Aymee Parker B2 - The Cursed Mark

Chapter 9 : A heart's cry

Aymee rubbed her eyes when she woke up. In doing so, and despite the darkness of the night, she noticed bandages around her hands. She barely had time to straighten up that Mrs. Pomfresh spread the curtains to come and see her. It was so fast, one could think she had casted a spell to alert her of Aymee's awakening. Aymee blinked in surprise while the nurse casted a soundproofing charm around them. She sat on the folding little chair next to Aymee's bed and looked her straight in the eye.

"What's going on?" she asked her gently, yet promptly. "Is it camp? Did you get bad news?"

Aymee shook her head

"No no... This is... It's just stress. Lots of things are happening at the same time."

Ms. Pomfresh was perhaps the only person she would dare confide to. After all, she was bound by medical confidentiality. She wouldn't repeat it all to others, even out of good will. The nurse nodded as she looked towards the other occupied bed.

"Yes, that strange Mark. Since they arrived, there have been a lot of small incidents."

"What do you mean?"

Ms. Pomfresh remained silent. Aymee quickly understood that the medical confidentiality which applied to her also applied to others. She shook her head, as much to apologize as to show she dropped the question.

"Rather, you worry me," continued Pomfresh. "Your hands were not in very good condition when you arrived. I found them full of splinters, blisters and scratches. You didn't do all of this today, nor yesterday."

Her tone was not that of reproach, but Aymee knew the nurse in Pomfresh was not delighted to see her in this state. She was used to it after all : Kosta and Chiron were the same.

"It's training," she justified herself. "I let myself go too much last year."

"How many times do you train? Per week," Pomfresh then clarified.

"Before supper."

"Everyday?" Aymee nodded. "How many hours?"

"...From the end of the last class until supper," admitted Aymee, who felt that the nurse was not going to enjoy her schedules.

Mrs. Pomfresh frowned for good, dissatisfied.

"What about your weekends?"

"All afternoons..."

Mrs. Pomfresh sighed. Aymee wondered how she'd react if she knew she also trained lightly when she couldn't sleep at night or woke up early.

"Aymee! It's too much! When do you find the time to do your homeworks? To rest?"

"That's not important," said Aymee, irritated.

"No! On the contrary! We are talking about your health here, not to mention your education! What do your friends think? Aren't they sad to see you disappear in secret every day?"

Aymee brought her legs back to her to lay her forehead against her knees. She was no longer too sure to enjoy the conversation. Pomfresh insisted with her eyes. Aymee sighed.

"It's fine! They don't care about me! For them, I'm only a liar who sticks with them to get answers for the homeworks. Penelope barely puts up me!"

"What do you mean, a liar?"

Ayeme's head fell on her lap. It was a bad idea to have confided in Pomfresh. She said too much. The nurse was an adult, after all. Now, she'll have to listen to a long monologue on friendship and she might even force her to undergo therapy or something. Aymee shook her head.

"It's nothing. I exaggerated. It's all settled now."

The nurse didn't seem to believe her. Her face said so. Aymee held back a sigh.