Rescue and Recovery

Erika swept into the empty Hospital Wing with the twins and Brianna in tow. Andre was away for the week, meaning that she would have to improvise a bit. "Have a seat here," she told the crying girl. She set the twins in their carriers beside the bed that Brianna was meant to sit on, then went to the storage area to route around. "Calming drought, calming drought," she muttered as she searched for it.

She found it after a moment and extracted a small vial of it and took it back to the student. "Drink this," she said kindly. "It will help." She only hoped that Tai had found Anthony as easily as she had found the potion.

Bri sat on the bed as she was instructed too. She was too worn out to be defiant, though she didn't want to sit on a bed and drink a potion; she wanted to go back to Andy. She sat and stared at the floor, trying to curb her sobs, until she felt something being put in her hands. She drank the potion, and the sobbing slowly started to subside, reeling back until her tears were silent and starting to fade away. She still felt absolutely horrible. Andy was hurt and it was all her fault. Where was he? Did Professor Cooper find him? Was he okay? She focused her eyes on the door and didn't look away; she wouldn't look away, not until Professor Cooper appeared with Andy.

Tai entered the Hospital Wing with Andy levitating close behind him. He saw immediately that Erika and Brianna were already there but André wasn't. Tai cursed as he realised that André had a week of leave. He just hoped that Erika knew enough about this plant so that himself and Matt could get to work on an antidote.

Tai instructed Andy's body to rest on one of the spare beds. He turned to Erika and gave her the plant. He saw that Brianna was watching them both with keen interest so he pulled Erika away to talk to her about the situation privately. If Erika confirmed Tai's initial diagnosis, Tai didn't want the girl to overhear, especially if they were too late to treat him here. He wasn't thrilled about transporting Anthony to St.Mungo's, but if it came down to it, he'd have to. St. Mungo's administration brought all sorts of legalities along with it. The Daily Prophet would have a field-day with something like this happening on school grounds.

Tai pushed all that aside and focussed on the situation at hand. The boy needed to be treated immediately. If not here, then Mungo's was the next option.

Bri breathed a sigh of relief when the headmaster turned up with Andy. Her eyes followed them for a moment, but when he pulled his wife aside, she got up and immediately went to Andy's bedside to see if he had gained any more damage while she had been gone.

Seeing nothing, she perched herself beside him and took one of his hands in hers. "I'm so sorry," she whispered to him again, a fresh wave of tears washing over her, in spite of the Calming Draught she had taken. "I never should have asked you to go in there. We shouldn't have done it, it's all my fault. I'm sorry."

Erika looked at the plant sample in astonishment. She cursed softly. She hadn't even known that it grew in the Forest, meaning that she would have to be much more careful when she had to go in there from now on. "We can fight it, but you and Matt are going to have to be fast," she said, snatching up a spare bit of parchment and scribbling a list of ingredients to counteract the effects of the poison.

She looked over and saw that Brianna had moved. It was a situation that she herself was all too familiar with. She could remember sitting in the exact same way, crying for hours on end after Tai had been seriously injured in a Quidditch match during their sixth year. She'd pitched a fit when he finally woke up and insisted that he quit playing, because she didn't think that she could bare it if something else happened to him. Unfortunately, this situation was different in that there was the very real possibility that Andy might not wake up. Erika hoped that didn't happen, because she doubted the thirteen year old would be able to cope with the guilt. Even the guilt of knowing she had contributed to him laying there on the bed was probably excruciatingly painful.

She didn't want to worry the girl, and it was safe for her to touch Andy, so she said nothing to her. "If you can't finish it within the hour, we'll need to take him to St. Mungo's," she whispered to Tai in warning. It was possible, but it would be a challenge.

Tai took the list from Erika, and scanned it. He knew it would be a stretch, even with the current and former Potion Masters at work on it. He saw that Erika was looking at Brianna with an expression that he could only place as empathy. Tai wondered what she was thinking about but he knew that now wasn't the time to ask such questions.

