It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt

Alice helped the head nurse place Amelia onto an empty bed. It was clear that her state was getting worse and no one really knew what to do about it. Reaching an agreement of what her symptoms meant and the best way to treat it was very difficult. But they did agree on one thing, the girl was in shock. So something to help calm down her nerves had would do for a start.

As the nurses scattered about in search of the right potion, Alice pulled up a chair next to Amelia's bed and held her hand. She refused to let it go for the longest time, too afraid that if she does something terrible would happen to her. This whole thing was her fault after all, and that was something she couldn't just forget or ignore. Amelia was still mumbling some words which rarely made any sense. Looking into her eyes, she wouldn't see anything but a blank stare. When Alice stood directly in front of her, it was as if Amelia was looking through her and didn't see her at all. All of this was a bit too much to handle for Alice and she was getting terrified.

"Are you feeling any better? You'll get to rest and sleep now. The nurses will give you a potion to calm you down and then you can just relax. Would you like that?" asked Alice still holding onto Amelia's hand and praying for an answer. She didn't know if she would get one, she wasn't even sure if Amelia could hear her. Her only hope was that this was just a temporary state of shock, and that the nurses could do something to help.

Amelia found herself in a very dark place in her mind. She had been here before when she had gotten in her broom accident. She could hear people talking this time though but still couldn’t respond. She felt helpless. Is this how it feels to be crazy?

A voice registered to Amelia even in this dark place. Alice’s voice but trapped in her own head unable to respond. She was screaming inside trying to reach out to Alice. She wasn’t in control of her own brain though. Her pure terror was enough for her to manage to control her hand to make it squeeze, hoping it would squeeze Alice’s hand since she couldn’t see that hand had what near it.

She was more scared then she had been the first time. It was flashes of bright lights that had her scared. She had heard when you are between limbo and living you will see bright lights. But it’s not like she had fallen that hard or had been in a fight. She didn’t understand what was going on. Maybe she had some sort of brain damage from her broom accident this summer. She didn’t know much besides she was scared.

She waited and hoped that Amelia would say something, anything really, in response but she didn't. She still seemed lost in her own world and not actually realizing what was happening around her. Instead, Alice felt a gentle squeeze on her hand. Perhaps this meant Amelia did in fact hear her. She squeezed her hand back and looked into her eyes, hoping to see any sense of recognition or response in them. "Amelia...Can you hear me?" she asked still holding her hand tightly.

There was definitely more to this than just shock, Alice knew that know. Did she hit her head while she fell or was it something completely else? But those were the possibilities Alice couldn't even think of, they scared her too much. No, she was determined to believe that this is just a passing thing. She will wake up tomorrow and she will feel much better. Rest was all she needed.

Turning her head around, she sighed seeing the nurses still scattered about. They had no idea how to treat her. Tremendous guilt came over Alice at that moment and she had to take a deep breath in order to calm herself and not completely break down. Why wasn't anyone doing something to help her? That's their job after all! "Is anyone going to do anything by now?!" asked Alice raising her voice. Shouting at the nurses probably wouldn't get her anywhere, but she was so frustrated and lost she didn't know what else to do. Finally a nurse came by and gave a small potion to Amelia, which was supposed to relax her nerves and put her to sleep for a while. Refusing to leave her side, Alice just sat in her chair and patiently held her hand, hoping she would get better soon. That was the only thing she could do now, hope.

Amelia was desperate trying to reach out but she couldn’t seem to be able to do it again. There was something blocking her from doing so. It was so frustrating; it was making her so mad she couldn’t do what she wanted. What was wrong with her? Why couldn’t she snap out of this like last time?

She felt herself getting drowsy but she didn’t want to sleep. She wanted to keep on trying to communicate. She also wanted her mum and dad. She hated how weak she felt. So she ended up just sobbing not like she was physically but mentally at least.

Alice sat in her chair and felt her eyes slowly betray here. She was beyond exhausted. This day was so long and it really took a toll on her body. No matter how tired she was, she decided she couldn't go to sleep. At least until Amelia didn't wake up. It was too risky, just leaving her like that. She had already left her once, and that time she almost got killed. A few of the nurses tried to chase Alice away to her room but she refused. She would just spend the night here that was the best idea.

No matter how hard she tried, she found herself drowsing off in the chair. After hours of staying awake, she closed her eyes and without even noticing it fell deeply asleep. She woke up a few hours later and noticed the sun hasn't risen yet. It was early and not even the nurses were around anymore. With a quick glance to Amelia she determined she was sleeping. That was a progress at least. Hopefully that sleep will help her. Pulling her chair closer, she put her hand gently on Amelia's. Hearing her breathe was the best sound she could hear. She didn't even understand how could have she gotten both of them into this situation? It was beyond foolish and very reckless. She didn't care about the detention or the lost points. If only Amelia would wake up and be fine, that was her only wish.

