There's Something About Potter

Chapter 25

Aria was lying down in a bed somewhere; but she couldn't remember how she got there, or why she was there in the first place.

It hurt to move.

Her head felt like it was being split into two, and there was a dull, persistent throbbing somewhere below her right shoulder. She tried to stretch her right arm; but the dull throb intensified into a sharp stab of pain that she abandoned her efforts immediately.

Wincing, she forced her eyes open and found herself staring up at a white ceiling. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she eventually recognized the cream colored walls of the hospital wing. She raised herself up into a sitting position, only to wince again as another sharp pain below her shoulder alerted her to the fact that one of her wings, her right wing in particular, was heavily bandaged. When she turned her head to look at it, she saw that both her wings, as well as several other sore parts of her body, were glowing from the effects of a healing stasis charm.

"You're awake."

Aria startled at the soft, male voice and looked up, blinking at the sight of Ron sitting on a small chair to her left. He was watching her closely, as though trying to gauge if she was alright, but Aria found herself doing the same. She couldn't help but frown when she noticed the obvious lines of exhaustion on his face.

He looked terrible.

There were dark circles under his eyes, and his face was scuffed up with a couple of nasty cuts and bruises — though, thankfully, most of them already seemed to be healing. His shoulders were slumped, and there was a bit of stubble on his face that alerted Aria to the fact that he might have been keeping watch on her for quite some time.

"How long was I out?" She asked.

Ron rubbed his face with his hand.

"Five days." He answered, yawning and leaning back tiredly against the backrest of his chair. "It's not your fault, though. Madam Pomfrey kept you knocked out with a sleeping draught. She said she wanted to see if your veela magic would be capable of healing your wing."

Aria grimaced at his words and closed her eyes, lowering herself back down onto the bed. After a few minutes of silence, Ron turned to her again, and there was a slightly worried frown on his face as he watched her.

"I noticed that the symbols on your neck are gone." He said in a quiet voice. "So...That means you really—?"

Instead of answering, Aria lowered her gaze to her fidgeting hands.

"You really did extend the mating call to Malfoy?" Ron sighed as he walked over to the bed and sat down onto the space beside her. "It was by choice, right?"

Aria swallowed slowly and nodded, closing her eyes in defeat.

"It was the only way I could think of to save him. To keep him from getting hurt or—"

She cut herself off in the middle of her sentence when she suddenly remembered something. Her eyes widened with worry and she flicked her gaze back to Ron in question.

"Hermione! Oh gods, is she okay?! That bastard bit her on the neck—"

Ron's features softened at the aghast expression on Aria's face.

"Hermione's fine, Aria." He tried to give her a reassuring smile, but the way he seemed to hesitate caused Aria to worry even more. She made to move out of the bed, but Ron sighed again and stopped her by placing a hand on her shoulder and gently pushing her back down.

"Madam Pomfrey says you're not allowed to be out of bed yet." He said calmly.

Aria slapped his hands away and glared impatiently at him. "Where's Hermione? What happened?!" She demanded.