Belonging

Suspicious Symptoms -Poppy Pomfrey-

-Poppy Pomfrey -

Sunday Night - After the return to school feast

Poppy Pomfrey thought of herself as quite the expert on all things regarding soul mates. She had written a short book on it after she had experienced the phenomena herself. Poppy after all had been happily mated, and married for multiple decades to Minerva McGonagall. Her book had been the first account of the semi-rare magic from a healer's perspective. Focusing on the details of the symptoms future mate experience while developing a magical bond.

She looked back at the memories with fondness now, but whenever she had a newly mated patient she remembered all too well the ears that burned with pain until you were near your future love. She had witnessed it dozens of times over the years, always the pink glow that radiated out of the poor dear's ear. She had made a chart of photographs to show how the affliction looks on different skin tones in the early stages. Of course there was also the ravenous appetite in the early stages. The hiccups didn't come until later.

Still, Madam Pomfrey did not run into the affliction in question all that often as a school healer. They had had their share over the years, but mostly soul mates revealed themselves a little later in life. So when she went to the hospital wing after the feast on the first night to do some last minute checks that everything was in readiness, and be present to administer some nerve tonic to those a little too anxious to be back at school, she was surprised to find someone waiting for her.

"Miss Watson. Not sick all ready? Are you nervous about seventh year? I assure you the N.E.W.T.s are not as bad as they say as long as you prepare as you should."

"Hello Madam Pomfrey! No... I feel alright about the N.E.W.T.s! It's just my ears are kind of hurting and I wondered if you would look at them. It's a weirdly strong pain." Informed Madelyn Watson, seventh year Hufflepuff.

"Come in, I'll have a look." Poppy answered, opening the door to her workspace. "How long have they hurt?"

"Since I got off the carriage from the train. That's why I thought I better come. It came on all of a sudden and has been steady ever since." Madelyn rubbed at one of her ears idly as she recalled it. Poppy brought over a work light and had a look at the ears in question. They were not pink yet. "Could this be from a candy or something? I'm muggleborn, and I often forget when I first come back to school not to eat just anything the other people are eating because there are so many weird foods. I don't remember what all I had on the train so I figured I had been pranked or something?"

"Any other symptoms, do you feel ill? Lack of appetite?" The healer asked.

"Actually I felt quite hungry at dinner. I ate a lot more than I usually do. I keep expecting to feel sick but I haven't yet. I am considering going back for more dessert after this, if the feast is still going on." Miss Watson confessed with a friendly smile.

Poppy's suspicion about the ears had suddenly doubled. Still, she didn't want to alarm the girl. Being muggleborn, she was likely unaware of the realities of magical soul mates and that was a lot of news to drop on a young person on the night before their first day of school. "Well... I shall give you a small pain reliever and I will ask you to come see me in the morning for another look." She announced, handing over the small vial.

"Alright. Thanks Madam Pomfrey!" Madelyn's thanks seemed extremely genuine as she made her way out of the wing. Poppy was torn between waiting around for a little bit incase of being needed here, and running to Minerva. She chose the latter. The prefects knew how to summon her using the hanging bell on the entrance of the hospital wing and she had to trust that would be sufficient.

"Minnie!" Poppy exploded as she entered their chambers.

"Please don't tell me someone is seriously injured already." Her mate's eyes were already halfway to rolling as she stopped unbuttoning her dress incase of news of calamity.

"Don't be daft! If someone was seriously injured, why would I be here?"

"Well then what has gotten you so worked up?" Minerva stopped undressing and came over to see her mate who was slightly panting from coming here in such haste.

"I think we might have a pair of soul mates on our hands."

"Who?!" Minerva asked.

"Miss Watson. A Hufflepuff girl in seventh year just came to me complaining of painful ears. She said she was very hungry at dinner." Poppy announced excitedly.

"Mated students. We haven't had a set of those in ages. Who was the last? Arthur and Molly Weasley? They became such a public menace we had to send their assignments to their room for two weeks because they would not stop canoodling!" Minerva smiled fondly at the remembrance. "Oh! There was one after them. The Potters. They were less of a problem after they were mated than the Weasleys but before !"

"Oh I remember . She made herself sick trying not to love him. Resisted that mating bond for two whole weeks. Messy business. I remember the yelling." Poppy added.

Minerva's hands flew up to her mouth. "Oh. I haven't thought of that in ages. That was...Severus."

"I had forgotten!" Poppy exclaimed. They had both just now recalled the reason for the fighting. Lily Evans had already had a boyfriend when that mating bond began. Now that boyfriend was their close friend and colleague.

Hard to believe after all these years it had all been only two weeks, the fighting, the screaming, the drama. Hard to tell one teenaged boy that another one had to touch his girlfriend to make her ears stop aching. Even harder than that, the knowing that at any moment what was his would not be anymore. Poor Severus lived those weeks knowing as soon as the bond snapped Lily would belong to James in her very soul. Minerva's heart ached remembering young Severus' broken heart as he watched her love him more than she had ever been able to love him. 

"Best not bring up the mates to Severus if we can help it. That was always a sore spot for him, poor dear. How he loved her...." Minerva stared off, lost in the recollections. To be in love with someone who was destined to be bonded to another would be quite painful. To know that in just a week or so the bond would snap and hiccups and aching ears would give way to shivering and they would fall into each other's arms and... seal the deal so to speak. At the time she had taken the young man to Hogsmeade to distract him, his vacant eyes still haunted her.

"I told Miss Watson to come back to me in the morning. Perhaps it is just a strange ear ache. At breakfast we should watch for someone else with a ravenous appetite." Poppy softly smiled at her mate. They never could bring themselves to be unhappy when the subject of mating was touched on, because they had been so very happy together. She would wish this on anyone. A real blessing after the painful week of symptoms. It was sad that dear Severus had been hurt, but it was just a teenage heartbreak, surely he would be able to discuss some random mated students without any difficulty.

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