Blood Is Thicker

Roxi was usually a very chipper person, but today she was reserved. She still wore a ridiculously brightly colored outfit and was dragging along two dozen balloons.. But really, she was upset. She hoped the balloons would cheer Lucy up. Half of them were just brightly colored, a quarter of them bore slogans about getting better, and the rest would randomly burst into songs.

Roxi and Fred had visited Lucy once before, but she had been asleep and they had had to leave before they could say anything. So now, she trooped up to the correct ward alone, intent on seeing her cousin. She saw remnants of the battle everywhere- students in gowns, families and friends with somber expressions... This was war.

Roxi found Lucy's room, opened the door, and attempted to stroll inside. However, her bundle of balloons caught in the doorway. She glanced back and gave the strings a tug. She threw all her weight into it and with a POP a balloon burst and she fell on her face. There was a second of silence before one of the balloons began to sing. Tiptoe through the window-

She jumped to her feet. "Hi Lucy!" By the window, that is where I'll be- She walked over and tied the balloons to the bedside table. "I brought you balloons." Come tiptoe through the tulips with me.

Lucy had been poking listlessly at the lunch someone had brought her. She couldn't remember much from the big battle. Most everything after setting the whomping willow on fire was a blank. Though, when she'd finally been allowed to use the bathroom by herself and seen some of her scars, she was glad of it.

"Thanks," she smiled weakly at her cousin, and slid over a bit so Roxanne could sit on the bed if she wanted.

"What happened? With the school, I mean?" she asked. "Nobody wants to tell me anything."

She dropped the strings of the balloons and plopped down next to Lucy on the bed. Lucy asked about the school and Roxi put on her think face- eyes screwed up, tongue poking up, looking more like an idiot that someone thinking at all. "The school? A lot of it was destroyed in the fire. It's not burnt down or anything. A lot of the trees are gone though."

The paused. "A lot of people died. There was a list in the Daily Prophet. There's supposedly gonna be a memorial for all of them." She nodded. "It's scary, isn't it?"