The first thing he felt was a wave of pain. His head felt like it would split in half and he cradled it in his hands, keeping his eyes shut. They burst open when he heard voices, and the bright lights gave him tunnel-vision. He looked through an ocean of technicolor before the scene before him came into view. Still squinting, his heart began to race, because he had no idea where he was. Which made him realize that he had no idea why he was here... and who was he, also?

The second thing he felt was panic. Once he realized that he had no idea where he was, he snowballed into a variety of other concerns. Nobody was around to answer his questions, and when he attempted to get up he experienced that wave of pain he'd had initially. In addition to the headache and the aches, he could feel his heart beating loudly all the way in his ears.

He looked around frantically, ignoring the twinges and pangs. At the moment they were the least of his concerns. What happened? Ignorant of his serious injuries, he made an attempt to get up, moving the foot that wasn't splinted to the ground and put weight on it. Though that leg had not been wrapped up, it could not support him and he fell to the ground; he yelped out of surprise and out of hurt.

It was evening.

She was bored. And idle. And lonely.  Not that she lacked for visitors, but any time without another person hurt. When left with her thoughts, her thoughts led to what happened. And those thoughts led to past-happenings and potential future happenings and if the before-Mai was going to be anything like the after-Mai. No. Those thoughts were not pleasant, and being around people was a welcome distraction. For the last hour or so, she felt a rock of anxiety laying in her stomach, and her thoughts kept leading back to... Jai Patil. A student who had seen her regularly. They stayed in contact. She remembered him being in the bar. Perhaps it was her seer-gift, perhaps it was the sleeping part of her mind pushing at her. But she needed to check on him. That much was certain.

The healers had dealt with the cuts, the concussion, the broken bones and internal bleeding easily enough. That wasn't what was keeping her here. It was her lungs. It was the nasty burn on her right arm that protested at the slightest movement. The fire that had been at the bar was...  Toxic, in some way. The damage had magical qualtiies, and healers were still figuring out exactly how to treat  it. They had made her inhale the steam off of some bubbling potions among other things.

Mai gingerly touched her slippered feet to the floor and looked around. She had been... A difficult patient. Lying in hopes of getting out of here quickly. She wanted to go back to Hogwarts-- but that would have to wait until the proper treatment was found. Then maybe, maybe she could at the very least go to the hospital hut. Where the students could at least talk to her, and she could work.

It didn't take long for her to find his bed. It felt right, she knew.  The counselor pushed the curtain open only to see him fall to the ground and yelp. Why hadn't they healed his leg yet? Perhaps there was more serious damage they had been trying to deal with first..?

Her chest felt tight and burned, she suppressed a cough, clearing her throat.  "Oh, Jai!" She said softly, walking over to the young man. She helped him back to his bed, though it was a struggle, "You're hurt. Lay down." Though gentle, her tone held no room for arguing. When he was safely back in bed she sat down in a chair, trying to pretend that the action had not winded her. "It's okay, I'm here."

Just in the nick of time, someone caught him and helped him into the bed. His eyes were watery and his heart was beating fast, and he was feeling really overwhelmed by this whole scene. Once he was secured into his bed, the woman who had helped him took a seat and said something that probably should have consoled him, but instead made him feel more confused.

It's okay, I'm here."

He didn't know whether this woman was treating him medically, or if he was supposed to know her for some reason. There was something vaguely familiar about her, but he couldn't put his finger on it. "Who... are you?" he eventually asked. It was probably a rude question, but he was so out of sorts that he didn't care much about whether he was being disrespectful. He lowered his eyes so that he wouldn't have to watch her reaction.

After a pause he also added the question that had been nagging at him. "What happened?" Any time he tried to reach back into the recesses of his mind to figure out what event had caused these injuries, there was nothing. It was all blank; anything he tried to remember about himself, like his name, was lost amid confused thoughts and serious worries. His head hurt like it never had before... at least not that he could remember.

Without missing a beat, she responded. "I'm Maiko Biladeau-Yukawa. You can just call me Mai or Maiko." There was some sort of head injury. Was it physical or magical in nature? Both? Her heart ached for him, for his family, for Jordyn. Oh! Jordyn! Mai looked down at her knees. The Slytherin would need someone to talk to about this. And she was stuck, here. And she wasn't in as bad a condition as many people who had been in the explosion. She looked back up at Jai. Hopefully the healers could get whatever it was figured out.

