Chapter 69

Dear Meredith,

Hope this letter finds you well. Things here at Hogwarts have been simply awful. The ministry has placed the most evil woman in the Defense Against the Dark Arts post. Professor Umbridge is the most horrid woman in the world. We're not learning anything in Defense Against the Dark Arts. We're not learning how to protect ourselves, we're not learning to pass our OWLs. Fudge is going to get us all killed if he doesn't face the truth soon.

There are quite a lot of people here at school who believe Harry about You Know Who but, there are still those who doubt. Our friend Seamus Finnigan is among those who don't believe.

I'm worried about Harry. I've never seen him like this. He's so angry. He's shouting at everyone, Malfoy, Umbridge even Ron and I. I can understand being upset about the Ministry and the secrecy but it's as though he thinks the entire magical world is against him, which just isn't so. I can only hope the Order is having more luck getting the word out about You Know Who. I'm scared Meredith. Scared we won't be ready for what is to come. I fear if I don't do something all is going to be lost

Hermione

Meredith set down the letter her fist clenched. Delores Umbridge. Seven years it had been since the trial and Meredith could still remember the toad like face, poofy hair and that ridiculous bow. That woman was spreading her poison at Hogwarts. It infuriated her. That woman should not be allowed near a dog let alone children. She couldn't blame Harry for being angry at the situation. In his place she would be too. She had to put Hermione and Harry out of her mind as her bracelet glowed silver. She was being summoned to trauma. She hurried to the lift and took it to the first floor. She stopped short as she saw Kingsley and another man she recognized from the ministry. Healer Bloomton was arguing with the other man.

"I can't treat him if I don't know what happened to him," Bloomton snapped at the Ministry official. Meredith then noticed the man on the gurney. Moving in for a closer look she could see the man's eyes were glassy and he seemed to be muttering to himself. Meredith pulled her wand and scanned the man for signs of dark magic.

"His name is Bode." She glanced up. Kingsley stood near her. He was staring straight ahead of him but she knew he had spoken to her. Meredith's wand let off three sharp sparks.

"He was cursed," she said. She gently turned her wand.

"He is an unspeakable. We found him near the chamber." Again it was Kingsley. Meredith leaned closed to Bode keeping her voice low.

"You think he was Imperiused?"

"Perhaps," Kingsley said.

"Where was he found?" Bloomton snapped.

"That's classified ma'am," the other official said. Bloomton threw her hands in the air.

"Healer Bloomton," Meredith said. "I believe this man was cursed, look at these readings." Bloomton pushed past the official and took Meredith's wand.

"This isn't good," Bloomton said.

"This man has had a curse placed on him," Bloomton addressed Kingsley and the official. "We can't treat him unless we know what curse was placed on him. So one of you needs to start talking to me." Both men were silent. Bloomton stared at them hard but neither man spoke.

"Fine," Bloomton said tossing her hands in the air. "Let's get him up to Spell Damage. We'll see what Astrid has to say about this." Meredith stepped to the side of the gurney to guide it to the lift. She looked back at Kingsley who was giving her a very pointed stare. She nodded.

"Healer Burnbach wasn't able to determine what caused Bode to lose his memories," Meredith told the room. Sirius, Mad Eye, Dora, Molly, Arthur, Hestia, and Emmeline were gathered round the parlor.

"Is it permanent?" Dora asked. Meredith sighed.

"Burnbach said it's possible that in time Bode could regain some of his memories, but it could be years."

"What would Bode have been doing in the chamber?" Sirius asked.

"Broderick Bode was an unspeakable," Mad Eye said. "He worked down there. And he would have known what's down there."

"If he knew what was down there, he'd have known better than to touch something he shouldn't," Meredith said. "Imperiused, I knew it."

"One of You Know Who's people must have put the Imperius Curse on Bode, to try and get him to take whatever it is You Know Who wants from the Chamber."

"Then they have made a grave mistake." They all turned as Dumbledore strode into the room.

"Whoever put the curse on Bode knew nothing about what is in that chamber. Had they known they would never have tried to send a third party after it." Meredith didn't think she'd ever seen her old professor look so old.

"Umbridge doesn't suspect?" Molly said worried.

"She has Harry in detention at the moment," he said. "But that is not our immediate concern. It is more important than ever that the weapon be protected. Voldemort has shown that he will stop at nothing to get it."

