Healing // d.m.

| 20 |

NEVILLE'S mouth was wide open with shock before he shouted.

"That stupid bastard!" The sound of his fork banging onto the table echoing the room. Catherine and Greg stopped mid chew, looking at him. When was the last time they ever heard Neville curse someone out?

"You alright, mate?" Greg asked him. Sceptically looking at him while he took another bite of his sandwich.

"I just don't understand why a man would ever hit a woman. I would never understand that!" Neville harshly grabbed his cup of tea and chug it down. "It's just basic human decency!"

"I'm okay." Catherine reassured him.

"You're Catherine, you always say you're okay. But it doesn't mean it's okay for him to slap you for something that isn't even your fault!" Neville's voice started to rise and it started to attract the people sitting on the tables next to them in the Hospital Cafeteria.

"Calm down, Neville!" Catherine harshly whispered.

They were having lunch together and Greg just filled Neville in on Pye's incident last week. Neville always visits his parents on the fourth floor every Wednesday when he doesn't have any herbology classes for the day.

"Why am I just hearing about this?" Neville asked them both.

"Well Gabbs knows so I'm assuming your wife knows. I told Ron so it's safe to say Hermione and Harry knew about it, then Harry would've told Ginny-" Greg trailed off.

Neville tilted his head back and groaned. "Hannah... why didn't she tell me."

"Hey I'm okay really!" Catherine waved her hands, as if to remind them both that she's still here. "I didn't see Pye at all this week so it's all good."

"He better get suspended." Greg commented.

"It's either him or me," Catherine pointed out, stabbing her fork into a piece of beef.

"You didn't do anything wrong Cathy!" Neville reminded her again, pointing a french fry towards her face.

"He's the senior. I'm the trainee." Catherine exaggerated. "Besides, he knows a lot of the high people in this hospital."

Pye was the very least of her worries lately, because her mind was always preoccupied by a certain blonde haired boy. His coat was still hanging by the door of her house, the perfume hitting her nose every time she passed by.

She hated the way they left things at Malfoy Manor. After healing an unconscious Mrs. Malfoy and making sure the contents of the vial didn't cause any side effects, she went outside to find Malfoy sulking by the door, with his two best friends looking bored. Zabini offered to take her home which earned a murderously glare from Malfoy and a chuckle from Nott. Malfoy didn't say a word. He avoided her gaze and went up the stairs as she exited the front door. She ended up apparating home by herself.

She didn't mean to get so riled up but seeing his mother bound to the bend made her sick. It unlocked a deep memory that she tried so hard to suppress. It was like her mind replayed a video from what she saw 5 years ago. She didn't mean to shout and accuse him of such things. Her heart sank every time she closed her eyes and his disappointed face came to view.

He must have thought the worst, that Catherine now thinks he's a horrible son, chaining his mother and forcing her to stay at the Manor. His insecurities must be eating him up alive right now and Catherine was too scared to even say anything at the time. She never felt so selfish.

She's supposed to administer the second vial tomorrow. Will he even show? Is he going to pick her up? If not, will she go to the Manor herself?

"There's a teaching position open at Hogwarts so if you get kicked out of here just give me a call." Neville jokes, breaking her train of thoughts.