"Sorry but Pomfrey said you had to drink all of it Nov'," he said. He was unusually calm. Where was the hyperactive messy-haired quidditch captain? Hidden behind his glasses, his eyes were never away from the boy in the nursery bed. Goddamn James Potter.
Sirius wasn't far away either, he was, as always, being annoying. With a pile of parchments on his lap, he was teasing Peter. Remus, on the other hand, was reading a book. Some things never changed. Nova looked through the window and realized how long he'd been here; it was already night.
"What... What happened?"
Sirius looked at his best friend. They seemed to agree. "You almost died. There wasn't any air left in your lungs."
Nova froze for a minute. He didn't know what kind of reaction you should have when someone told you you almost died eating potatoes. He wasn't sure there was a way of reacting to this.
"Shit."
"Yeah," agreed James, "Shit."
000
They left the infirmary an hour later. Nova was still feeling a bit off, mostly from the shock of almost dying, perhaps. He was walking slowly, lost in his thoughts, rewatching the scene over and over in his head.
He was trying to find something, anything to explain his almost death. But nothing came out of this, he just ended up more afraid. For a second, he thought about telling his mothers. About telling them... What exactly? That he almost died? No, he couldn't do that. There wasn't any way he could tell them without freaking them out. Hélène would surely come here to murder the person who had tried to kill him.
Someone had tried to murder him. For the first, and he hoped the last, time in his life someone had tried to end his life. It was terrifying and Nova was starting to be a bit paranoid. Every new corridor was a new potential threat. Merlin, it was only the first week of school.
"You alright Novie?"
Nova realized he had been lost in his head for quite some time; only he and James were standing in front of the Fat Lady's portrait.
He nodded, his voice still painful to use. James opened his mouth, as if to say something, then closed it. He smiled briefly and entered the Common Room. Nova took a deep and sore breath and followed him inside.
Of course, everyone knew.
As soon as he stepped into the Gryffindor Common Room, everybody's eyes were on him. Even the little first-years were looking, and whispering about him. He suddenly felt hot and uncomfortable. He felt their expressions on him and it was as if his body wasn't his anymore. As if it was theirs. He shivered and followed James and the others upstairs. Even if he walked as quickly as he could, he still heard some whispers and saw their insidious eyes.
He closed the door behind him.
Sirius sat on his bed. It was the messiest one, his Griffindor sheets were all over the place. On the other side of the room, Remus'bed, which was the tidiest seemed like its total opposite.
"So, what's the plan?"
Remus raised an eyebrow. "What plan?"
He winked at him. "Exactly."
"Hey guys, there's no need for a plan. I choked, that's all." It wasn't all, and Nova knew that someone had tried to kill him. He just didn't want his friends to do what they always do; get involved.
According to the looks on Sirius' and James' faces, they were already getting involved.
James stood up from where he was sitting -the floor. "You almost died."
"Maybe," he admitted. He sighed. "Alright, maybe I did almost die."
And it was a terrifying thing to say out loud. He shivered more strongly than he had expected and in the next second his four friends were around him.
Merlin, what he would do without the Marauders?
"We're gonna find who did this," assured James. "I promise you."
Nova nodded, his heart pumping a bit stronger in his chest. Thank God for the Marauders. He was about to add something when a gentle 'knock' on the door stopped him.
"Enter," mumbled Remus.
A fire-haired girl entered their room. Saying that Evans was breathless, was an understatement. Her cheeks were as red as her hair, she sat down -surprisingly on James' bed which Sirius didn't miss a beat. After a few deep breaths and a glass of water offered by James, she was finally able to explain the whys of her sudden presence.
"I think I know who did it." Evans stood up, only looking at Nova. After all, he was the least scary here. "Who tried to hurt you."
"They tried to kill him. " corrected Sirius.
Evans nodded briefly, "Yeah, maybe."
"So, you know who did it?" asked James.
"Yeah." she took another deep breath as if she was wondering why she had come in here, "It was Severus."
*The picture comes from Pinterest, I don't own it
First part; 8th of September 1977
Start from the beginning
