possible that her sudden burst of energy from earlier was simply adrenaline, but now the side effects were hitting her strongly.

     She internally panicked. What if she didn't wake up from sleeping again? Would she ever willingly fall asleep ever again? Cressida knew that she was still processing the fact that she was dead for two weeks -- and could have permanently been -- so she bit her lip with anxiety.

     Death had knocked on her door and she didn't answered.

     She took a deep breath as if forcing her lungs to stay active since they hadn't been the day before. Cressida knew one thing for sure: she never wanted to feel so weak ever again.

     The girl grimaced at her thoughts and forced herself to look on the bright side. The bright side was that her best friend was sitting next to her. She placed her hand gently on top of Regulus', "Thank you for being here with me."

     Regulus felt a pang of guilt as he sat down in the chair and waited for Madam Pomfrey to arrive. He had rarely ever visited the infirmary and was pissed to admit that James fucking Potter had been the one to most spend time with Cressida. But that was all his own fault; he was to blame.

     "Of course."

     Cressida closed her eyes with a hum, "Now if you don't mind, I'll be blacking out again...."

     Regulus shot out of his seat once more with worry and started calling for Madam Pomfrey again.

a/n:

there's a deeper meaning as so why cressida's "limbo" is also king's cross like harry's if anyone wants to try and figure it out!