Stronger Than Silver

Oh, Woe Is Me. Hospital Blues.

Author's Note: I have never gotten inpatient treatment or gone to the hospital for my eating disorder in the past, so the hospital scene may be largely inaccurate. I am trying to refer to sources such as websites on hospital guidelines and firsthand accounts on Reddit and eating disorder support forums for this project.

Also, I am incredibly sorry for the sporadic update.

In his opinion, it had taken incredulously too long for his family members to wake up one by one, and the worst thing was that it made him feel needy and dependent. Lucius huffed inwardly at how vulnerable he had become as he recalled the embarrassing number of times he had broken down in front of Severus in the span of merely three weeks.

Bellatrix had snapped awake with a jolt as the back of her head hit the rough, sandpaper-like surface of the wall behind her.

A gasp escaped her throat as her eyes fluttered open. "Oh, my Lord, is it day already?" Her voice resounded with the shrill of a pelican.

The ailing man in the hospital bed lifted his head gently to the voice, looking as weak and debilitated as ever. He squinted his eyes at the sharp rays of sunlight glaring through the window.

"Bellatrix? Up at the beam of the sunlight, I see," Lucius mouthed.

"Of course! This is the moment of day I wake up to serve my Lord!" she squawked, eyes enlarged with her usual state of mental instability.

"...Right."

Of course. Classic old crazy Bellatrix would stay up to the ungodly hours of dawn just to please her master before crawling into her bed for some minimal shut-eye.

How did Rodolphus manage with a wife like this?

His own dear wife, however, was still fast asleep on the coarse material of the hospital floor. Her sleep-deprived complexion had never been so pale before; dread and an inability to rest drained the energy out of her face and darkened her eye bags.

Her dark bangs scattered across her sleeping face, her long blonde locks strewn across the floor.

Guilt shot through Lucius. Because of his condition, Narcissa had worried herself sick in a literal sense.

Poor, poor Cissy.

Severus, too, still slept with his inky hair draped over his sharp features.

Breakfast was bound to be served in less than half an hour, and it was only a matter of time before Lucius had to encounter a vile pile of food before him.

What could it possibly be? Sugar-loaded cauldron cakes? Greasy pumpkin pastries? Kippers brought straight from Hogwarts?

Lucius tried not to gag as he thought about all the nasty, fattening breakfast possibilities that would soon await him like an impending storm.

Whatever it was he had to do, he knew he needed to comply lest he be trapped in the dark pits of the hospital forever.

It was at that moment that Narcissa stirred in her sleep. She inhaled slightly, her dark and thick eyelashes fluttering. Narcissa slowly opened her eyes and blinked, seemingly unaware of the setting around her until she became conscious of the situation and rose to Lucius' side.

"My love, are you feeling all right?" Narcissa fretted. Her hands found their way through her husband's coarse hair.

Lucius' gaze met hers, silver to azure, akin to the rays of sunlight greeting the shiny surface of water. He found solace in her gentle eyes. The evidence of sleep deprivation remained in her eye bags even with her rest, and her hair was tousled with its contact on the floor.