Here Safety Lays (Morgan, Jocelyn)

James walked to the hospital wing, with Morgan still helping him. The whole incident with Sirius had been pitiful to say the least. James looked around, seeing the nurse. "Miss Watson, mind giving us a little hand. Morgan must be tired from helping me up here." The Matron gazed at James. "Potter Potter Potter, getting in trouble I see. Come on then,"- She said, offering Morgan her arm, so she could give James to the young woman.

Morgan handed off James to the Medi-Witch and walked quietly behind them as she escorted him to one of the many beds in the wing.

James was set down on the bed carefully. Miss Watson seemed to always care for the students. She went to pick up something from wherever she had her potions and such, James pointed at the chair next to his bed. "Morgan, why did that other girl obey Sirius?" Slytherins being around Sirius and obeying his wishes was understandable. But a hufflepuff? That just wasn't normal.

Morgan sat in the chair James pointed to next to the bed. She looked at the floor with sad eyes, the bruise much more distinct splayed across her cheek. "Luna.... Luna is a protector of the Black family. So she has to do what he says..." she answered slowly. She looked at James, eyes dry and bright, "If she doesn't, she will be hurt for not doing as she is told."

James climbed himself up, seating on the bed, facing Morgan. He noticed what looked like a former wound. "Well, she shouldn't do that. I'm sure Sirius is taking advantage of that. If he told her to do something disgusting, she wouldn't just do it." James answered, with audacity. "We can protect her..." James soon shrugged off that part of the conversation, to pass to a more important matter. "What happened between you and Sirius?"

She nodded in agreement that Luna shouldn't do what Sirius said, but she would rather her friend do what will keep her safe. "You haven't seen the marks they lay on her, James. They are horrible. I don't agree with it, but I want her to be safe. If that means doing as she's told, then so be it." At his next question, Morgan shrugged, looking at the floor and wringing her fingers, and said in muted tones, "It's a long story..."

James nodded, in understanding. Morgan was going through a lot. He placed his hand on her arm, and moved it up and down, as a sign of comfort. He was already aware that the situation had a quite long history. But he needed to know. He had been so caught up with Lily that he didn't even see his best friend turning into what he is. "Morgan..." He said, placing his other hand on her chin, bringing her face up slowly. "I need to know. Please..."

Morgan sighed as her grey-blue eyes met James'. She looked away and started the story, "Sirius has always been protective of me, you know that. But as of late, he's changed." She looked back at James, "He's become obsessive, possessive almost. I noticed something odd at the Black Ball. I was talking with a friend from WoldClaw and the boy kissed my hand as a gentleman. Sirius hauled off and hit him...."

Morgan told James everything: what was said when he caught up with her after she left, what Andromeda and Marvolo had said when they were in the hall before she left, and how he seemed to get worse since he was selected as champion. She didn't realize that she started to cry was she told of the massive confrontation between Cian and Sirius. She showed James the healing injuries she received as a result of that affair. She told about the change in him towards Luna and most others who used to be close to him, ending with the fight they just came from...

"I just don't know what happened. I don't know if it has anything to do with him leaving home or being selected as a champion. But, I do know that something is very wrong with Sirius, and I'm.... I'm...." she looked away and wiped her tears. "I'm scared for him."

James nodded. Sirius was usually possessive. About many things. But not as much as Morgan was describing it. It seemed Sirius had too much pressure on his back. From everything. Running away from home, the thought of losing Morgan, the lust he had for Marvolo, the tournament. Everything must've overloaded him. Just seeing someone near Morgan made him snap. He truly wasn't well. That Mavolo. This was all her fault somehow. "Don't worry, we can get him back. I'm sure the old Sirius is still there somewhere. But I can't help but feel somehow, Gaunt is involved. Specially because he said she was his girl..." James sighed. Had his best friend really succumbed to darkness?

Morgan was afraid to hope at this point. "Do you think so, James? That we can get him back, I mean," she asked. She didn't know if Marvolo was involved, but in a way, she wouldn't be surprised. Seems Sirius had already moved on from his relationship with her to another girl, and none other than the girl James suspected as the source of the problem. "I don't know if she's behind this or not. I mean, she said all those things about why he might be behaving as he is. It didn't sound like she was trying anything..." she commented remembering all that Marvolo had said to Andromeda about why he suddenly was acting as he was.

