"You don't hate me?" Mabel asked. There was no way George didn't look at her differently. Not when everyone else would.
George shook his head. "I don't. Even if I tried, I can't. I mean, the whole time I've known you, you've taught me how to love b...
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*~~~~~~~~~~*
Mabel had woken up multiple times due to her stomach aching from the lack of food in it. She started to notice that during the week of the full moon, her appetite changed. And not in a good way. Nothing seemed edible. Any food Mabel smelled caused her stomach to turn and bubble up with bile. Even when she finally got to courage to eat something, everything felt like warm vomit on her tongue. It wasn't bearable. So, she didn't eat.
But Mabel couldn't sleep. She was too hungry, and finally, she craved something—red meat. Mabel wasn't a massive fan of red meat. However, she was not surprised that was the thing she desired, and she couldn't deny the saliva that was building up in her mouth at the thought of it. So, she stumbled out of bed, her eyes drooping and her brain not fully awake.
"Lumos," Mabel whispered. The end of her wand lit up. It wasn't bright enough to wake the others in her room, but it still allowed her to see where she was going.
Mabel closed the door behind her slowly, making sure it would be as quiet as a creaky door could be. She tiptoed downstairs. Mabel thought that if she kept her eyes relatively closed, falling back to sleep would be faster. She would've missed Cedric entirely on the couch if he didn't call out for her.
"What are you doing up?" said Cedric.
"I'm hungry," Mabel grumbled. "Follow me." She tiredly motioned him to follow. Mabel continued to stumble, but now she resembled an odd mix of a toddler and grandma. Her back hunched while her legs shuffled as if they were legs of marionettes. "Couldn't sleep, could you?"
Cedric shook his head. "No." Mabel nodded at his words. "Why are you up? Stressed about me?" Cedric teased. It was strained and forced, but Mabel laughed anyways.
"I wish." Mabel smiled droopingly. "I'm hungry."
The two left the common room. "Are you eating?" Cedric stood up straighter.
"No," Mabel sighed.
"Mabel, you can't not eat—"
"I know, Cedric," Mabel snapped. She briefly thought about lying to him and saying yes. And now she wished she did. "I think I'm getting sick again," was all she could say.
Cedric sighed, mentally attacking himself. "You should see a healer. This has been happening too often."
"I have."
Cedric looked at her.
Mabel was tempted to tell him. To tell Cedric what she was. Maybe everything would be easier if he knew. But the haunting thought that Cedric would hate her, that he would abandon her, kept her tongue still.
"Are you ok?" Cedric asked.
"It's a blood curse," Mabel said. It wasn't until the thought left her lips that she realised how extreme the lie was. Mabel had read about blood curses before. It was a fascinating topic to her. But it felt wrong. It was as if a muggle lied about having cancer. Yet, she kept going, digging deeper and deeper. "It's rare. Only those from direct muggle blood can be born with it. The best way to explain it is that my muggle blood treats my magic blood as a disease, attacking it. So, healing becomes harder for me, and I get sick almost monthly as my muggle blood has a peak of nearly destroying my wizard blood."
"Mabel..." The words of an apology were on the tip of Cedric's tongue. But the ache in his heart kept him quiet.
"It's ok." Mabel grabbed Cedric's bicep. The two stopped walking and looked at each other. It was dark in the corridor—having only been lit by the wands in their hands—yet the two could clearly see the others' faces.
Cedric's face drooped with exhaustion, dark circles, heavy eyelids, and a slack jaw. Mabel didn't hide any less fatigue, but her skin was tighter around her bones, the whites of her eyes were red as if a blood vessel popped, and Cedric noticed how her body slightly shook her head like a chihuahua.
Mabel smiled weakly. She let go of his arm and continued into the kitchen, tickling the pear at the entrance. She rushed in, heading straight for the fridge. It didn't take her long to find a reasonable-sized steak. Mabel grabbed it and a pan. She put it on the ancient hob that Hogwarts still used. Whispering under her breath, she lit the hob.
Even with a few seconds of it cooking, Mabel was watering at the mouth. Her stomach grumbled, and suddenly she could feel the strain caused by the lack of food in her system. She wanted to swallow the steak whole that very second, but she couldn't. She needed it to be a bit cooked, or she wouldn't like it. But oh, was it tempting. And the sizzling sound didn't help.
"What's troubling you?" Mabel asked, half interested in his answer and half wanting to silence the juicy sound of the steak sizzling.
Cedric snorted. "What's not troubling me?" Mabel looked at him. Cedric backed up against a counter and pressed his hands against his face. Everything felt tight inside him. It felt like his heart had to work harder to beat, his lungs were exhausted and never seemed to take in enough air, and his skin was not big enough to cover his muscles. Everything was so strained. Cedric moved his hands up to his hair, flattening his brown locks. He exhaled. "I just...I..." Cedric growled and smacked his hands into the countertop behind him.
Mabel opened her mouth to speak but stopped. Nothing she could say would calm him. He was going to fight a dragon in a few hours. Mabel dropped her gaze and turned back to her food. Although it still looked very appealing, it didn't have the same effect as it did a few seconds ago. Yet, she kept at it. Mabel added more spices to enhance it.
Cedric slid down the counter. The bottom of his shirt rolled up in the back, but he made no effort to fix it as he sat on the ground. The two kept quiet. Cedric numb to stress, and Mabel focus on her steak.
When Mabel finally finished, she took the pan and sat beside Cedric. Crossing her legs, she set the pan on the wooden floors, burning it slightly. Mabel accioed a fork and knife. Mabel had never done something so fast in her life. She cut the steak. Red juice was squeezed out, colouring the dark pan it laid on. Stabbing it, she shoved the piece into her mouth. The tangy flavour of the steak, mixed with the spices she had added, didn't stop her mouth from watering even more. So, she kept eating and eating, devouring the meat.
"Would you fight a dragon?" Cedric asked. Mabel froze before slowly chewing her food again. She swallowed.
"No," Mabel said. She probably should've lied and told him yes, that she'd love to shoot spells and curses at a giant creature with the temper of fire itself. But she couldn't. She couldn't say she would intentionally attack an innocent animal, no matter how large, how scary. They were still living beings.
Cedric sighed. "I'm fucked." He leaned his head back against the cabinet. His eyes were squeezed shut, and Mabel was sure he would cry.
"No, you're not," Mabel said. Cedric shook his head, keeping his eyes closed. Mabel aggressively dropped her utensils, making Cedric flinch, opening his eyes and lifting his head. "Cedric. You're not fucked. You know what to do. You know it. You're the brightest kid in your year, and we all know it."
Cedric's eyes welled up. Mabel had never seen him like this before, so terrified. He looked like a child.
"Cedric, what is it?" Mabel's eyes began to water at the sight of her best friend.
A tear fell on Cedric's face. He quickly brushed it away and looked away from her.
Mabel got on her knees and pulled him into her. His head was against her chest as she held him. Cedric leaned into it. Everything was quiet. It was the kind of silence you could only experience at night when everyone was asleep. The type only a few can genuinely experience if they consciously listen. The only time when time seems to stop.
When Cedric pulled away, Mabel cupped his face, making him look at her. "These are games—a friendly competition between schools. If anything goes wrong, Dumbledore will be there to save you. They won't let anything bad happen to you, ok?"
Cedric nodded.
"Plus, I'll be there to save you," Mabel chuckled, making Cedric let out a laugh that came out more like a sigh, but Mabel accepted victory anyways. "Now, let me finish my food, and then I'll get you a sleeping draught, yes?"