"What is 'it' Albus?" Arthur asked. "What is it that you have us guarding? What is this weapon?"

"We'd all like to know that," Hestia piped up. Dumbledore sighed.

"Yes, you are right. I have asked you all to trust me blindly and you have done so." He took a seat and all leaned in.

"Sixteen years ago, I was summoned to the Hog's Head Inn to interview a possible candidate for the position of Divination Professor. I had no expectations of my success, or that the candidate would prove to be a true seer. My expectations turned out to be true, the woman was no more a seer than this tea kettle. But as I started to take my leave she spoke and her voice was different, deep. She seemed to be in a sort of trance, completely unaware of what she was doing or saying. The prophecy she made referred to the one with the power to vanquish the dark lord. She said that he would be born to parents who had thrice defied the dark lord and that he would be born as the seventh month dies. What I had failed to realize until it was too late was that our conversation had been overheard by one of Voldemort's followers who immediately reported to his master."

"Seventh month," Arthur murmured. "Harry's birthday is July 31st."

"The last day of the seventh month of the year," Dora said.

"Parents who had thrice defied the Dark Lord," Sirius said. "James and Lily. Voldemort sent his Death Eaters after them three times. They barely escaped the last attempt if Remus and I hadn't arrived when we did…"

"Yes," Dumbledore said. "However, at the time I did not know to whom the prophecy spoke of. But not a month later I learned that not one but two women in the order were expecting babies who would be born in the summer. Lily Potter and Alice Longbottom." Meredith's breath caught in her throat.

"Neville?" she breathed. "The prophecy could have been referring to Neville? Not Harry?" The sweet, pudgy, forgetful boy's face filled her mind. That Neville could be the one that would bring Voldemort to ruin was unfathomable.

"Yes," Dumbledore said. "It was only made clear which of the two boys the prophecy spoke of after Voldemort went to Godric's Hollow and failed to kill Harry. You see there was a part of the prophecy that the Dark Lord's minion did not hear. It said that the Dark Lord would mark this child as his equal."

"Mark him?" Molly said.

"Harry's scar," Hestia said.

"Yes," Dumbledore said. "As some of you may or may not know, Harry's scar had given him pain when Voldemort is closed to him, or feeling a particularly strong emotion." Meredith felt ill.

"Last summer," she said. "Harry wrote me and asked me about his scar. He said it had been hurting him. He was concerned about it. I never did get a chance to talk to him about it."

"Why didn't he tell me about this?" Sirius demanded. Meredith shrugged. She knew of course but she was not in the mood to deal with Sirius's ego.

"Does Harry know about the connection?" she asked Dumbledore instead.

"Yes and no," Dumbledore said. "I told him in his first year that the scar would hurt when Voldemort was near him, after he first encountered Voldemort going after the Sorcerer's Stone. But I did not tell him the whole truth. He knows nothing of the prophecy or the true reason that Voldemort wants him dead. Perhaps I should have told him then but…he was only eleven. Too young to take on such a burden."

"And now?" Sirius said. "He's not a child anymore Albus. He needs to know the truth."

"That he not know the whole of the prophecy is more vital than ever Sirius," Dumbledore said his voice dark. "The connection between Harry and Voldemort goes deeper than any of you realize. There is a very real danger that Voldemort will use this connection to destroy Harry. As most of you know, Voldemort is a Legilimens. During his first reign of terror he would use this power against his enemies. To either get them to do his bidding, or completely unhinge them. Obviously, he cannot use this power on Harry, as the boy is out of his reach and he cannot look him in the eye. But, were he to discover this link between them…" The room was silent as the implication hit them all.

"That…"Dumbledore said, "Is why Harry has been kept in the dark of our plans. If Voldemort realized he could possess Harry's mind, see what Harry sees…" Meredith gripped the chair in front of her. God, it all made sense.

"So that is what we're guarding," Arthur said. "The prophecy."

"Yes," Dumbledore said. "Voldemort has been obsessed with knowing the rest of the prophecy since his return. What he does not know is that only those whom about which the prophecies are made can touch the prophecies."

"That's why Bode lost his marbles," Dora said.

"Yes," Dumbledore said. "No doubt he was imperiused to try and get the prophecy. But only Harry and Voldemort can touch it without harm."

"If Voldemort finds that out…" Emmeline said.

