just for me ⚘ a Fred Weasley Fanfiction

66. broken bones, broken homes

The Deatheaters, including Lucius Malfoy and Theo's father, were still tied up and unconscious when the group made their escape from the ministry. The still alive and non-injured members of the Order escorted Hermione, Ron, Luna, Ginny, Neville and Juniper back to Hogwarts, and straight to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey looked horrified at the sight of them all, getting to work as quickly as she could manage.

During her stay in a hospital bed, Matilda visited Juniper a total of 12 times, occasionally dragging Blaise along with her. They brought chocolates and snacks, the newspaper and spilled all the gossip that Juniper was missing out on.

"Pansy dyed her hair pink, exactly like yours, and then it fell out the next day at breakfast." Matilda grinned evilly. "Now it's back to black and she has this haircut that comes just under her ears, it really doesn't flatter her face shape. Or her face."

"I'm sure she looks fine." Juniper tried to laugh, wincing in pain from her ribs.

"She doesn't." Blaise added, buying into the gossip. "She's back to hanging off of Draco, which doesn't surprise anyone, really."

"I saw his father got taken to Azkaban. And Theo's." Juniper said, her demeanour ruining the chatty mood.

"Yeah." Matilda played with the end of the blanket covering Juniper's legs. "They're not handling it very well."

"I wouldn't expect them to." Juniper said quietly. "Though, I would've put them somewhere worse than Azkaban."

"Did you see them?" Blaise asked, his back straightening out.

"Yeah, I saw them." Juniper said vaguely. "I'm really sorry guys, but I'm so tired. I'll see you tomorrow when I'm let out of here."

"Right, right." Matilda nodded, giving Juniper an understanding look. She reached over to grab Blaise's hand "Come on, she needs her beauty sleep."

They said their goodbyes and Juniper stared up at the roof. Unlike the Great Hall, the hospital didn't have an enchanted roof, just a boring stone one. And instead of the constant chatter of the Great Hall, the hospital was almost dead silent, with other students breathing being the only noise.
Out of boredom, Junipers hands moved from her sides up to her throat, tracing the tender, raised scar that was now there. She closed her eyes slowly, focusing on her breathing, and tried to wander into a deep sleep.

Ever since the ministry, she hadn't slept for much more than 15 minutes at a time, waking up in such a state of panic it brought her to convulse. Each time her eyes shot open, her stomach lurched and her head throbbed in pain, as though she was having 10 migraines at once.
Sleeping draughts did nothing, so she tried to sleep in these 15 minute intervals, breathing deeply as she shut her eyes again, hoping it would be different this time.
It never was.

By the time Madam Pomfrey ripped open the bed curtain Juniper was hidden by, the sun was up and shining, birds singing so loudly it ached Juniper's eardrums.

"Good morning, Miss Jones." Madam Pomfrey chirped along with the birds, walking over to Juniper's bed, clipboard in hand. "Ready to get out of here?"

"So ready." Juniper grumbled, trying to sit up on her elbows, but still feeling a sharp pain run through her chest. As if her ribs didn't hurt enough from being broken, the involuntary shaking and thrashing that pulled her out of her sleep made the pain a hundred times worse, plus it meant she had to stay in the hospital a few days longer than Hermione and Ron.

"You had a real number done on you, Miss Jones. Your ribs aren't fully healed yet, and these panic attacks don't seem to be going anywhere. It will take a few weeks until you're feeling back to normal." Madam Pomfrey tried to calm her, handing her an envelope that she unclipped from her board. "This came for you this morning. Take it easy, you're all good to go."