𝕒𝕤𝕡í𝕕𝕒 | shield

V. The Envelope

Author's Note: Not sure about this chapter, not my best writing but the information is important for the future. Thoughts at the end?
P.S. To anyone struggling in the middle of Ukraine and Russia, stay safe.
xx,
V.

~•~

September 12th, 1994

Percy woke up in the hospital wing two days later.

At first he couldn't recall why he was there. Had he fallen down the stairs and hit his head? No, he had too much of a thick skull for that.

When he did remember, he grimaced. Nightmare. Tartarus. More torture, just like before. Just like in the pit.

But then... why was he in the hospital wing. It was just a nightmare... right?

Peeling his eyes open fully, the morning sun blinding him only temporarily, Percy looked down at himself. His legs were covered by the duvet of the uncomfortable bed but his arms were fully visible to his eyes. From fingertips to shoulders, his arms were wrapped with thick white bandages and in between, only small, clean fractions of skin could be seen, and he remembered: Annabeth's screaming, the he felt, the pain which they shared.

He turned and promptly threw up over the edge of the bed.

"Mr Potter!" Madam Pomphrey's shrill voice called along with her hurried footsteps. Percy, fading in and out, felt soft hands gripping him by his shoulders, her voice cooeing softly. She sat him up before pulling him into her, hugging him tightly, though sure not to hurt him. She was very warm and very soft, very comforting.

Percy felt something break in him then. The dam wall holding in all his pain seemed to break, if only by a small fracture. He found himself hysterically crying and unable to control it.

"Hush now," the sweet nurse sang, rubbing his back, "I know, Percy, let it out."

Percy had to admit, Madam Promphrey's behaviour surprised him. She was usually a stern woman who did not take no for an answer, always sure to get work done and keep the students safe. She wasn't one to show any favouritism but here she was, comforting him in his broken state. Was this normal? Did she do this with all the student who had mental breakdowns in her presence?

"Percy," she whispered, gently pulling back to look him in the eye. He turned away, cheeks turning red as he felt her gaze. He was being weak. Conceal, don't feel, that was what he should be doing, not crying like a child.

"Percy," she called again, using her fingers to tilt up his chin. "Are you okay?"

Another fracture. No one ever asked if he was okay, not unless it was Grover who could feel his emotions or Annabeth who might as well have been able to, and they weren't here to do that.

Still, he had to be strong. Conceal, don't feel.

"Yes," he whispered, pretending not to notice the way his voice shook.

Madam Pomphrey hummed thoughtfully as Percy looked away again. "Percy, I... I am not going to push you but... I do need you to tell me who did this to you."

This. Percy's eyes trailed down to his arms where he knew the blood had been cleaned away and the scars covered up as they had been so many times before.

He swallowed thickly. What was he supposed to say?

Eventually, he just shook his head and shut his eyes. The nurse sighed, neither her eyes nor her hands leaving him, her fingers clasped gently around his shoulder. She analysed him closely, noting the dark circles under his eyes and the redness within them. His eyes swirled with ghosts and trauma and terror.