Within You, Without You

I was awake before I opened my eyes. I felt like I had slight amnesia because although I could remember who I was and everything, I could not remember anything leading up to having me laying down in what I assumed was a bed and sleeping. Was I just waking up for the day? No, that doesn't seem right. Then what-

And then, it all came back to me. Memory always has to be a bitch like that, doesn't it? To come back and slap you in the face all at once. I fell into the fire in the common room.

I fell into the fire in the common room.

...Well I felt pretty pathetic.
Okay so I fell into the fire in the common room...and then something pushed me off to the side and out of the fire...and then I blacked out and now I am in a bed. It's probably safe to guess that I am in the Hospital Wing.
I tried to think of who pushed me out of the fire though. I mean, the common room was empty...

I opened my eyes slowly, adjusting to all the light that surrounded me.

"Oi! You're awake!" I heard someone call out and footsteps trampled over to me. I smiled to see that Fred, George and Lee were standing there looking at me, all with faces of relief and worry.

More footsteps were then making their way towards me. "Alright boys, I know you're happy that your friend is awake, but I need to talk to her," Madam Pomfrey told them.

"No, Madam Pomfrey, it's okay. They can hear what you have to say to me. It's fine if they stay," I told her.

The woman looked at me carefully and then finally gave in. "Alright, fine. You got burnt pretty bad in some places. The burns you got on your face and upper body weren't too bad and I was able to clean them up and get rid of them right away so you don't need to worry about them. The burns on your hands though, well, they're a different story. They got a lot of damage. Usually I am able to get rid of burns not matter how bad but for some reason your hands took in a lot of damage and won't go away with just magic. So they need to be bandaged up, and need to stay bandaged up until further notice. They will heal, they just need time," Madam Pomfrey explained to me. I lifted my hands up and looked at them - bandaged from fingertips to my wrists. Well this is embarrassing. It's pretty much having a sign saying "I am stupid" hung around me for an indefinite amount of time. I put my hands down as Madam Pomfrey told me she'd come back in a bit to change my bandages and went to help other patients out.

I looked at the three of them. "So did one of you-" I started off.

"I did," Fred said quickly. "I got into the common room right when you started falling and uh, well I pushed you out of the fire and I put it out and brought you here as quick as possible." He explained hurriedly.

"You were knocked out for a bit," George added.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"It's six at night," George told me. "Lucy...how did you fall into the fire?" The three of them looked at me curiously.

I felt myself shrink three times as small in the bed as they stared at me and I stayed quiet. How do I explain this to them? Without running them off? They'll think I'm bonkers and bugger off for sure if I told them.

"Hey I think dinner is just about to begin," Lee said, breaking the silence. I felt as if I could breathe again after that silence was broken. Thank goodness for that, I thought I was about to literally shatter from it.

"You two go down. I'm going to make sure Lucy here is alright," Fred said to the two of them. They both nodded. "See you in a bit Luc," Lee said. "Yeah, and get those hands of yours all healed," George added. They left the Hospital Wing talking with each other and laughing.

I sighed happily and looked at Fred. I had a feeling he was going to try to get me alone. He was going to try and wiggle out how I fell into the fire. He was going to try and wiggle out the story about my parents. He was going to learn too much about me all way too quickly.

"Thank you," I said, looking at Fred.

"For what?" He asked, sitting down in the seat next to the bed.

"Let's see...You kind of saved my life from one of the most idiotic experiences I have ever had that almost led to my death... and did I even thank you for yesterday? You found me mid mental breakdown and cheered me up. And I'm practically a stranger to you. So that's what I say 'thanks' for," I said. I counted off on my fingers the two different instances, and winced slightly at the fact that they were bandaged and burnt.

"Well, we're friends and not strangers." Fred countered and I smiled.

"The facts remain," I countered right back. I looked down at my hands. "I'm sorry. I'm a pretty damaged person," I admitted quickly and quietly, looking up at him after I said it.

Fred put his hands behind his head and leaned back, all the while looking at me. "It helps to talk about it all you know," He said.

I opened my mouth to say something but I didn't really know what to say. What to answer. I couldn't tell him - not here. He deserved to hear it if he wanted to, I had to admit that. He's been there for me twice in the past two days. Before I could say anything though, Madam Pomfrey came bustling over.

"Alright Miss Maude. I am going to take your bandages off, put on some ointment, and then re-bandage your hands, okay?" She said as she already started moving to undo the bandages. I nodded and watched as she picked up my left hand and slowly started to unwind the bandage. "If you're queasy you should look away, probably," She warned both me and Fred, but I continued watching, and I saw Fred looking too. As my hand became visible, I saw just how disgusting it was. My own hand, gnarled. My hand was red; an angry angry red. Almost like the color the edges of the flames were. The skin was chapped and scabbed too, and peeling off in many places. And then I also realized how much it hurt as she took the bandage off.

When my whole left hand was unbandaged, she went and removed the bandages from the right hand. When they were both left naked, I stared at them for a bit. The damage done to them seemed to scream at me. I felt ashamed by what happened once again, now with the accident staring me down. The physical pain seemed only background noise, the visual of what happened to me seeming so much louder. I've never seen a red so angry as the one that dominated my hands. Blisters were in various places. I stopped paying attention to the details, not being able to take it all anymore.

"This may hurt a bit," Madam Pomfrey said, as she dumped a bottle onto two different rags and enveloped my hands in them. I inhaled sharply and bit my lip. Damn, I thought to myself. May hurt a bit my ass. I glanced over at Fred who was torn between looking worried and trying to smile at me. I smiled quickly back at him but then turned back to my hands. A couple minutes in and it started to become irritating and unbearable. This better be over soon.

And as if she could read my mind, Madam Pomfrey took the rags off of my hands. My skin seemed to be moving, and my eyes widened at that. "It'll stop soon dear, it's just the reaction from the ointment," She stated, as if used to people being surprised by this reaction. I nodded and watched until my skin stopped with it's bubbling. Madam Pomfrey then got new bandages and re-wrapped my hands. "Now, like I said, your hands will heal. They just need some time, alright?" I nodded, and she smiled quickly. "Good. Then you're good to go, I don't need to keep you overnight. Dinner should be still going on and the two of you should get going to it," She said, nodded, and then busied herself over someone else nearby.

I started getting up out of bed and Fred quickly got out of his seat and hurried right next to me. "You may be a bit weak and woozy trying to stand up," He warned.

"I'm fine," I said strongly. I swung my legs over the bed and stepped down with all my weight to stand. Soon after I felt myself falling back onto my bed.

"I told you," Fred said, picking me back up and holding me steady.

"Thanks," I muttered, embarrassed that I couldn't stand on my own. I hesitantly took a step forward on my own and felt alright.

"To dinner?" Fred asked as we finally got out of the Hospital Wing.

Late twice in a row for dinner with Fred Weasley, I thought to myself. Because that's not going to raise questions in people.

"Let's go to the kitchens. Get the food straight from the house elves," I decided, not wanting to deal with other people. Fred nodded. Besides, he's going to be pressing me now to know how I fell into the fire, I reasoned with myself. Sighing, we made our way down to the portrait that lead to the kitchens.