Redamancy- Fred Weasley Fanfic

Chapter 2 - Diagon Alley

After McGonagall left, Madam Pomfrey came in and removed by feeding tube. She kept begging me to eat something, but I couldn't. Even though I don't remember the last time I ate something, looking at the food they brought me and the idea of eating the unfamiliar food has my stomach rolling in waves. She then offered to help me take a shower, but I refused. After the nurse gave up trying to get me to eat and, she left the tray on the nightstand with a sigh and left. 

I lay down on my side, facing the food. I have been counting. It has been almost an hour since she left. I slowly pull the multiple layers of blankets off me and walk on my shaky legs to the blue and white patterned tiled bathroom. I carefully closed the door behind me, scared it would creak and wake someone. The light turns on when the door closes. I look at myself in the mirror. My green-blue eyes have dark purple bruises under them. My hair is knotted and has lost its once-bright shine. I turn to the shower and turn the knob till it is on a lukewarm setting. I reach behind me and slowly pull the strings of the blue-gray hospital gown until it comes apart. I take it off, then fold it and lay it on the marble counter next to the pajamas Madam Pomfrey had left. I look at my body in the mirror hanging over the ornate sink. I look sick. My body is skinny, too skinny. My legs are the size of sticks, wobbling from the weight of my body. I had always thought my skin seemed pale and sickly, but I now know that was wildly untrue to my skin. My skin is as white as paper, with a blue undertone from my veins showing through. My ribs stuck out unnaturally.  Where I had started to develop a small amount of breast tissue during my time of eating well at a foster family before going back to the girl's home, the area is now flat-like, making me look younger than I was. 

 A tear slowly falls down my face. I turn around and enter the shower. I scrub my body with the bar of chemical-smelling hospital soap. I wash my hair too often to keep count before slathering it in the conditioner. I reach out to hold onto the shower wall as my head spins. This is the longest time I have stood up in months. I slowly sink onto the cold shower floor. I run the hairbrush through my knotted and matted hair. My arms eventually get too tired to be able to pull the bristles through my hair. I drop the brush onto the floor, landing with an echoing thud. I pull my legs up to my chest, and my arms clutch around them; my head falls to my knees, no longer having the strength to hold my head up. 

I lose track of time, but I know it has been a while since the water has gone freezing. There has been banging at the door, but I have ignored it. I hear the door open loudly, the shower curtain is pulled open, and I am hit with cold air. The water is turned off, and a white towel is wrapped around me. I slowly stand up with the help of two hands. McGonagall helps me dress in silence. She sits me on the closed toilet seat. She opens a drawer under the vanity and brings out a bottle. She puts some of the product in my hair and then slowly runs the brush through my matted hair with more patience and tenderness than I had for myself. The receptive movement has my eyes fluttering closed.

When my eyes open again, my hair is dry and in its naturally curly state, and she coats my hair in some type of oil. She slowly walks me out of the bathroom and back to the hospital bed.

"Goodnight, Miss Noir, and please, while I know you must be tempted, but don't go wondering," she warns before she leaves again.

I curl up on my side and bring the blankets to my chin. My eyes start to drift close, I could save stinking out for another day.

+++

"Miss Noir," whispers a soft voice.

My eyes flutter open and I see the professor standing over me. She is dressed in purple velvet robes with a jeweled broach adorning her black pointy hat. 

"I have left clothes in the bathroom, hurry up and get dressed," she orders. 

I walk to the bathroom and change, careful to not look in the mirror. I use the toothbrush that had been set out for me, then splash some water on my face. When I walk out of the bathroom McGonagall pats the spot on the bed next to her and I do as I'm told. I feel her spray my hair with some water then pull it into pigtails at the base of my neck.