"He can't enter the Ministry himself," Dora said.

"But he could take over Harry's mind and get him to go get it for him," Sirius said slamming his hand on the table.

"I do not believe he could possess Harry directly," Dumbledore said. "It has been proven many times that Voldemort cannot touch Harry without causing pain to himself."

"How can we protect Harry's mind?" Dora said. "We can post as many bodyguards around him as we want to but if You Know Who get ahold of his mind?"

"Occlumency," Meredith said.

"Yes, I have considered this," Dumbledore said. "I have already spoken to Severus, and he agrees that it may be a measure we need to take in the near future. However, with Delores Umbridge imposing her reign on the school, we will need to be cautious in taking this step." Dumbledore glanced at the clock.

"I must return to the school," he said standing. "My absence will not unnoticed much longer. For now continue as you have been. The prophecy must be protected. Meredith, I know you are mostly working in trauma at the moment but try to keep your eye on Bode without provoking suspicion. If there is any change to his condition inform me at once."

Keeping an eye on Bode was not as easy and Meredith had hoped. As her focus was trauma she did not have many reasons to be on the spell damage ward. While healer Burnbach was always pleasant and acted pleased to see her, she knew the head of Spell Damage was becoming suspicious. She tried to pretend to be interested in Bode's recovery because he'd been her patient initially. That would only last so long as trauma healers weren't known to follow the recovery of patients no longer in their care. Burnbach seemed willing to chalk it up to Meredith being young and new and eager but that would only take her so far.

"It's rather refreshing to see a trauma healer follow through with patients once they've come up here," Healer Dawson said to her one day. The tall blonde witch was Burnbach's second in command. Meredith smiled at the older healer who she really thought was something of a half-wit.

"Well, it's such a mystery what happened to Mr. Bode. I guess I'm just having trouble letting go of it." Dawson nodded sympathetically.

"'Fraid there's not much chance we'll ever know less he comes out of this and remembers." Meredith jumped as her bracelet glowed.

"Looks like a trauma just came in," she said apologetically.

"Get on then," Dawson said. Meredith hurried to the lift. When she arrived on the trauma floor she quickly found David tending to a man and woman. They looked like they been attacked by a wild beast. The woman's arm had nearly been torn off and the man was clutching at his stomach as though trying to hold in his own internal organs. David had frozen the woman and was trying to keep the man calm.

"What do we have?" Meredith said all business.

"Henry and Lucille Graystone. They were attacked by something, we don't know what. They've both lost a lot of blood." Meredith looked down at Mr. Graystone's face. From the paleness of his skin and the shock in his eyes she knew they wouldn't be finding out anytime soon what did this.

"Lupin," David snapped at her. "Mr. Graystone needs surgery immediately. I need you to take over on Mrs. Graystone."

"Me?" Meredith was stunned. She'd never dealt with a new trauma solo before. Without even examining Mrs. Graystone it was obvious the woman was going to need surgery.

"Bloomton's on another patient," David said holding his wand over Mr. Graystone trying to keep him from bleeding out. "Hopefully, she'll be done in time to take over for you but until then Mrs. Graystone is yours. You're the only one I trust." Meredith stared at her mentor and former lover. She'd always known David thought she had potential but this was beyond anything he'd ever asked of her. She nodded.

"Go," she said. "I've got this." She hurried over to Mrs. Graystone's side as David barked out orders to take her patient's husband to surgery.

"What do we know," she snapped at the assistant healers who hovered around Mrs. Graystone.

"Whatever did this tore the brachial artery." A dark skinned assistant with gray in her hair said. Meredith recognized her as one of the most senior assistants and gave the woman her full attention. "She'd lost a lot of blood when they brought her in. Healer Neiman froze her so she wouldn't bleed out while he worked on her husband and had us summon you." Meredith glided her wand over Mrs. Graystone's arm which looked like three day old spaghetti sauce.

"When did he freeze her?" she asked. There had been a lot of damage to the nerves in the woman's arm. It was a very real possibility that she would lose it.

"Ten minutes." Meredith cursed silently. She didn't have a lot of time. The patient's blood had already been frozen for longer than was truly safe. There were only a few minutes more she could keep her frozen without doing permanent damage.

"We've paged Healer Bloomton," a different assistant said. This one she recognized as newer, and one she'd seen disagreeing with David on many occasions.