"Jai," She said softly, "Jai Patil." What if he didn't remember his name? To save him the embarrassment of asking, she called him by it. There was also something about calling someone by their names that resonated. Kept them there, even if it was just a small part. Names were binding in a way that only identity could be.

"There was an explosion at The Leaky Cauldron. The bar." Mai kept her voice steady, though her hands shook. She crossed them over her chest to keep them still. "Three of them. And you were in it."

When she told him his name, he let it float around in his mind a little bit. Jai Patil. It was a good enough name; shorter than Maiko's, anyway. It would be easier to remember and he was both thankful and amused by that. He was glad that this woman -- Maiko -- was so calm about this all. Although she seemed like a good person to welcome him back into society, part of Jai felt insecure about trusting her. This was the first person he had seen since waking up in this strange situation. Really, she was the first person that he'd met. It prompted him to realize he couldn't think of any family or friends he might have had, couldn't even think of co-workers or a job.

He felt frustrated by this, and he wanted to know whether this is how he was going to have to be forever. Would his memories stay lost, like a book that no one ever read?

"There was an explosion at The Leaky Cauldron. The bar.... Three of them. And you were in it."

Confusion set in again. Since Maiko was the only person in his life at this particular moment, he felt like he had to trust her. She had assisted him back into his bed, why wouldn't she help him try to remember things? Looking at her for what seemed like the first time, he realized that she was all burned up and bruised too. She must have been there... had they been together? None of this made any sense to him. She was there visiting him, though... so where was that family he thought he might have?

"What- Why?" Jai asked finally. It wasn't a strong or definitive question but he was flabbergasted. He didn't know what the bar was, but it was the explosions that concerned him. Who would blow up a bar filled with patrons? The heartlessness of people astounded him. His brows knit together and he looked at his burned up hands, felt his swollen face . The burns still felt fresh, scaldingly hot and stinging.

"I wish I knew." She replied, "I've been asking myself that question. And we're not the only ones."  Mai's chest tightened-- she brought the crook of her elbow up to her mouth and coughed, wincing at the metallic taste in her mouth. A side effect of the smoke. Or rather, the main effect of the smoke. The majority of the explosion survivors were experiencing this to some degree.  Her body hurt. Did it hurt because the memories hurt? Was it a symptom of her chronic illness? Was it a residual injury from the explosion? She didn't know. She didn't know if she wanted to know.

Mai shifted in her seat, the aching too familiar for her liking.

"I saw your sister, Lydie. She stopped by to tell me hi." Mai paused, "Visiting hours are over so... I think your family went home?" She tilted her head to the side, accenting the question. "They'll come back to see you."

When Maiko coughed Jai realized how weak he was. His whole entire body felt sore, his lungs hurt like he also needed to cough but he didn't have the strength to. He laid his head back on the pillow and stared at the ceiling, not knowing what to make of the hand that had been dealt to him. This had just been thrown on his lap, the need to piece together his identity and all of the memories associated with them. The main question on his mind was whether this was permanent... all he could do was hope that it wasn't.

There was a moment of silence after Mai admitted that she didn't know who the culprits of the attack had been. Jai knew what that meant, at least, and it made him feel uneasy. That meant the person was still at large, could still come attack. What if he came to the hospital where all of the victims were being treated? Jai felt like he wanted to know more about the attacker than he did about himself. At least then he could try to understand what had happened to him, and maybe with that, his memories would come back.

"I saw your sister, Lydie. She stopped by to tell me hi.... Visiting hours are over so.. I think your family went home?... They'll come back to see you."

Although the news about his family should have elated him, Jai now felt more nervous than ever. Lydie might have been his sister but there wasn't a thing Jai could think of when he tried. At least he had a family, that was relieving enough, but how heartbroken would they be when Jai couldn't remember them? Jai looked down. "I don't remember them. I... I don't remember anything," Jai confessed finally, his voice tense with panic.

