𝑆𝐴𝑉𝐼𝑁𝐺 𝐷𝑅𝐴𝐶𝑂 𝑀𝐴𝐿𝐹𝑂𝑌

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟕 - 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚

╭────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ──────╮

Do not skip the song.

⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼

𝐃

I bet she was a very popular girl – almost as popular as Ginny Weasley. She was an athlete. She was a Chaser for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. She was a beautiful girl and people said she fancied Cedric Diggory when she was still in her fourth year. She was a bright girl, although hopeless with Potions. After Hogwarts, she wanted to play Quidditch professionally, which her parents didn't approve of.

They said she was in pain. She had seizures every ten minutes. They said that Madam Pomfrey could not possibly do this on her own. They said they would transfer her to St. Mungo's before it was too late.

I wish I knew all these things before. I wanted to dehumanize her as much as possible before I did it. But then again, everyone had their story and I bet I would feel the same way about everyone.

I had never talked to her before that day, yet now I felt that we could have been friends.

Then again, there was never a thing I could hurt that I wouldn't sympathize with later.

⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼⎼

Madam Pomfrey was snoozing in her small bedroom in the Hospital Wing. She had the door open. She had placed Katie in the closest bed. She needed to be alert and run to Katie's side on the occasion of a seizure. She must have been sleepless for those terrible 48 hours that Katie was held in Hogwarts.

I walked inside soundlessly.

The one and only patient was lying on her bed. I inspected her. She had to be tied down so that she wouldn't hurt herself. She had bruises on her wrists where the straps met her skin. Her hair was coarse. There was a bald spot on her scalp. Katie had ripped this part out during one of her seizures. She was pale; I was wondering how they fed her.

"Katie?" I whispered.

Her eyes opened at once but there were no pupils or irises. The white of her eyes was showing. At once, she started shaking in spasms – yet, there was no sound coming out of her gagging mouth.

"No!" I hissed.

Some instinct told me to shake her awake but she didn't seem to respond in any nudge or jolt. She was in pain – I could tell by her muffled words. It was silent pain – one that ate you from inside out.

I looked behind me. Madam Pomfrey was still deeply asleep in her room. Katie wasn't loud enough to wake her up.

"No! Katie!" I repeated and the instinct that told me to shake her took over me again. It was the only way I found to comfort her.

But with every shake, the pain was becoming more and more evident in the veins that were popping out on her neck and forehead. I pressed my hands on her shoulders harder and harder and I begged for her to wake up. Her screams were muffled and drenched in agony.

Then I realized – it was my touch that pained her.

I let her go and she seemed to ease the aching, yet, her eyes were still rolling to the back of her scalp. I took some hesitant steps back.

It was the last time that I would see her for a while – and she was in so much pain.

I ran out of the Hospital Wing and on my way to the door, I threw down a chair on purpose to wake up Madam Pomfrey. I paused outside the door and made sure to hear Madam Pomfrey's steps as she was approaching Katie in shock. Then I disappeared. I couldn't let anyone see me near my victim.