"I'd rather avoid Mungo's if we can," he said, moving quickly to the door. Matt would surely have the ingredients in his stores. "We'll be back as soon as possible. Keep him hydrated." With that, Tai left the Hospital Wing.

Andy knew he was dreaming but everything felt so real. He was surrounded by black moss and it was encroaching upon him. He tried to run, but his legs were burning, and stuck in one place, as though he had been petrified. Andy tried to move his arms to pull his legs, but his arms were as solid as his legs were, though they weren't burning quite as bad.

Andy felt his heart begin to race as he realised that the moss like substance started to get closer and closer with each passing second, but he could do nothing to stop it. Midway between struggling for his life, he heard a voice call his name. It was familiar. A voice that he knew he should know but he couldn't place it. It kept speaking at him, but it was as if it was in another language. Everything was a blur to the boy, a constant blur, white noise. He suddenly felt his hand grow warm, as though someone was holding it and he looked down at it curiously, seeing that it looked normal. Nothing made sense to Andy anymore and his brain couldn't put together what was happening or why.

Bri watched Andy's face for any signs of change but saw nothing at all, which terrified her yet comforted her at the same time. He didn't appear to be in any pain, though that meant nothing. She grasped his hand tighter and continued to whisper apologies. She was hardly even aware that Professor Cooper was still there.

"Is he going to be okay?" she asked her head of house. She didn't let go of Andy, nor did she look away from him to ask her question. She stroked his hand gently while she waited for an answer.

Erika's heart ached at the girl's question. She knew what it felt like to be the one sitting there, waiting for an answer, so she wanted to give the girl the truth, but the truth would only worry her more, which made Erika want to lie.

"We're doing what we can," she promised. She chose not to answer the question at all, since it was safer that way. She brought a small pitcher of water over, just to have something to do while they waited.

---45 minutes later---

Erika was starting to get anxious. Their hour was nearly up and there was still no sign of Tai or Matt with some sort of antidote. She wished there was something else she could do, but someone had to stay with the students and she would only be getting in the way. Every ten minutes or so, she performed a charm to keep Anthony hydrated, as Tai had said to, though she would have done it anyway. Thankfully, the twins were still fast asleep, meaning that Erika could focus completely on her Ravenclaws and waiting for her husband to return.

Time was passing, but the exact amount was lost on Bri. Seconds felt like hours, minutes felt like days. She had nothing to do but sit beside Andy and watch his face for any sign of conscious movement. She continued to grasp his hand in hers and whisper apologies to him. She'd never felt so guilty for anything in her whole life and she wouldn't blame him if he never wanted to speak to her again when he woke up. If he woke up, she worried. Where was the Headmaster and why wasn't he fixing Andy?

Matt entered the Hospital Wing with a vial in his hand. Together, Tai and him had conducted a potion that should be effective against the poison that was surging through the boy's body for now. They would have to work through the night, with another strand of potion, that would cure him completely. That particular potion was difficult to create and time consuming. As it was, this makeshift potion would only serve to keep the boy alive for the time being. The more he was exposed to the antidote the more his body would fail to recognise it's healing equalities. It was the best the Headmaster and Matt could do in such a short amount of time.

He walked over to Anthony's bedside, looking down at the tear-streaked face of a girl. Matt admistered the potion to the boy and went to talk to Erika.

"It should keep him stable for at least a couple of hours. We'll need to give him more then, but by the third application, it'll start to wear off." Matt paused, looking over at the two Ravenclaw's again.

"Tai's still working. I'll head back down there now, as I'm no use here. Keep an eye on him, and if he worsens, come and get one of us."

Erika wasn't overly fond of Matt but she was grateful to see him, because it meant that progress was being made. She watched as he administered the potion and nodded that she understood. Matt soon left, leaving her alone with the students and her children once more. It was starting to get later in the day and she was getting hungry, so she imagined Brianna was as well. She scribed a quick note down to the kitchens and sent it there to have one of the elves bring something up for them.