"Is she on her way," Meredith asked placing her wand in the wound trying to find the cut in the artery. Reattaching the arm would be a moot point if the woman bled out. There was so much damage Meredith wasn't certain that she would be able to repair the artery.

"She's stuck in another procedure ma'am. She can't leave for at least half an hour."

"This woman will be dead in half an hour," Meredith said. "I can't find the tear. I need more light." The more helpful of the assistants' wand was instantly lit up.

"Right over the wound." Meredith said needlessly for the tip of the woman's wand was already casting light on the bloody mess. Meredith spared the woman a quick glance.

"What's your name?"

"Talbert ma'am," the woman said. Meredith made a mental note as she searched through the mess of tissue and blood trying to locate the artery. Her stomach clenched when she finally was able to see the damage.

"This artery isn't cut. It's been shredded." The assistants around her looked grim. Meredith thought quickly. To do a full repair of a shredded artery would take hours. This woman had already been frozen longer than was safe. There was no other choice.

"We need to get her to surgery," Meredith said. The assistants stared at her as though she had lost her mind.

"You," she snapped at the new assistant. "Get up to Operating room 4. Tell whoever's up there to get a flow of bella donna going. We're gonna need dittany, gristock juice and a ton of blood replenishing potion." For a moment the assistant just stared at her.

"Move!" she yelled at the assistant. He scampered off like a scared rabbit.

"We need to move her," Meredith said once she had placed a tourniquet on the wound. It would only stop the bleeding for a few minutes but Meredith needed both hands free. Talbert quickly moved to assist her but she was staring at her hard.

"Are you sure about this?" she asked as they moved Mrs. Graystone into the lift. Was Meredith sure? She absolutely was not!

"There's no other choice," Meredith said. Talbert nodded and punched the button to the lift. The journey to the Operating Floor was only seconds but it felt like years. The second they were there they pushed the gurney into the operating room. The assistant must have done as she ordered for the room was prepped for surgery.

"Where's the belladonna," she snapped.

"Here," one of assistants that ran the operating rooms said. "How long has she been frozen?"

"Longer that she should," Meredith snapped. "I'm removing the spell, as soon as I do you get her under. Fast." Like the other assistants the man looked at her skeptically but he nodded, the bottle of belladonna poised and ready.

"Finite Incantatem," Meredith said lifting the freezing spell from the woman. Her heart raced as the woman unfroze and began screaming. She moved forward and held the woman down, with Talbert's assistance. The bottle of belladonna was uncorked and placed under the woman's nose, forcing her to inhale the vapors. After a few seconds Mrs. Graystone stopped screaming and was still.

"Keep her out," Meredith said to the assistant. She checked the tourniquet. It was holding for the moment but she would have to move fast. She stepped to the antechamber to scourgify. Talbert and the other assistant had followed her.

"You're going to do this?" The other asked her.

"Do you see anyone else here?" She snapped cleaning her hands.

"We need to summon Healer Bloomton. You're only a second year."

"Healer Nieman left this patient in my care, and she is not going to bleed out on my watch. By all means summon Healer Bloomton. If she gets her in time I will happily turn over the reigns to her. But this woman is going to die if we don't fix that artery and we do not have time to wait. Right now the best we can hope for is that she'll only lose her arm. In any case I am not going to stand here and argue while a patient is in need. So the two of you can either help me or stay out of my way." Meredith turned at that and strode back to her patient.

"Vitals," she snapped.

"Pulse is weak but steady." Meredith took her wand and placed it into the wound finding the shredded artery. She took a deep breath and began to chant the spell she knew by heart. Everything else around her ceased to exist as her entire focus was centered on that artery. There was nothing else in the world but that artery.

"Arterio Imendum," she said over and over and over. As she focused on the artery she barked out orders. She called for dittany as the blood flowed from the wound. She called for gristock juice to cauterize a tear. Blood replenishing potion was poured into Mrs. Graystone by the gallon. But this was all just white noise as Meredith waged war on the artery which was putting up a battle not to mend but stay shredded.

"Oh no you don't," she thought. "You're not going to beat me." She didn't know how long she stood there chanting the spell. Time had ceased to exist. Her feet and back were aching but that was lost on her. She was not going to be defeated.

"Healer Lupin," a voice said in her ear. She ignored it. Why were they bothering her? Couldn't they see she was trying to save a life?

