Guilty Until Proven Innocent

Chapter Three: Layla Milan

St. Mungos was in rush hour at this hour of the morning. Healers ran about the halls, shouting things at other Healers. Patients were in and out as quick as possible. The waiting room was a right pain in the arse. Much to the anger of the Healers and staff of St. Mungos, Tonks pushed her way up the very front, dragging Maria and Severus behind her.

"What is the meaning of this!" the woman behind the counter demanded. "There are people who have been waiting for hours! Go wait to the back of the line like everyone else!"

"Listen, lady; I don't want to hurt you, but you're pushing your luck with me," Tonks growled forebodingly. She jerked her finger to a very disgruntled-looking Severus and a blood-covered Maria. Many of people were staring at the streak of blood across Maria's face so she bowed her head in an attempt to hide it. The blood wouldn't come off with any normal Cleaning Spell she used for some reason. "Do you see those two people behind me?"

"I can't miss them," the lady said angrily.

"Yeah, well, remember those teenagers that just got brought in and sent to the Emergency Wards?" Tonks continued in a low snarl.

"Yes, all six of the ruddy lot," the woman replied, irritated with Tonks.

"Well, these two people fought like hell to keep those six alive," Tonks snapped irately. "They were in that battle, too, so they need some intensive care!"

"Oh, I didn't know!" the woman cried out. She pushed something and said loudly, "We have two people that need to go to the Intensive Care Unit!"

Severus started, "I don't need-"

"Shut it - you do, too, need it," Tonks barked, looking back at him. He shut his mouth and said nothing in reply but grumbling. Maria looked up at him quickly and then looked back down. A few Healers came rushing up to them.

"Heaven's to Betsy!" one of the woman Healers cried out at the sight of them. Severus folded his arms across his chest and scowled at them. He didn't like hospitals or Healers - in fact, he didn't like other people in short. One of them conjured a stretcher.

"I can walk on my own, thanks," Maria muttered grumpily, shrugging a Healer's hand off of her shoulder. "Where's the ward at?"

"It's down the hall, but Miss-"

"I can walk fine, okay?" Maria cut off. She hated having to depend on people. She shot Severus, who was trying to deal with the other two Healers, a furtive look and then took one step down the hall for the wards before she collapsed onto the ground, her ankle pounding painfully. She grabbed it. "Damn it - I can't believe it - my stupid ankle."

"I tried to tell you - your ankle, it appears to be broken," the Healer said, helping her to her feet carefully.

"But I've been walking and running on it just fine!" Maria exclaimed, slightly confused.

"The adrenaline pumping through your veins dulled the pain," the Healer explained. "You wouldn't have felt a thing, Miss..."

"Milan," Maria said, suddenly feeling very tired. "But I'm not going anywhere to get anything fixed until I make sure that the six teenagers that just came in here are just fine."

"Miss Milan, you aren't going to get anywhere with that broken ankle," the Healer pointed out coolly. Maria glowered at him.

"Then I'll conjure up a wheelchair and wheel myself down to every one of their rooms!" Maria declared stubbornly. She was determined to make sure that they were alright. Besides, she really needed to talk to Ron about what had happened tonight. That was the first of her priorities. She wiped the sweat off of her forehead, panting.

"Miss Milan, you are in no condition to anything!" the Healer said loudly.

"I don't give a care!" Maria retorted. She took fives steps this time before she stopped to lean against the wall. The Healer ran for her, but she pushed him away. Not now--she needed to make sure that everything was okay. It was her job to make sure of that.

She staggered down the hallway with the Healer chasing after her, but her vision began to swim. She stopped. Then, she began swaying. She collapsed on the floor again, but this time, her vision was still spinning madly. Her head was throbbing horribly. She saw the Healer looking down at her; she heard Tonks shouting for help; and she heard Severus yelling, "Layla!"

Then, she passed out.

13

Remus Lupin was normally a very patient man, but today must have been an exception. It had all started in the evening when Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna, Ginny, and Draco Malfoy left the safety of Hogwarts. He hadn't known it then, but Hermione had, once again, figured out Voldemort's evil plans to take over the world. They had made a faulty plan and had taken off to where Voldemort was hiding. Obviously, their plans went awry because they were at St. Mungos now and Voldemort was gone again.