James rubbed Morgan's arm once again. This time, a bit more friendly like. "We're gonna do it. Don't worry. He's gonna come back to us." he muttered. Sirius always got into trouble. Maybe even more than James himself. But Marvolo brought out the bad in him. And Morgan did the opposite. "She's devious. You and I don't know her like Sirius does. I can't help but ask this Morgan...if they really are dating, how do YOU feel?"

Morgan managed a smile smile, a shadow of the smile she normally wore. "I hope so, James. I have to believe that he is still in there somewhere. We just need to reach him," she said evenly, a small glimmer of hope shining in her eyes. When he brought up Marvolo, Morgan felt a pang of pain fill where her heart had been. At his questions, Morgan had to look away. She thought about how to answer it. Morgan shrugged, "I feel....hurt, betrayed..." She raised her face to his and her eyes spoke volumes more than she could vocalize, "Used and cast aside....Like I'm not good enough, and somehow I drove him away into her arms." There was a small flicker of something in her eyes then. Something so small that it was possible to it was nothing at all.

Jocelyn was listening in on the conversation between the two students who just came in. She had to stay the night in the hospital wing because she fell and had several injuries on her arm and shoulder. They were talking about Luna and that was her friend. Jocelyn sat up and looked in the direction of the girl and the boy.

"Wh...what happened to Luna? You were talking about Luna Valkyrie right? What happened, did somebody hurt her..." Jocelyn widened her eyes as she noticed she reacted on their conversation.

"Ohh....sorry, i didn't mean to listen in, i only heard Luna's name and she is a friend of mine and she is dating my brother..I care about her very much..." Jocelyn explained.

James sighed. He'd never want Lily to feel like Morgan did. He'd never treat her that way. But he knew why Sirius was with Marvolo. She behaved in a way Morgan would never behave. James could imagine what she and Sirius did when they were alone. But he couldn't share those thoughts with Morgan. She'd be destroyed. "She's devilish...that's for sure. She probably does things to him you didn't. Don-..." What happened to Luna?

James heard, looking at Jocelyn, who was in the other side of the room, facing his bed. [i]Crap. Guess we were talking a bit too loud.[/]"Yes...we were talking about a Luna." James nodded. "But if you're the friend of this particular Luna, you better find her and talk to her soon. It seems she's fallen under the grasp of a very big jerk. Sirius Black." James felt strange in saying such thing. He couldn't get used to the idea of his best friend turning into such an idiotic buffoon. When they were kids, that was acceptable, but now, even James had grown.

Morgan was listening to James' explination to how she felt about the whole situation. She was thinking how to ask what all Marvolo did that perhaps she didn't do, but then she heard a voice from a neighboring bed. Morgan peek over James and spotted a Slytherin girl, Jocelyn she thought her name was. She had seen her several times with Luna and Achilles, but never really met her. Morgan nodded at her question of whether this was the right Luna. "Luna says she is Black Family Protector. If she doens't do as she's told.... She get punished," she answered quietly to the girl. Then, looking at James, she said, "I'm scared for her, too. I don't know what Sirius will do now that something is terribly wrong with him..." Morgan put her hands over her face and propped her elbows on her knees. "This is all my fault..." she said hopelessly.

The situation was overwhelming. Sirius seemed like he was turning into a dark lord. Gathering followers. Controlling people. Casting unforgivable curses. Dating a Gaunt. He sure wasn't on his way to be part of the order of the phoenix. James was quite disturbed with what Morgan said. "This isn't your fault Morgan. At all. In the least, it's mine. I was so caught up with my stuff I didn't even notice my best friend turning into a damn dick. And Luna has friends. She can be protected. Following Sirius right now is a very dark path. I'm sure soon Gaunt will meet her, and make her turn into something she's not as well!" James sighed, as he looked pitiful at Morgan. That girl was going through a lot.