"Meredith," a familiar voice said. She felt a hand grip her wrist. Her eyes snapped up and met a familiar pair of hazel eyes.

"You can stop now," David said. "You did it." Meredith stared down at the artery. What had been a mess of blood, tissue and torn valves now lay a fully mended artery.

"Wha…"

"You saved her life Healer Lupin," another voice said beside her. She turned her head and saw Healer Smethwycke standing there. "Now let us try to save her arm." Meredith nodded, a bit dazed. She felt a hand on her shoulder guide her from the room. She glanced up and saw David and Healer Bloomton beaming at her.

"What…"

"You saved her Meredith," David said. Meredith was confused. Where had these two come from?

"I was summoned about forty minutes ago," Bloomton said. "I couldn't leave my patient at the time. By the time I got here, there wasn't much I could do you weren't already doing. "

"Mr. Graystone?" Meredith asked.

"Is recovering. Wasn't able to tell us what did this unfortunately. I came down to trauma to check up on you and they said you'd taken Mrs. Graystone to surgery."

"There wasn't any…"

"I know," David said. "I knew that she was in bad shape, but Mr. Graystone was the worse of the two cases. I had hoped the damage wasn't as bad as I'd thought and you'd be able to keep her stable till Bloomton was available."

"Talbert told us how bad the damage was. She didn't have a lot of faith you'd be able to save her."

"She does now," Bloomton said. "Congratulations Lupin, you just flew solo." Meredith grinned.

Meredith felt as though she were walking on air as she stepped inside Grimmauld Place that evening. Healer Smethwycke had been able to save Mrs. Graystone's arm and she was expected to make a full recovery. Mr. Graystone had been put into a medically induced coma to aid the healing process. Mrs. Graystone had not been able to tell them what had attacked them as it had come at them from behind. It was puzzling but, Meredith cared less about that right now. She slipped into the kitchen and found it empty. There was a large cauldron of what looked to be beef stew, still hot. As Meredith grabbed a bowl she could hear arguing coming from the parlor. As she spooned a large amount of stew into her bowl and went to the parlor. She surveyed the arena before leaning against a wall, eating as she listened to the argument. Molly and Sirius were at the center of the room arguing the loudest, of course. Dora, Mad Eye, Bill, and Arthur sat at the outskirts, occasionally chiming in. From what Meredith could tell between Molly's shrieks and Sirius's grumbling it seemed that Hermione had formed a secret club at school to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts to students, with Harry as their teacher. Meredith was impressed. Hermione had said she was going to do something about Umbridge not teaching them, but Meredith had never in a million years expected the girl to outwardly defy all school rules. From the argument they were having, Sirius was obviously in favor of this, while Molly was strongly opposed.

"If they're discovered they'll be expelled!"

"Better expelled than unprepared for battle."

"They're too young to be training in combat!"

"Like being too young will stop Voldemort, oh for God's sake Molly get a grip will you."

"How long have they been at this?" Meredith said quietly to Dora.

"Six rounds no clear winner," Dora said back.

"All right you two that's enough," Mad Eye broke in, silencing both of them. "This bickering isn't getting us anywhere." Molly seemed to notice Meredith then.

"Oh, Meredith dear, I didn't realize you'd come in," she said, a bit sheepishly.

"You heard what we were talking about," Sirius said, not asking a question.

"More like what you were screaming about," Meredith said, nonchalantly. "Excellent stew Molly."

"Well what do you think?" Molly asked. Meredith felt her face get hot as all eyes turned to face her. This was not a position she wanted to be in. Sirius was her father, but Molly had been like a mother to her since she was eleven years old. She did not want to choose sides.

"I think you both make valid points," she said. Over her shoulder she could see Tonks rolling her eyes. Meredith took a breath and put on her 'Healer Voice'.

"I agree that the kids are not going to learn how to protect themselves by letting Umbridge not teach them. They need to learn from someone and Harry has the knowledge and the experience." Sirius looked smug and Molly livid.

"But I understand how you feel as well Molly," she said quickly as Molly looked ready to blow her stack. "I don't want the kids involved in a war anymore than you do. I watched Ron and Ginny grow up. Harry and Hermione are like my little brother and sister. It would kill me if one of them, if any of them were to get hurt but…like Sirius said. Voldemort isn't going to leave them be just because they're not of age. Whether we like it or not he's going to make a move on them and when that happens it's better that they're prepared." She stopped speaking and glanced around her gaging the reactions of everyone in the room. Sirius was giving her a smile full of what seemed to be pride. Molly still looked livid but her lips were pursed and Meredith knew what she had said was sinking in.