And as if that wasn't enough, two undercover agents had been cost--their covers blown. Even more, they had both almost died in the battle. Remus was not a very happy man right now. Of course he was happy that everyone had lived, but it had come with a terrible price.

Remus had only seen Neville and Hermione because they were the only ones awake. He'd talked to Neville about how his house had been attacked, but his Grandmother was still alive. And he'd questioned Hermione about Voldemort's now ruined plans. Ginny was deeply in shock that she had to be sedated so she couldn't talk. Neville had been too shaken to tell Remus what had happened to her while Hermione didn't know. Draco was still unconscious from whatever had happened to him. Harry had taken a Dreamless Sleep Potion and was still asleep because of exhaustion. Ron had blacked out for an unknown reason and was also still unconscious. Luna was at Hogwarts, being talked to by Albus Dumbledore most likely.

This left Remus to talk to Severus Snape and Layla Milan a.k.a. Maria Vita. Severus and Layla had been successful spies. But they had also both been severely injured in the battle at the abandoned house. Remus knew better than to try and talk to Severus - that was a job only Dumbledore could accomplish - but at the moment, Healers were still working on Layla, who had been injured very badly.

Remus was left to pace outside of Layla's room. With his hands clasped behind his back and a thoughtful yet strained look on his face, Remus paced back and forth outside of Layla's room. He occasionally heard something from inside the room, but other than that, he heard the all too familiar silence. He stopped to stare at the white door, but nothing happened. Remus started up his pacing again.

What is keeping them so long? Remus thought, frustrated.

I've been wondering the same thing.

Remus immediately stopped pacing and stared at the door again with wide eyes. The voice had been Layla's, but she was still inside the room. He then shook his head and started to pace again. He'd forgotten of her Advanced Leglimency abilities there for a second. He rolled his eyes at himself.

Don't be such a show off, Remus thought as he paced.

Oh, you really hurt me, Remus.

Get out of my head, Layla, Remus said in his mind.

At that moment, the white door swung open and a few Healers poured out. The last of them, Healer O'Conner, came out as he slipped his wand into his pocket. Remus stared at him until O'Conner stopped and looked up at him.

"Are you Miss Milan's husband?" O'Conner asked him immediately, stepping in Remus's way so he couldn't enter the room. "Or brother, for that matter?"

Remus glared at him. "No, but-"

"I'm afraid that I can't allow you into the room then," O'Conner said. Remus growled at him, very agitated. It was very early in the morning and after missing sleep too much sleep and having the full moon just around the corner, his nerves and patience were shot.

Someone should tell this guy not to mess with a muzzy werewolf, Layla's voice drifted into Remus's mind. He felt like he should tell her off, but he also felt like agreeing with her. The normally calm Remus had fallen asleep and that just left a very moody Remus.

"Listen, O'Conner; it's terribly important that I talk to-"

"I can't let you do that," O'Conner said, interrupting Remus yet again. "It's strictly against the rules."

Remus growled in frustration. The man was relentless.

"Oh, bother the rules, O'Conner, let the man in," Layla called from inside the room. "I have no objection to a little company so please, don't be an arse and let him in."

O'Conner glowered at Remus, who glared right back at him, but O'Conner stepped out of Remus's way and watched him enter the room. Healer O'Conner walked away and Remus shut the door. He turned back around to Layla, who was looking much better than she had been when she first entered.

The streak of blood across her face was no longer there, which she was eternally grateful for. Most of the cuts were gone and her ankle was healing quickly. She had had some internal bleeding when she came into the hospital, but that had been stopped immediately. Her broken ribs were healing fairly quickly, too. Her black hair was wet and matted, but she didn't seem to notice. She had a bandage wrapped around the hand that had gotten slashed and the black eye was still there. Other than that, Layla looked okay with the small smile.

"Hey, Layla," Remus said softly as he sat down in the seat next to her bed. She cringed as she sat up straight in her bed and then she leaned against a large pillow.

"What's up?" Layla asked good-naturedly, still smiling faintly.

