I took in a sharp breath. "Well, well, well," she grinned maliciously. "Looks like somebody's all alone this time." She gave me a light shove.
"I don't want to cause any trouble," I murmured, glancing past her.
"You should've thought about that on the train," she spat, shoving me again. I was creeping closer and closer to the edge of the steps.
"Please, just leave me alone."
"Fat, ugly Potter, thinking she can tell me what to do?" She started laughing. "Merlin, you are so incredibly stupid! Who do you think you are? Think you can just hide behind your brother and his friends? How naïve. They don't care about you, can't you see that? They're not here to protect you. You're alone, just like you always will be."
One last shove and my foot slipped off the stairs, sending me tumbling down them with a cry of pain. I hit my head on one the steps, vision blurring and mind spinning. My head throbbed as I hit the landing, and loud, pounding footsteps hit the marble staircase behind me. The Slytherin was still laughing.
"Joss!" a voice called, worry laced through every word. It wasn't long before they were at my side, crouched next to me. After a quick moment, before I could even register who it was, they were on their feet and bounding up the stairs I had just fallen down. "You absolute bitch!" they yelled. I couldn't see what was happening. I could only hear the voices. "Don't ever lay a hand on her again, or you'll have me to answer to! I don't care if you are a chick, you'll regret ever messing with me. Get the hell out of here!"
It wasn't long before they were back by my side, slowly helping me sit up. I heard them whispering gently to me; I felt their rough, calloused hands on my arm; I smelled their woodsy shampoo. I slowly closed my eyes, still unable to really see much of anything. "No, no, no, you can't close your eyes, Joss," their voice whispered, rough and worried. Sirius. "You gotta stay awake for me, you hear?"
"It hurts," I murmured, leaning back against him.
"I'm sure it does, but you have to stay awake for me, okay? We have to get you up to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey will fix you right up, I promise. It'll be okay. Can you stand up? Let's try to stand up." He gently moved, beginning to get to his feet and pulling me up with him. My legs grew weak under me. I couldn't even stand. Sirius quickly caught me. "Okay, okay, it's okay. I'm going to pick up and carry you, okay, Joss?"
I hummed quietly, still keeping my eyes closed and leaning against his body. One of his arms wrapped around my back, while the other reach down behind my knees, lifting me off the ground carefully. I rested my head on his shoulder, focusing on the smell of his shampoo.
"Please open your eyes, Joss," he whispered. "You need to stay awake for me, okay? The hospital wing isn't far, I promise." He stopped as the sound of a few more people walked out of the Great Hall.
"Pads? What- No. No, no, no, no." One pair of feet raced up the staircase. "What happened? Is she okay?" James.
"I, uh, I walked out and she was falling down the stairs," Sirius started, worry and fear thick in his voice. "There was another girl standing at the top, laughing. I- I think she pushed her. She can't even sit up on her own. I- I was getting ready to take her to Pomfrey, I didn't know what else to do."
"Let me see," Remus' voice said gently. I felt him moving my hair gently from my face. "Jocelyn? Jocelyn, can you hear me?" I nodded slowly against Sirius' shoulder. "Can you open your eyes for me?" I shook my head. It was still throbbing. My whole body hurt. "We should take her to Pomfrey. She might have a concussion, or worse. She looks a little rough."
I heard someone plopping on the floor, quietly sobbing. Remus told Sirius to take me straight to the hospital wing. I felt him carrying me off, up the stairs towards Madam Pomfrey. As we got farther, I faintly heard Remus and Peter trying to comfort James. "Please, Merlin, let her be okay," Sirius whispered. And that was the last thing I remembered before I blacked out.
I slowly blinked my eyes against the light. I could hear talking. Someone was holding my hand. Rough, calloused hands.
"But she'll be okay?" James' voice asked. It sounded far away, so he couldn't be the one holding my hand.
"Yes, Mr. Potter," Madam Pomfrey's voice replied gently. "I can assure you that with plenty of rest, your sister will make a full recovery." Footsteps approached, and whoever was holding my hand quickly let go.
I groaned lightly, squinting against the bright lights. When they had slowly begun adjusting, I noticed Remus first, standing at the foot of the bed. He gave me a gentle smile.
"Jo," James said quickly. I looked to my right to see him sitting in one of the chairs next to the bed. "How are you feeling? Anything hurt? Do you need anything?"
"Shut up, Jamie," I muttered, a small smirk tugging at the corners of my mouth. Sirius was sitting in the other chair, on my left. It was his hand holding mine...
I had to stay in the hospital wing for two days before Madam Pomfrey let me go back up to Gryffindor Tower. Even then, I was advised to take it easy and avoid classes for at least the rest of the week, just to be safe. James refused to leave me alone during my recovery. If it wasn't him by my side, it was one of his friends. He wouldn't let me do anything for myself, either. If I even attempted to pick up one of my books from the ground to do my homework, James was immediately at my side, gently pushing me back into my seat and picking the book up for me.
"I'm not crippled, James," I said, rolling my eyes. "Madam Pomfrey wouldn't have let me leave if I wasn't capable of taking care of myself. All she said was to take it easy, stay out of classes a couple days."
"I don't care. I'm not risking you getting hurt again," he said with finality. I looked at Remus.
"Please tell my brother I am fine and perfectly capable of picking up my own books."
"James, why don't you give Jocelyn a break?" Remus suggested. "I'll stay with her for a bit. You go take a nap or something." James eyed him suspiciously, then looked at me worriedly.
"I'll be fine!" I groaned, lightly pushing him with one hand. "Like Remus said, he'll stay here with me in case I need anything."
"Fine, but don't let her hurt herself," James said, giving Remus a look and standing up. Sirius grabbed his arm and dragged him up to the boys' dormitories, Peter following closely behind.
"Thank you," I sighed, looking at Remus. "He's just so overwhelming lately."
"He's worried," Remus shrugged. "He's-"
"I know, I know, he's my brother, of course he's worried. I hear it all the time." I glanced towards the window, where it was bright and sunny with minimal clouds. I sighed. "It looks so nice outside today."
"Let's go outside then." I whipped my head to look at Remus. "You can do homework later," he shrugged. "It's not like there's anything else for you do."
"James would lose it."
"James is being too overprotective. It's not like you'll be alone."
"You'd do that?"
"Of course I would. You're my friend."
I grinned and made to stand up. Remus held out his hand to help, but I didn't grab it until I was more than halfway standing. I braced myself for a moment before grabbing Pride and Prejudice off the table and following Remus through the portrait hole.
**********
Posting early this WONDERFUL Friday because it's JUNIOR OLYMPICS DAYYYY
I'm kind of sad because as a senior, it's my last junior olympics ever.
I'll stop being sappy now. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see y'all next week with a new one!