Morgan glanced up at James and shook her head, "I can't see it being your fault, James. You did nothing to push him over this cliff that he seems to have fallen over." She managed a small smile and then a confused look came over her face. "You said you were too occupied to notice his change. If you don't mind my asking, what were you doing that kept you from seeing?" she asked. Morgan's mind drifted back to what the Slytherin had asked about Luna. She stood up and sat at the foot of James' bed so she could speak to both of them without being obstructed. "Jocelyn, right? Even though I don't agree with what Luna is doing, I want her to be safe. She's one of my best friends and if simply doing as she is told will keep her safe for the time being, then.... Then that is what I want," she said. Morgan folded her hands and looked at the white sheets of the bed, "I don't know what I would do if anything horrid happened to her. She's a good person..."

Jocelyn's eyes widened at their answers and shook her head. "No that can't be, the Sirius guy is a champion, Luna explained to me that she had to be partner up with him to survive the triwizard tournament. I didn't believe her because she is so strong and telling these stories from when she wasn't on school yet." Jocelyn looked at the girl. "I will tell my brother maybe he can talk to her.

James gulped with Morgan's question. He was pretty sure no one knew yet. But he could trust Morgan. "Well...guess you can say I've been having some luck at love myself. Don't tell Severus." James said. Snape was Morgan's cousin, and although they were family, James had to insist. "Please, don't even mention me when you're around him. I'm...dating Lily. Lily Evans." He muttered, so Jocelyn wouldn't hear. She seemed like a nice girl, but James didn't know how much he could trust her. She was a Slytherin after all. "Horrid? I'm sure Sirius is doing something that none of us can even imagine...he's out with the wrong people." James mentioned, referring to Marvolo again. Madame Watson arrived, with something for James to drink. He did, but quickly hated the flavor. "Ah...what the fuck is in this thing." Madame Watson made him drink the rest of the bottle afterwards. "Watch your tongue James." While he was drinking, James glared at the nurse. As he stopped drinking, he heard Jocelyn. "No one can do anything now. If she really needs to obey him, no one can do anything about it. I've tried. In my own way. I ended up getting Crucio thrown at me."

A smile spread across Morgan's face as James admitted to having luck with Lily. Must be the same Lily Severus told me about... She crossed her heart and held up her hand as a promise to not mention it to her cousin. She couldn't tell him that... She knew his feelings towards Lily, but she hoped that perhaps he had new feelings for a different girl that they had talked about before.

Morgan winced at the memory of Sirius using the torture curse on James, "How could he do that? To you..." Morgan raised her eyes to James, all the pain she was feeling there for the world to see. "You don't think he will do that to Luna, do you?" she asked, her voice trembling.

Jocelyn only looked at her hands after what James told her. Her best friend is in trouble but she can't help her because she will be in trouble for it. tears rolled down her cheeks, she wanted to save Luna so bad and now she couldn't do anything. She stood up from the bed, with her arm wrapped in bandages and she stepped into her shoes, she looked up at them. "I'm sorry i have to go, i need to find my brother. Thank you for telling me this although it is hard to believe."

Morgan looked at Jocelyn as she got up and excused herself. "Jocelyn, be careful. Keep her safe, if they can," she said gently and smiled, a muted smile of the noraml Morgan smile, but somehow bright just the same. "James," she said, looking to him. "Is there anything we can do to help Luna? To bring him back?"

"Help Luna?" James said with a brink of hope. "I'm pretty sure we're gonna be able to help her. But Sirius isn't gonna do anything like that to someone that serves him...at least, I think not." James laid back in his bed a bit. "If he hurts her...in any way, that's gonna give him a lot of trouble. I need to talk to Peter and Remus soon. They gotta know this is going down. Come on Morgan. I think I can walk normally." James slowly got up, and offered Morgan his hand. A gentleman's move. Of course Sirius would be on top of James if had seen him do that.

Morgan smiled meekly at James' commment about the idea of Sirius not being cruel to someone who is 'serving' him. That thought, however small, gave her some comfort. When he got up and offered her is hand, she hesitated. After the two confrontations actions such as this caused, she wasn't sure if she wanted to risk a third. However, she eventually slipped her hand into his.

James noticed the way Morgan hesitated in slipping her hand into his. Clearly, Sirius had done a lot of damage. "Don't worry. He can't do anything to me he hasn't already done." James pulled Morgan slightly, and let go of her hand. "Did you know about my power? Me, Sirius and Peter learned it. It's called animagus. I think you've heard about it." James said, while he walked away from the Hospital wing.