"Harry's asleep, Ginny's been sedated, Neville and Hermione are awake, and Draco and Ron are still unconscious," Remus said, as if he were reading off of a list. A slightly troubled look fleeted across Layla's face and she sat up even straighter.

"How'd Ron fall unconscious?" Layla demanded.

"He just blacked out when he got into the hospital," Remus sighed tiredly. "No one really knows why yet, but he's fine. The Healers fixed him up."

"Is Draco going to be okay?" Layla asked, worried. Last time she had seen him, Draco hadn't looked like he was going to live. Remus nodded his head.

"He was pretty bad, but he arrived just in time," he replied. "He fell unconscious, but that suited the Healers much better. His hand was shattered, but they fixed it up. He had a lot of internal and external bleeding, but he's healed up now. He's going to make it and be just fine." Layla bit her lip and looked down at her hands in her lap. She nodded her head slowly. "So...how does it feel to finally be able to be called 'Layla Milan' all of the time again?"

Layla smiled weakly and continued to look down at her hands. "It feels pretty good, to tell the truth," she answered. "I never did feel comfortable with my alias, Maria Vita. It really rolls off of people's tongues too...smoothly. I hated it."

"Maria Vita," Remus drawled.

"Oh, shut up, Remus Lupin!" Layla snapped, swatting Remus's arm. He grinned and laughed at her while she blushed and glowered at him. "You were cursed with that name before you got bitten." However, she smiled at him and he finally stopped laughing. This was really helping him get over his agitation.

"So, since most are knocked out at the moment, Severus won't talk to me, and I've already talked to Neville and Hermione, I'm going to have to interrogate you now," Remus said.

"Oh, cheerio," Layla replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes. She situated herself into a more comfortable position. Remus gave her a look that told her that he didn't want to. She waved her hand in the air dismissively. "It's quite alright. It's not like it hasn't been done before. Ask away, my dear Remy."

"Who in the world beat the crap out of you?" Remus asked bluntly.

"I did not get the crap beat out of me!" Layla exclaimed indignantly. A shadow of a grin crept upon Remus's face and she knew that he didn't believe her. She frowned at him. "Okay, so it was pretty close, but not completely! Avery McNair pummeled me, but I beat the crap out of him first, alright?" Remus nodded his head for her to continue. "And then Lucius Malfoy."

"What in Godric Gryffindor's name happened to Draco Malfoy?" Remus questioned, completely exasperated. No one knew what had happened with him. She bit her lip and looked back down to her hands in her lap, which were fumbling with the hem of the blanket now.

"He duelled his father, Lucius Malfoy, but obviously, Malfoy knew more Dark Arts magic than Draco did," Layla said quietly. "He was far off when I found the two of them. I had just started putting a few Healing Charms on him when Lucius Malfoy attacked me. I would've been dead had Draco not found his father's wand and...and killed him..."

"That's how you got the blood streaked across your face, isn't it?" Remus replied softly.

Layla nodded her head and didn't look up at Remus. "Yeah, Malfoy had a dagger and he climbed on top of me. He was getting ready to kill me when Draco cut Malfoy's throat with that Dark Arts spell. Malfoy's blood spilled onto my face before I could push him off of me. It would not come off for anything..."

"Yeah, it took them a bit to get off of you, didn't it," Remus sighed. Layla nodded her head again. "Do you know what happened to Ginny? Neville was too traumatized to say anything about it. What about Severus?"

Layla nodded her head once more. "Yeah, apparently, before they ran off, Voldemort grabbed Ginny and changed into Tom Riddle. It scared her half to death and into a deep shock," she told Remus, who merely nodded his head for her to continue. "Severus...well, he was with Harry for some time and then after...after I got Draco, he showed up. We were leaving when Voldemort popped up again and Severus locked himself in the room with Voldemort to save Harry, Draco, and...and me. I told Harry to help Draco to escape and I busted into the room. It had appeared to me that Voldemort had hit Severus with a few hexes and the Mark on his arm was stinging. Then I saved him; then, he saved me; and we both got the bloody hell out of dodge."

"You know that you shouldn't have lived through that," Remus pointed out. Layla waved her hand in the air dismissively.