"You should probably try to rest, dear," Erika said to Brianna. Sitting there was only going to worry her more and she was no doubt exhausted from her extremely emotional day.

Bri moved just enough that Professor Hamilton would be able to get to Andy. She was relieved that he was getting something to help, but judging from what she'd overheard him say to Professor Cooper, it wasn't really doing much but keep him alive, which was still something.

She shook her head at the Professor. She didn't want to move; she was worried that the moment she did, something would change, or she would look away and miss Andy making some sort of conscious movement to let her know that he was alright. She continued to hold his hand and stroke it gently, hoping that the professors would be able to fix him up soon enough.

After some time, Tai went back up to the Hospital Wing to check on Anthony's condition and to administer the second round of potion when the time was right.

He walked into the ward, seeing that Brianna was still by Andy's bedside. He wondered if Erika tried to get the girl to sleep, or take something to eat.

At the thought of his wife, Tai looked around and saw her nearby. He went over to her, and placed a hand on her back.

"No change?" he asked, glancing back at the unconscious boy on the bed.

Erika shook her head solemnly. A half eaten tray of food sat beside her (half eaten only because Brianna hadn't eaten anything at all) and she hadn't seen the girl move an inch since she sat there. "Two more hours and she'll break my record," she said to Tai, wondering if he remembered the Quidditch incident. "How are things going down there?"

Tai looked down and raised an eyebrow before he realised what she was referring to. "It was hard to get back on a broom after that happened," Tai said, reflecting back on the Quidditch incident which landed him in the same Hospital Wing for over a week.

"She's really got to get some rest," Tai remarked, not wanting two ailed Ravenclaws to deal with. The fact that Andy's condition hadn't changed was a good thing. His body needed to recover and it was better that the boy wasn't conscious for the pain. The potion that Matt was caring for wasn't at all pleasant.

"Alright. Matt's staying with it. And I'll take over in a couple of hours. It should be ready some time tomorrow, so let's hope Andy can withhold though the night." Tai glanced at the twins sleeping and back at Erika, who looked downright exhausted. "I can stay and keep watch, if that's easier on you." He knew she was up with Noah, who just wouldn't settle, for the majority of last night.

Erika considered protesting and staying, but her true exhaustion was starting to set in, so she wanted to at least grab a small nap. "Sofia's agreed to look after the boys for a while, so I'm going to take them to her and sleep for just a little while, I promise. I'll be back in time for you to go switch places with Matt," she kissed Tai on the cheek, then went over to Brianna, who was still seated beside Anthony.

"I know that what you're feeling right now isn't nice, but you really do need to try to get some rest," she told her. "You wearing yourself out and making yourself sick over this isn't helping anything."

She patted Brianna's shoulder gently. In a way, she really did think of all the Ravenclaws as her children and she hated to see one so upset, even if the situation could have been avoided. Brianna didn't need to hear that it was her fault at that moment though, she needed to hear that everything was going to be okay.

She collected the twins and left the room to drop them off with Sofia, then to go to her own comfy bed and sleep. Tai had the situation under control for now.

Tai watched Erika leave and walked over to Brianna, who looked as though she didn't even register that Erika addressed her or notice that she left. Tai sat in a chair near the bed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You really should get some rest," he said calmly to the girl. "Or at least have something to eat." He glanced at the untouched half of food on the plate beside the bed and sighed. Erika had done the exact same thing when he fell off his broom all those years ago, but Erika didn't cause that to happen. Brianna, by the looks of it, blamed herself for what happened, which would have added a whole other dimension of guilt and pain.

"I'm sure it wasn't your fault, entirely, Brianna." Tai wasn't overly confident with dealing with upset adolescents but he tried his hardest to console the girl.

One hundred percent of Bri's attention was focused on Andy and she was hardly even aware of the fact that the headmaster was back and that her head of house had left. She shook her head, declining both the food and the resting. How could he expect her to do either of those things while Andy was like this? "No thank you," she said quietly.

