The Keep

54. To Walk Along with Time

The opened door broke Tatiana's and Hazel's hug. The family's healer, Healer Reed, and Healer Smethwyck, who attended Hazel's poisoning, came into the room.

"Your days in Azkaban has worsen many things, Miss Gillivray," Healer Reed told.

"Your Nerve-Wrecking Flu, which has been worsened by the partial burning of your throat and lungs at the incident, is now at life-threatening level. I suggest for you to stay here in the hospital," said Healer Reed.

"I know that Ponderhead Place is equipped with trained house-elves and healers, but it doesn't have as many skillful healers and potions as the hospital. I hope that you'll understand, Mistress Gillivray," Healer Reed told Tatiana.

"I understand, Healer Reed. If the best for my granddaughter is the hospital, then that's where she'll be," Tatiana nodded her agreement. (Which was rare. The Gillivrays loathed staying at the hospital, because of the public's mockeries of their blood-curse.)

"Aside from the Nerve-Wrecking Flu, your sight has been badly affected by your stay in Azkaban," Healer Reed told.

Hazel nodded. She knew that her sight was getting worse. All she's been seeing since the Wizengamot trial was darkness, and she knew that it wasn't night time.

Hazel didn't mind. It was barely a proper price to pay for what she did, she has to pay for her crime somehow.

"The part of your brain where it had a bleed once, has been extremely degenerated, resulting in the worsening state of your sight. We can stop the degeneration with potions, but unfortunately, we can do nothing about the damage that has been done. We can only hope and wait for the brain to heal itself," Healer Reed told.

"You will need the help of a pair of eyeglasses, Miss Gillivray. It would help by extremely hyperbolizing the light aspect of the sight caught by your eyes, so that you would be able to see almost normally," he told.

"Long-continuous use of these spectacles would tire the brain, the eyes, and may damage them. But we can hope that you won't have to be forever dependent on the eyeglasses," Healer Reed gave the eyeglasses to Hazel.

"Oof," Hazel closed her eyes as soon as she done the eyeglasses, blaring headache spread to her head as the almost-blinding light attacked her eyes.

"It may need some time to get used to," told Healer Reed. "Healer Smethwyck?"

"Miss Gillivray, one of the lasting effects of the Stinking-Corpse Lilly I told you before was a minor genetic change, which I thought to be too far-fetched. Well, that turned out to be true," Healer Smethwyck told.

"What do you mean by minor genetic change?" Tatiana demanded.

"I couldn't see it before, but after your stay at Azkaban, it became clearer," Healer Smethwyck summoned a hand-mirror and passed it to Hazel.

Hazel had to squint through the blinding light of the eyeglasses to see, but she saw it. Her eyes, which were dark brown, has turned to lighter brown at the right side and greener at the left side.

"The young Miss' eyes have turned its colors, Mistress," Healer Smethwyck told Tatiana.

"This color changes may not be limited to your eyes, your hair-color and skin-color might change as well, but it would stop eventually," Healer Smethwyck told.

"The minor genetic change caused by the poisoning was affecting the melanin expression in your body, which would also affect your melatonin production. The change in melatonin production could affect the quality of your sleep, and your appetite, which can be a hindrance to your healing process," he explained.