"I shouldn't have lived through a lot of things, but I did - I always do," she sighed, sounding a little wistful. Remus frowned at her, wishing he had what she did. He always wanted to know what was on her mind - everyone's minds, at that - but he didn't know, and she was, having the ability that he wanted for so long - the one he thought was impossible. He put his hand over hers and she looked away from him.

"I may not be able to read your mind, but I know what you're thinking," Remus said. She snorted and shook her head. "You're not running away; you run too much as it is."

"Bother that, Remus; I don't want anyone else to die!" Layla exclaimed, jerking her hand away from his. She bit her lip and looked up at him. "I thought it would just be Regulus, but then...then everyone else started to die or get hurt! First, Lily and then James...and...and look what happened to them! Of course, Alice Longbottom tries to help me, but look what happened to her and her nice husband, Frank! Poor Neville...it's my fault-"

"Shut it; just because they were friends with you, doesn't mean you killed them," Remus replied quickly, interrupting her. A fresh film of tears came across Layla's gray eyes and she looked him straight in the eyes. The absence of her voice in his mind suddenly worried him. Every time she looked someone in the eyes, she was "talking" to them, but now, she wasn't.

"But after that, the friends I made always died - every single one of them," Layla whimpered, sounding like a little girl. "When I came back into the Order...I tried, really, Remus; I really tried to keep my distance, but...but damn Sirius and his sour mood! When I was there late at night so none of the kids would know about me, Sirius was always up and we'd talk... It's my fault that he's dead, Remus. I'm so, so sorry."

"Layla, please, not now..." Remus groaned. He didn't want to talk about Sirius. Never had he wanted to talk about Sirius and his death. It hurt him too much. But here, sitting in front of him, was the most fragile woman he had seen in his life. Layla turned her head away from him very quickly. She moved away from him, too. "Layla, please..."

"Just leave, Remus," Layla said quietly. "I don't want you to die."

"You are the most stubborn woman I have met in my life!" Remus declared, frustrated once again. Layla folded her arms across her chest.

"Yeah, well, the same goes for you," she replied in an empty voice. She was trying to distance herself from him now. He could see it playing in front of him again - the card she used every time Molly Weasley offered her something to drink or started to talk to her.

"Layla, darn you and your stupid thoughts, you are not going to run away!" Remus said, slightly irritated with her. She'd almost done this after Sirius had died, but Remus had gotten her to stay along with Tonk's help.

"Who says I'm not!" Layla demanded crossly, whipping her head around to glare at him heatedly. He could see the fire in her eyes.

"Me!" Remus retorted. "You can't run away forever--from every little bloody thing! Life's full of obstacles and problems, but you're going to have to live with it! There's no way for you to escape this because it'll just catch up with you and hit you full force when you're alone! You're hurting yourself and you're not saving others! You're staying here whether you like it or not because not a single one of us are going to let you go off by yourself! It's too dangerous-"

"I can take care of myself, thank you very much!" Layla snapped.

"Voldemort and his Death Eaters all know what you look like now! They'll kill you!"

"Yeah, well maybe they would be doing the world a huge favor by getting rid of me," Layla muttered, looking down at her hands again. "It'd sure save a lot of people."

"But none of us want you to die! They"-Remus pointed to the door and Layla knew he was referring to the seven teenagers-"definitely don't want you to die after all you've done for them! Both Hermione and Neville asked about you and your condition! Hermione started to cry when I told her that I didn't know if you were going to be alright!"

"You see, I only cause people pain!"

"They care about you, Layla! They want you to be okay! For goodness' sake, Hermione was devastated when she heard that you'd passed out with all that internal bleeding crap! She looks up to you! They all care about you!"

"What if I don't want them to care about me?" Maria cried out. "I don't want them to die!"

"For the love of all things good in this world, would you just shut up? Can you even hear what you're saying? You're being a jerk! Quit being so damn difficult, Layla!" Remus shouted, worn out from everything that had happened. He hadn't meant to shout, but with everything on him right now, he'd snapped and Layla had been asking for it.

They just glared at each other in silence - both out loud and in their minds. Suddenly, tears welled up in her eyes and her bottom lip began to tremble. Immediately, Remus regretted his outburst. He tried to apologize, but he had lost his voice temporarily. He just sat there helplessly with a sad look on his face as Layla put her face in her hands and began to sob. Her shoulders shook horribly.

