Against the dark Hearts

Wake up, Break up

I woke up in the hospital wing, my face throbbed a bit, and I had a bandage on my nose. Magic could fix a lot of things, but if you lost a lot of blood, it wouldn't help much. It was bright, so it must have been the next day already. I looked around without sitting up and saw a box of Bertie Bott's beans and some self-picked flowers. Someone had also brought me my bag.

I held my head as I slowly tried to sit up. I was only wearing a nightgown and underwear and pulled the blanket up over my chest because I didn't know who else was here. Although the beds were protected by curtains, someone could come in at any time. I took some of the beans and was glad I had gotten strawberry jam. I looked at the flowers; they were forget-me-nots, my favorite flowers. I didn't know who could have brought them; I had never told anyone. "Do you think she could get up today?" I heard Ominis' unmistakable voice and sat up somewhat in pain. My friends were here.

"I hope so, or I'll kill her," Imelda replied, sounding pretty serious. A hand hesitantly pulled at the curtain in front of my bed and peered in cautiously. "Beth!" Natty cried and hurried over to me to hug me, but Sebastian grabbed her by her cloak and pulled her back. "You're hurting her," he warned, and Natty looked apologetically at me.

Yes, probably a hug that quick wouldn't have done me any good; I was chewing on another bean that must have tasted like bark. "They can be really disgusting," I said, lifting the box slightly, and everyone grinned amusedly. "You really scared us," Imelda said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Don't do that again!" she said in an almost defiant tone, and I looked at her with a smile. "Next time, I'll tell the Bludger to fly past me," I said mockingly and took another bean. Sebastian sat down on my bed next to me. "Seriously, we thought you weren't going to wake up," he said gently, stroking my cheek, and I didn't know how to react. When he was so gentle with me, my thoughts quickly turned to all the possibilities between us.

"You're exaggerating a bit, aren't you, Sallow? Come on, I've already fought trolls," I snorted, "The day a pathetic Bludger takes me out will never come." He looked at me with that look; he knew I was trying to lighten the situation with inappropriate humor. "Beth," he said my name as if he wanted to wrap it in cotton wool. My breathing stopped, and I suddenly felt so naked. "Sebastian?" I replied, leaning forward, looking him straight in the eye. "I'm fine, I'm alive, and now stop playing the concerned daddy," my tone was underlined with a laugh. I couldn't handle this situation, with him so close. He let out a slight sigh; he had tried to show me his worries. He had tried to show me that I meant something to him, and if I weren't so socially awkward, that would have been okay.

"I guess I didn't make it onto the team?" I asked curiously, and angry glances were directed at me, the storm was brewing. Everyone was yelling, asking if I had lost my mind and how I could still be thinking about Quidditch. They were right, of course. The Bludger had broken my nose, knocked out half a tooth, not to mention the concussion. "Relax, I won't try it again, I think I've had enough," I said, taking another Bertie Bott's bean. It tasted awful, I couldn't even name the flavor, and I made a disgusted face as I spat the vile thing into my hand and threw it into a vomit bucket next to my bed.

Imelda made a disgusted face, "Oh, did you really put it in your hand?" she asked, wrinkling her nose. "Next time, I'll just throw you with it, Reyes," I said, grinning provocatively at her, and she raised her eyebrows challengingly. "You shouldn't issue challenges in your condition, Elisabeth Hawkins," she stuck her tongue out at me and I laughed again.

"Hey, do you guys know when I can leave?" I asked then, and they all shrugged, "Madam Porter said when you wake up and can walk on your own without fainting," Sebastian said. Madam Porter was one of the nurses at Hogwarts. "Okay, then let's try it out," I said, pushing the blanket off my legs, which were naked except for my underwear. Natty held her hand over Sebastian's eyes, "What is this?" he protested, pushing her hand away. I had something on, a nightgown that ended about halfway up my thighs, as did my bloomers, which were trimmed with ruffles.

Sebastian looked at my bare legs and pulled Natty's hand back to him. "Beth, as much as I would like to enjoy the view, I think you should put something on," he said now, and I had to suppress my laughter. "And I thought the wizarding world was less buttoned-up than the Muggle world, but I think I was wrong," I said amused. I got up from the bed, and Poppy handed me a dressing gown that was hanging on a stand. I quickly put it on and then walked a few steps through the room, "Can I look again?" Sebastian asked, and Natty took her hand off his eyes, "They're just legs," I said, shrugging, then I took a few more steps. After a few seconds, I felt a little dizzy and stumbled to the bed. "It's okay," I said, looking at my friends' concerned faces and stretching my legs out, "who brought the flowers, by the way?" I asked then, and none of the people present seemed to know what I was talking about, so I pointed to the flowers.

"Oh, I think they're from a Ravenclaw. I saw someone with a Ravenclaw cloak and the flowers walking through the hallway when I came back from you yesterday," Poppy said, grinning mischievously. "One from the Quidditch team, with almost black hair, about this tall," Natty gestured to show that the Ravenclaw in question was about a head taller than her. If she had seen correctly, I knew who she was talking about.

"Really?" I asked, feeling my cheeks grow warmer. The description fit Percy Baudelaire, one of the Chasers on the Quidditch team, and all the girls were swooning over him. He was quite good-looking, tall, and charming, the type who held the door open for everyone. "Why would Percy Baudelaire bring me flowers?" I asked, embarrassed, and Imelda looked at me perplexed. "Well, that's obvious, just look at yourself!" she said, and Poppy let out a loud "Hey!" Imelda pulled her affectionately towards her. "No one is as beautiful as you, but you know what I mean," Poppy grinned at her. "He's really nice," Ominis said now, "And he's a prefect, which probably means he can be trusted."

"And if he were Merlin himself!" Sebastian exclaimed, standing up angrily. "He always has a different girl by his side, the girls hang on him like he's honey and they're flies," I raised my eyebrows. Was Sebastian jealous? "It doesn't matter who he is, I'm not interested in him," I said shortly, and after a frustrated exhale, I added, "I don't need a boy who gives me flowers, that would only make things more complicated, and I can't afford that." I avoided looking at any of my friends at that moment. I knew that Natty and Poppy were looking at me again with pity, and I knew that Ominis could sense that I was lying. Of course, Imelda knew too. I just couldn't avoid Sebastian's gaze. He looked like I had plunged a dagger into his heart, and I regretted my words, but it was too late, I had spoken them.