Her tears started up again when he said that it wasn't her fault entirely. "It was though. Andy didn't really want to go and I made him and now he's like this. We were going to go last year but we put it off because we couldn't get out without being seen, and we went in first year." Once she had started talking, it was like a fountain of truth pouring from her mouth that she just couldn't stop. "We saw a unicorn, it was lovely," she added in a soft tone.

Tai listened to the girl as she spoke, hearing facts that she probably wouldn't have told him on any other occasion, but decided to now. He sighed upon learning that this wasn't their first venture into the Forest. He truly didn't know how he was supposed to get through to the students that the Forest wasn't somewhere to explore, but somewhere to avoid.

"You're very lucky a unicorn was all you saw," Tai said, trying to remain calm. His anger didn't come from the them going into the Forest. He was angry that they could have been seriously hurt, and that they were only first years the first time they went in.

Tai passed Brianna a tissue from the table, and waited a bit for her to stop crying.

James didn't believe the rumour. He scoffed when he heard some sixth years talking about it in the common room. That a Ravenclaw that met Andy's description was seen with being levitated up to the castle with the Headmaster.

James shook his head at them, saying that they got it all wrong, but dashed down from Gryffindor Tower in any case. He had to make sure but it couldn't possibly be Andy in the Hospital Wing, surely.

He pushed the doors open and stood there, staring at the sight before him. Professor Cooper and Brianna were sitting by the bedside of....

"What did you do?" James accused of Bri, not caring that the Headmaster was there as well. He didn't even know the full story, but the Ravenclaw obviously had something to do with it.

Bri was jolted out of her nearly impenetrable bubble of concern by a very angry voice that definitely was not the Headmaster.

"What did you do?"

His voice pierced through her heart as though it was Andy saying it, not James. She couldn't even answer the question; all she could do was clutch at his hand tighter and beg him to wake up, continually telling him how sorry she was.

James looked from Brianna to the Headmaster and then to Andy on the bed. Bri didn't answer him, which made his blood boil. He did yell at her, which wasn't what he intended to do, but it's what seemed to happen anyway. He knew he should have phrased the question differently, as he definitely would have received an entirely different response, but he was too shocked to see Andy hurt and just lying there.

James, for some reason, didn't want to hear how it happened from Professor Cooper and he knew he couldn't stay without getting mad, so he turned and left the room without saying another word; not trusting what would come out of his mouth. He'd come back and see him later when he wasn't so angry.

He ran back up to the Gryffindor Commonroom and slammed the door behind him, thoroughly pissed off.

Andy blinked his eyes open, slowly adjusting to the light of wherever he was. Once his eyes adjusted, he could clearly see that he was in the Hospital Wing, but how he got there was a mystery to him.

He turned his head to the left and saw a pitcher of water. Merlin, I'm thirsty, he thought staring at the water longingly. He couldn't really reach it, not that he tried. Perhaps someone was around that could help him. Andy glanced to the right side of his body and immediately recognised the blonde hair of Brianna by his bedside. She had her head resting on her arm and her hand, Andy realised, was clutching his own. Andy wondered how long she had been there, to fall asleep by his bedside. Surely he'd only been out of it for a couple of hours, tops. The last thing he remembered was being in the Forest, and feeling slightly dizzy so he was intrigued as to why he was lying in a hospital bed and why Bri was asleep beside him.

Andy looked past Bri for a moment and his eyes rested on a number of cards and other assortments on a table beside him. He caught the text of one of the cards, Get Well Soon, and he raised his eyebrows. What the heck was going on?

Three days had passed and Bri had spent scarcely ten minutes away from Andy's bedside throughout that time period. She'd eaten only when forced and slept only when she truly couldn't keep her eyes open any longer. A slight movement stirred her from her unsatisfying sleep and she looked around to find that Andy was awake. Without even realizing that she had moved, she engulfed him in a positively bone-crushing hug and started to cry again (something that she had hardly stopped doing since he was brought here).

"I was so worried. I'm so so sorry, Andy," she said, still clinging to him as if he would die instantly if she didn't.