"Sirius," Molly said. "When you speak to Harry tonight, I want you to inform Ron and Ginny that I am forbidding them to join this club. I can't forbid Harry and Hermione, as I'm not they're mother, but please convey my disapproval. I would do it myself but I'm on duty tonight." With her final word Molly spun on her heel and stalked out of the room. Sirius threw his hands up in frustration and left.

"Well," Bill said breaking the tension. "Who wants pie?"

Later after the apple pie Molly had made was devoured Meredith stood in the kitchen washing dishes. She'd seen her dad do this when he had something on his mind and it always seemed to work for him. And she ran a dish clothe over a plate she thought about the club Hermione had put together. It was a huge risk they were taking. Things must be worse than Hermione had described if the younger girl felt driven to do this.

"Need help," Bill said coming up beside her. Meredith applauded herself for not dropping the plate. She really needed to get over this stupid childhood crush she had on Bill. Even if was even more handsome than he'd been when they were in school.

"You can dry," she said.

"You spoke well before," he said picking up a towel. Meredith shrugged.

"You did," Bill insisted. "You saw both sides, dismissed neither of them."

"I doubt your mother would agree." Meredith said.

"Mum's just worried," Bill said. "In any case she wants Ron to pass his O. ." Meredith smiled.

"You looked tired when you came in," Bill said. "Tired but happy." Her stomach jumped a bit at the thought that he had noticed her. She told him about the Graystones as they took care of the dishes.

"So you're a hero," Bill said. Meredith shrugged.

"I just did what needed to be done," she said, though she couldn't help blushing.

"Still," Bill said. "You saved someone's life." Meredith tried to smile but it was overtaken by a yawn.

"Why don't you go get some sleep," Bill said. "I'll finish these." Meredith was tempted to argue but all fight was stamped down by another yawn. She handed him the dishcloth and made her way upstairs. She slipped off her shoes and was asleep by the time her head hit the pillow.

Meredith opened her eyes and was surprised to see it was dark out. She glanced at her watch and gasped. She had been asleep for almost three hours. Lord, she'd only meant to take a short nap. She must have been more tired than she thought. She rolled out of bed and slipped her feet back into her shoes. The house was quiet. Everyone must have gone home. She made her way down the stairs. She could hear voices coming from the parlor. She peered around the corner and saw Sirius's legs poking out from the fireplace.

"All right," she heard him say roughly. "I just thought you'd like to meet."

"Of course I would," she heard Harry's voice from the fire. "I don't want you chucked back in Azkaban."

"You're less like your father than I thought," Sirius said. "The risks what would have made it fun for James." Meredith's mouth dropped open. How could Sirius say such a thing? Didn't Harry have enough problems right now without having to deal with his godfather's pouting? Sirius said a hasty goodbye and started to climb out of the fireplace. Meredith thought about ducking away but no…this had gone on long enough. She stepped forward with her arms crossed as Sirius brushed soot off his shirt.

"Oh," he said looking up at her. "I didn't realize you were there."

"I heard what you said. Don't you think Harry has enough to deal with?"

"What are talking about?"

"You made him feel like he can't measure up to James in your eyes. Molly's right. You think you have your best friend back. But Harry is his own person, Sirius. He's not James."

"I know he's not James. James is gone! He's gone and it's all my fault. If I hadn't convinced James to make that worm Peter secret keeper James and Lily would be alive. Harry would have his parents and your mother and I would have been able to … we'd have been a family."

"But I wouldn't be me," Meredith said sadly.

"What?"

"I am who I am because Remus Lupin raised me. I'd be a completely person if you and Mum had raised me. But then maybe that's what you want."

"Meredith…" Sirius tried but Meredith couldn't stay there. She turned and ran out the door with Sirius calling her. She ran till she was at her flat. She pushed open the door and sank to the sofa. She pulled her wand from her pocket and lit a fire in the fireplace. Then she grabbed the thick blue afghan her dad had given her when she moved in and wrapped it around herself. Everyone had been concerned about her being too cold here. But somehow it wasn't the drafty apartment that made her feel chilled to the bone.