Between the Cracks // 𝓕𝓻𝓮𝓭 𝓦𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓵𝓮𝔂

60. The Biiiig Stone

Chapter 60: The Biiiig Stone

The journey over to Madam Pompfrey went surprisingly well. Still, it involved a lot of Leigh squeezing her eyes shut, occasionally screaming and breathing way too little. Ultimately, she was thankful the distance was short.

They landed outside the castle, and Leigh was stubborn in wanting to walk the distance into the hospital wing. She did not want to be carried, that much was clear. She insisted that her side didn't hurt that much. As long as she didn't stretch it out, laugh or...breathe. She felt Fred's gaze on her with each step, as if thinking she might fall any second, much to her annoyance. Feeling like a hoarded sheep, she slowly trudged her way up the 1 stair and into the hospital tower.

The castle was pretty much empty, and although they didn't walk through a big portion of the building they heard no echoes of neither voices nor steps.

The infirmary was equally as quiet. Pomfrey was organizing something in a cabinet as Leigh approached, attempting to look as normal as possible. However, her attempt was unsuccessful, and Pomfrey immediately saw her calculated and slow movements and approached. And once Pomfrey looked to Fred by her side she seemed to have fully made up her mind.

"What happened?"

Leigh came to a stop, replying immediately. "Nothing. Nothing at all. A bruise maybe, that's all. I told him I didn't need to come here."

"Fell about 1.5 meters and apparently hurt her side," Fred added swiftly from a distance behind Leigh, immediately receiving a glare from her.

She returned her gaze to Pomfrey. "It's probably nothing. I told him we should just forget it. It's the day before Christmas, I don't want to take any of your time."

Pomfrey looked as unhappy as ever with both of them, for their babbling and their inability to agree rather than the ill timing. Pomfrey was to stay at Hogwarts during the holidays anyway, as students remained in the castle.

"Sit down," she commanded, pointing to a bed along the wall.

Leigh frowned. It took a second for her to move, and she only did so when Fred nudged her shoulder slightly.

She sighed reluctantly. "Fine."

Shrugging herself off her coat, although doing so incredibly calculatedly and without moving too much, she took a few steps towards the hospital bed. Fred quickly grasped her coat from her hand and watched as she lowered herself onto the bed.

"Take a breath," Pomfrey directed, and Leigh inhaled, abruptly stopping in her tracks when the pain again erupted at her side. Madam Pomfrey studied her reaction, humming in recognition. "Let me take a look."

Leigh, complying, was ready to pull up her shirt when Pomfrey cleared her throat, glaring over at Fred strictly. He pushed his lips together before turning around.

Once Leigh's jumper was pushed up to beneath the chest, Pomfrey started poking and prodding her as expected, and Leigh winced as pressure made the sharp pain occur.

"How does it look?" Fred asked, moderately concerned, from in front of her, and Leigh furrowed her brows.

She peeked down onto her exposed skin, seeing the blotches of red and growing blue. "Uhm.., it's a bruise? That's about it."

Pomfrey finally pulled the jumper down over her skin. "Yes, there seems to be a bruising on your rib. That's why it pains you to breathe, to stretch it out. It's not broken, thankfully, although that would've been easy to fix too." She brushed her hands upon her apron. "Although there might be a small crack," she spoke before looking off as if in thought. She nodded to herself before walking over to get something, and Leigh's gaze trailed after her before she diverted it to Fred's back in front of her.