She gazed at him carefully, struggling with the overwhelming urge to just, hug him and hold him and tell him everything would be okay. But she couldn't-- partially because she had to limit movement of her right arm, and partially because she didn't know for sure if everything was going to be okay. She couldn't make such promises. Maiko reached out her left hand and rested it on top of his.

"Everything will get settled soon enough." Mai murmured, "It could be different, but different isn't always bad. We'll figure it out, Jai. Your family will understand." Maybe not immediately, and it will hurt. But they would understand eventually. "Can I do anything to help?" She asked, eyebrows furrowing together. 

Since he was waking to a life that he had never experienced, at least to his knowledge, Jai did not know his propensity for anxiety attacks. So he didn’t realize that it was the panic that held onto his lungs like large angry fists, shortening his breath and making the room feel too small. “Wha- Wha-” Jai stammered, trying to figure out what in Merlin’s name could have been happening to him. Was this a result of the medicine? Was this one of the effects of the attack Maiko had mentioned?

His attempts to swallow resulted in gasps for air, and his mouth was bone dry. “Wa-Water?” Jai blurted, looking around the room frantically. Once he realized it was water he wanted he felt like he was drowning in the arid sensation. It felt like every drop of moisture had been cleansed from his body, like he was a fish on land desperate to be thrown back into the sea. Jai painted, his mind flashing with things he didn’t understand.

While he was reeling he considered his name, Jai: it would be easy to remember, at least. Was that really his name? Could this woman be trusted? She seemed kind enough. She mentioned his family, had noticed them -- that meant his family knew her, she knew his family, that was good right? Unless it was bad -- he didn’t know what to think -- there was no truth to ground him, no facts to check against in his head.

Jai began to straighten the blankets and pillows peculiarly, then set out to arrange everything within reach into its proper place. He did not realize he had started doing this, it just seemed to take him out of the rush of confusing thoughts in his head.

Jai was-- he was going into a panic attack. In his current condition, Maiko had no idea if he would even know what was happening. Granted, even knowing that you're having a panic attack doesn't lessen the severity at all. She couldn't get worked up-- that wouldn't help. She watched as he struggled before finding his safe place in.... Straightening out his bed.

Ideally, she would have asked him to breathe with her-- to practice controlled breathing. However, she didn't know the extent of the smoke damage on him, but her lungs would protest. She wouldn't be able to do deep breathing without coughing, and that could push him even further.

"What you are feeling is scary, but it is not dangerous. You can get through this." Mai paused to take a breath, "What do you need me to do?" Jai without his memory was not the same, though some core parts of him seemed to be present. She didn't know what to expect, but she couldn't let it show how much that worried her.

“What you’re feeling is scary, but it is not dangerous. You can get through this.”

With wide eyes, Jai stared at this woman as more questions rushed to the forefront of his thoughts. Why was she helping him? Was she his doctor? How long would he be like this? When would he be out of this place that smelled too-too clean and faintly of death and smoke? How could these feelings not be dangerous? The burns on his skin flared, searing pain rushing his heartbeat even more. Jai’s mind was on overdrive -- he was experiencing a sensory overload.  For a moment the room went black, but then he returned and his heart still thundered in his eardrums.

“What do you need me to do?”

Jai was at a loss for words. He scanned his brain for any suggestion of what might stop this to no avail. It seemed that part of him had been hoping Maiko would know what to do in this situation, because he felt unable to stop his thoughts from thundering through his brain like a stampede. “I- uh-” Jai stuttered, his face feeling just as hot as the burns throughout his body. He looked around helplessly and tried to remember how to breathe.

It was just then that a healer-in-training bustled into the room with a clipboard at whirlwind speed. “Oh, you’re awake!” they exclaimed, immediately rushing the bed and beginning to take Jai’s vital signs. “Don’t move, just stay still,” the healer said irritably, as Jai was still fidgeting and fiddling about with the things around him, trying to get them organized. He stopped what he was doing but started shaking and panting, and the healer-in-training blinked at him.

The young amnesiac was unable to figure out how to tell the student to stop, he couldn’t handle all the touching and moving right now. He needed to get this room and then all the others into perfect order, and then maybe they could talk about taking his blood pressure. Instead of saying this, though, Jai just made a guttural noise that exposed none of this information at all. “I-I-” Jai started again, really attempting to focus all of his efforts to explaining himself to these strangers.