Breaking the shadows

Sick day

1996

Thursday September 30th 

I wake up with Hermione shaking me awake. I sit up and rub sleep out of my eyes. Not really awake I say: "What's the hurry?"
Hermione: "We are late for breakfast. Come on get changed."
I get up and change from my pyjamas to my school ropes. I still haven't got the hang of the tie yet, so Hermione helps me before we go down to breakfast.
I sit down beside Ginny and as I start eating, I feel nauseous. I only eat two pieces of white toast with butter before my nausea takes over and I have no appetite left. Ginny has been talking with Ron, so she hasn't noticed me. But as she looks at me, she says: "You look a little pale Harlow, are you okay?"
"Meh, I don't feel that great."
Ginny: "You should have stayed in bed today."
"There's still time."
Ginny: "I'm done eating, are you?"
"I have no appetite so yes."
Ginny: "Then let's go to Dumbledore."
We get up and walk to Dumbledore and he says immediately: "Miss Granger you don't look too good."
"I don't feel to good either."
Dumbledore: "Then off to bed you go."
"But I.."
Dumbledore: "No buts miss Granger, off to bed."
Ginny: "I'll make sure she gets there Professor."
Dumbledore: "That's fine miss Weasley."
---
In my room I change back into my pyjamas and Ginny tucks me in and says: "Its only two classes, and I'll take notes for you."
"But I have art today, and we need to finish our self-portraits."
Ginny: "You'll find time when you feel better, maybe I can get it for you so you can finish it here?"
"You would do that for me?"
Ginny: "Yes of course, I know how important art is for you. But you can only finish your self-portrait when you feel better. Is that a deal?"
"Yes it's a deal."
Ginny: "Good, then I'll get your canvas for you later."
"Thank you."
Ginny: "Now sleep."
Ginny kisses me before she leaves, and it doesn't take long before I fall asleep.
---
I wake up feeling much better, I look over on my desk and realize that Ginny has picked up my canvas. I get up and find my own paint and paintbrushes and start to finish my self-portrait, I've used an old photograph as a reference. On the photograph is both me and Hermione but I only paint myself, because the assignment was a self-portrait, and then it didn't matter if we did as a younger self or an imaginary older self. I chose younger self because I haven't painted anything of my younger self. In the photograph I'm wearing a pink dress and I guess it was my Halloween costume. I might have been six or seven years old; I was really tiny, so everyone thought that I was younger, but it was mostly because I was skinny. I remember people telling my parents to feed me more. But I refused to eat, sometimes I would only eat two meals a day and Hermione would eat four meals a day. She was actually a chubby eight-year-old, but she grew into it and became "normal sized" before Hogwarts, and so did I. have always been skinny but on this photograph, you can see my bones through my skin, I became to a "normal" weight at thirteen but over the summer I grew three inches, and I became under average weight again, but I don't mind being skinny. Now I'm just taller than Hermione and she gets a little annoyed with it, but I'm also taller than Ginny.
I sit for about an hour painting and then I'm done. Finally, this self-portrait took so long.
Ginny enters the room not too long after.
She kisses my head and says: "Feeling better?"
"Much better."
Ginny: "Is it done?"
She points to my self-portrait.
"Yes I think it is."
Ginny: "Its so pretty, how old were you then?"
"I think I was around seven years old."
Ginny: "Okay, I took some notes for you."
"Thank you."
Ginny: "No worries, I have to leave now, I just wanted to check on you."
"Quidditch practise?"
Ginny: "You know it."
Ginny leaves and I spend the rest of the day drawing memories from my childhood.
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Puplished: 26-05-23