Non Omnis Moriar

22: The Forbidden Forest

I honestly missed writing Tom's POV. :]

***

My skirt caught one of the edges of the bench as I squeezed in hurriedly at the corner of the Slytherin table. Fawley glanced my way, one end of his lips twitching in an uncertain smile at the lateness of my arrival but refrained from saying anything until the notices of the day were done with.

As soon as Dippet was settled in his seat again, both he and Lila turned to me, one puzzled and the other concerned.

"Show me," Lila said immediately.

I obediently turned my head, displaying the singed ear that had been carefully treated by Madam Blishen. The burn hadn't faded, the curse as potent as the one the Carrows had hit me with.

"I'll have to report this, Miss Revel." Blishen warned as she dabbed potions on the stinging wound.

"I know," I sighed wearily, glancing at her. "Did any of the girls come in at all?"

"No, but then by your account, you did not curse them violently, only restrained them. They should be alright until Professor Dippet gets to them."

"Right."

"Why did you wait until this morning? You should have come as soon as you reached Hogwarts to be treated!" She continued to scold.

I thought back to too intense obsidian eyes and a smirk that had no business bringing flurries to one's stomach. "I was distracted."

She huffed. "In any case, this is slow work. You'll have a scar unless you go to St. Mungo's. I'll try to have a Healer come here to take care of it."

"Thank you, Madam Blishen...has anyone come to ask about me?" I asked hesitantly, vehemently against the idea that I was thinking of a certain somebody. I wasn't...I couldn't be...

"No, but I won't be keeping you here in any case. You're free to go to breakfast. Try to stick to your friends. You are a prefect, aren't you? Stick to your partner, Mr. Riddle."

She drew back the curtain around the bed as I shuddered at the implications of her words. Still, I hopped off the bed, thanking the Matron again and leaving.

"It's not that bad." Lila commented, patting my hand to have me turn my head again.

"Yeah, it's...it doesn't look bad at all." Fawley joined in, his eyes a touch wide.

I gave them both a small smile. "Thanks for trying to make me feel better guys, but I don't need to be coddled over a small curse."

Fawley leaned in then. "You dueled three people, Ro! How are you not shaken right now?"

Lila and I both looked at him curiously.

"What, girls can't duel, is that it?" She asked.

Fawley hesitated before speaking. "That's...not it. Of course, women can duel, we have them in the ministry and stuff, but Hogwarts has a no-dueling rule."

Lila and I stared at him for a bit before returning to our breakfast.

It was silly to feel hurt over his idea. It was obvious that in the forties, even in the Wizarding World which was much more evenly inclined than the Muggles, there was an annoying tendency to treat women as fragile and delicate. Fawley and Alphard had seemed more scandalized than worried when I'd talked about the encounter, almost as if it was exceptional that one girl could hold her own against three. They'd relaxed a bit when they'd heard about the mysterious savior but it had still stung. I'd thought back to the ease of the training sessions of the DA and winced to myself.