antebellum [t. riddle]

xvii.

november 1944

sunday came all too quickly.  she downed more potions to make her feel normal, even though her condition was now making it difficult for her to do anything without feeling like she'd pass out. she entered dumbledore's office at 7:55 p.m. and she transfigured her school robes into the attire she always wore to work. the time difference meant that while it was late evening here, it was only afternoon in new york. dumbledore smiled warily at her as he prepared his fireplace to floo. 

"are you well?" he asked her, knowing that she was not. he could see the strain in her face, even after taking all those potions. the illness and the isolation had been weighing heavily on her body, and it was collapsing under the stress. "has something happened?"

she only stared at him. he knew something had happened, but she did not want to talk about it, least of all with him. "i'm handling it. i'm fine." she lied.

"i mean physically also," he said, referring to the fact that she looked terminal. he decided not to push her on the situation that had gone down with her friends. he saw the way they stole glances at her during his class, and how she no longer waited for them when she left. he noticed how she ate alone now. "but it's alright to have friends, ms. edwards. you don't have to push them away. it hasn't been affecting your performance." his disdain for the assignment she was given seeped through his concerned tone. 

"i'm fine." she repeated. she ignored the last part of his statement. the last thing she needed right now was another reason to run back to the only real friendships she had ever had in her life.

he stared at her. "have you relapsed?" she fought hard not to laugh. relapse. such a funny word.

relapse typically referred to people who had received treatment.

"i'm not an addict." 

he finished the fire but turned back to her, looking her directly in the eye as he spoke. "you must allow yourself to be a child, ms. edwards. you are so young, dealing with the issues that should belong to people who have lived much longer than you have. find a better way to cope, ms. edwards. friendship is a magic that not all have the ability to posses, but i-"

"i don't mean to be rude, mr. dumbledore," she did mean to be rude. he smiled warmly, not taking it personally. "but i do think that it's time we get going."

he held out his arm and she took it as the pair of them stepped into the green flames. the heat overwhelmed her. "fireplace 9 on the 43rd floor of woolworth building, manhattan." she spoke clearly as dumbledore threw the powder at their feet. 

the swirling sensation made her retch as they were pushed through the space-time continuum. once her feet landed on the floor of the busy new york building, she felt the sensation of her whole body struggling not to shut down as her brain spun in her head. that's new. dumbledore did not see her reaction; he had already stepped forward to talk to the floo manager and arrange their journey back to his office after the meeting had finished. 

they walked down the long hallways and he spoke as they made their way into the meeting chamber. "you'll see the hospital wing tomorrow morning?" the demand was phrased as a request. she nodded. she didn't know if she was lying or not.

she took her usual place in the center of the room and nodded slightly at barry campbell, who had just sat in his place at the far right end of the panel. she tapped her foot absentmindedly as she prosecutor read the record and took attendance of all 17 people in the room. 

"good afternoon all. the hearing for this panel will now commence. today we are here to discuss matters regarding operation number 909-4637-21: authorization granted by..."