Amelia had woken up from her slumber still in complete darkness. She was tired of this darkness and decided to fight back. She was not going to spend weeks or years like this she wasn’t giving up like this. She would not surrender.

Her only thoughts were Alice and Chad. She wouldn’t leave either of them alone. She cared too much about them. Her family would make it without her, she knew they would they had to. She still wasn’t going to give in like this. She would not die this way.

She started to fight with every ounce of her body. Must live. Must wake up. Don’t give up. The darkness started to fade and she was beginning to feel again. She wasn’t talking the physical kind but all those emotions she had lost when her brother and sister were killed. This gave her enough strength to fight out of this.

Her eyes snapped open. The last thing she remembered was falling to a hole running from a Forest Troll. She found herself trying to remind herself of her life. She remembered the Wake for Claire and Edgar but not what happened to them. That made her mad. She knew that she had to know but she didn’t.

Holding Amelia's hand, she noticed it slightly move. Her gaze then quickly went onto Amelia's face and she almost jumped when she saw that her eyes were open and Amelia was awake. It was exactly what she was praying for and it felt like a miracle. She got up from her chair and started to call the nurses. "Is anyone....she woke up!! She's awake! We need someone!" said Alice almost shouting until one of the nurses came rushing by.

"Oh thank Merlin..." she said gently squeezing Amelia's hands. She closed her eyes and tried to calm down her own emotions for Amelia's sake. Having someone so loud and bouncy was not what she needed right now. "Hey, Amelia....How are you feeling? Did you sleep well?" she asked with care. After a long night of sleep, Alice was hoping that she would feel a lot better this time. Maybe even speak and communicate. But after what happened, she made sure she wasn't going to rush Amelia's recovery. Her head turned to the nurse in a questioning gaze. Did she know what to do now at least? They all seemed just so useless that Alice only sighed and turned her attention back to Amelia. "Do you want or need something Amelia? Water maybe?" she asked, not really knowing what else to say. She desperately wanted to help but just didn't know how.

Amelia hated people fussing over her. Sure she had a rather big fall but jeeze she wasn’t made of glass. She was perfectly fine besides the mild memory loss which wasn’t a bad thing honestly. She could do without Alice screaming in her ear though.

“I’m fine Alice. Quit fussing, I’m not made of glass,” she said calmly trying not to growl at Alice. She hated hospitals but it wasn’t Alice’s fault. She should have taken Alice and ran. The both would have been fine that way, most likely.

“And you get that needle away from me or else I will bite your hand,” she growled at the nurse. She would not have them giving her any needles. She was her mother’s daughter. She’d rather be in pain that have a needle anywhere near her.

Of all the things Angelique liked about working in the Hospital Wing, her uniform was her favourite. Let's face it, she just wasn't cut out for caring for children. She wasn't really cut out for caring much about anyone other than herself. She had mainly got this job off the back of assisting during that nasty business on the Hogwarts Express when she was in sixth year.

"Shut up," she told Alice shortly as the child began to scream that her friend was finally awake. "This is a Hospital Wing, not a fairground. And don't offer her anything; she'll be getting her fluids through this."

Angelique flourished a needle attached to an intravenous tube. She ought to have attached it to the girl while she was unconscious, but that would have ruined the fun. 'Lique was all about fun.

"If you try to bite me, I'll restrain you to the bed and then I'll still put this in you," she told Amelia dryly.

She thought for a moment.

"But probably with less care."

The largest grin appeared on her face as Amelia spoke. She had been waiting for this moment for hours, meanwhile almost drowning herself in guilt. "Oh yeah. So sorry." she said to the nurse that came by and warned her not to yell. "Well you being unable to speak for a few hours doesn't tell me that you're in perfect condition Amelia. But you're fine now, that's all that matters" she said with a sigh.

Amelia was speaking now, thank Merlin, and was being her old self. Alice couldn't help but roll her eyes at her as she refused to let the nurse help her. "You ran towards a forest troll on your own. You can't be afraid of needles" she pointed out. Alice was still worried about her meeting with her parents, but she decided she best leave that for later. They had time to discuss that when Amelia was up on her feet.

"Besides everything... how are you feeling?". She just had to ask as she couldn't stop being worried for her. That was a pretty big fall and this whole thing that happened completely freaked her out.