"Layla, I'm sorry, but please..."

"I don't want y-you or T-Tonks or S-Severus to die!"

"And we won't! You don't worry about us."

"Th-they could've d-died tonight, R-Remus," Layla sobbed, her voice muffled because of her hands. "I th-thought I was g-going to d-die. I have n-never been given s-such a look in m-my life, and it scared m-me, the way L-Lucius M-Malfoy looked at me with that d-dagger in his hand..."

"Sh, it's alright; they're all alive and safe," Remus soothed, pulling her into an awkward hug. He scooted over closer to her bed and pulled her closer to him. She moved her head to cry onto his shoulder.

To tell the truth, Remus had never been so startled in his life. Every time he saw her, she was solely a stoic or there was an air of false cheeriness about her. He'd never seen - or even heard of - her crying. It was the most alarming sight to be honest. When she cried, he knew that it was something truly horrible.

Layla pulled away when something came to her. Remus looked at her oddly. She forgot to wipe the tears out of her eyes. "Dolohov, did they catch him?" she demanded. Remus shook his head after hesitating. She swore and then wiped the tears out of her eyes. "He's going to track down Hermione and try to kill her every chance he gets now; he's set on revenge. And he's going to want to kill me. How do I always manage to get myself on someone's hit list?"

"What do you mean?" Remus asked.

"When I distracted Dolohov so Severus could help the others escape, Dolohov recognized me while everyone else didn't; I've changed so much," Layla said, sounding flippant when Remus knew that it was nothing like that. His eyes widened at this. "We were friends at Hogwarts - we even dated briefly. He's going to want to shoot me down."

Remus rolled his eyes. "Gods, you and your Slytherin love triangles," he muttered. Layla giggled and punched him in the arm playfully.

"Shut up," Layla mumbled, "I never dated Regulus or anyone else for that matter. Antonin Dolohov has been my only boyfriend; it was in our Seventh Year. I still can't remember why I agreed to it though." She shook her head. "N.E.W.T.s must've driven me mad or something."

"Yeah, something like that," Remus sighed, grinning at her. She smiled faintly. "So...you won't be leaving us anytime soon, now will you?" Layla rolled her eyes, but reluctantly shook her head. He grinned broadly. "Good. Well, I'm off to see if anyone's awake. You need to rest."

Remus squeezed Layla's hand encouragingly and stood up. She saluted him with a smirk on her face. Former Slytherins seemed to smirk a lot more often than any other former House members. He opened the door and started to walk out when Layla called out to him.

"Hey, Remus!"

Remus turned around. "Yeah?"

"Thanks," Layla said softly, "for, you know, everything. And I'm sorry for being so difficult, but that's the way I am. I know I'm a right pain in the arse."

"Anytime, Layla," Remus replied with a grin.

"And could you tell me when Ron regains consciousness?" Layla asked curiously. "There's something I really need to talk to him about." Remus looked puzzled, but nodded his head after a moment of hesitation. "Thanks again. See ya later, Remy."

"Shut it," Remus replied. Layla just smirked in response. "Goodbye...Maria Vita."

"Bite me, Lupin!" Layla yelled, chucking a fluffy pillow at him. He ducked behind the door and laughed at her. He peeked back into the room.

"I don't think that would be such a good idea," Remus pointed out. She stuck her tongue out at him and he just laughed at her again. She laughed along with him and waved goodbye as he shut the door. Now, all she heard was deafening silence, which disliked even more. She shifted herself so that she could lie back down again. She rolled onto her side at the glass of water on the post next to her bed.

You see, they're all okay. They're going to live. They're going to be just fine. You helped save them. You see, they didn't die after all. Remus is right. It wasn't you; it was Voldemort and his bloody Death Eaters' faults that everyone died or got seriously hurt. You just fall asleep now. Remus is right again; you need your rest. You deserve it after tonight.

Layla stared at the water and sighed. She grabbed her wand and waved it to turn off the lights in her room. She sat her wand back down onto the bedpost. She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling in the dark. Everyone was alive and fine. She closed her eyes and in a few minutes, Layla Milan had finally fallen asleep.