Little White Lies | Book 4

Chapter 17: Sickness

I woke up the next morning with a skull splitting headache. The sunlight that poured through the curtains in the girls' dorms practically blinded me when I opened my eyes. I cursed angrily, and buried my head under my pillow. The earrings Draco had given me were both poking me behind the ears, but, instead of removing them, I moved to a different position. Like my charm bracelet from Harry, I didn't want to take them off.

After a few minutes, Hermione came over, and snatched my pillow away from me. "Riley, you should be getting ready!" She scolded. "I feel like I got hit by a truck." I whined, hiding under the covers. "Well, go see Madame Pomfrey, and maybe you can make it to second period. Hurry!" I groaned. "I think I just need a day off, you know? Maybe I can catch up on some homework or something. Just make sure Harry knows I'm not dead, please." She sighed, and walked away.

Letting out a breath of relief, I curled myself into a tiny ball, and snuggled up with the pillow Hermione threw back on my bed. Unfortunately, my relief didn't last long. After a few minutes, I felt my mattress dip in by my knees, and the covers were lifted from my face. "Love, is everything alright?" Harry's voice asked me. "I'm fine, Harry, I just have a bad headache. You should probably get to breakfast so you're not hungry in class. I'll be okay,"

He ran his fingers through my hair, and pressed his hand to my forehead. "You're a bit warm. Maybe you should see Madame Pomfrey, so this doesn't get worse. I'll take you, if you want." I shook my head, and opened my eyes a bit to look at him. "I just wanna stay here, and wait until this passes over. I'm sure I'll be fine by tomorrow." He sighed, and kissed my head. "Well, I love you. Do you want me to stay here with you?" I rolled my eyes at him, and cracked a small smile. "Go to breakfast, Harry. I'll be just fine, okay? Tell me if I miss anything important." He nodded, and gave me a weak smile. "Feel better, my love. I'll stop by and bring you lunch later."

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Throughout the day, my headache only got worse. Not only that, but I began feeling sick, and puked up everything Harry brought me for lunch. Even though all of this was going on, there was still no way I would willingly go to the Hospital Wing. I've never felt so against it before, but now, I feel like that's the last place I want to be at the moment.

I didn't know how long I laid on the bathroom floor, waiting to puke up my lungs, since I had nothing left to puke up. But, after a while, Hermione knocked frantically on the door. "Riley, are you alright?" She called. "Yeah, I'm fine." I replied weakly. She must've heard how weak I sounded, and burst in. I tried to sit up, but she had already dropped to her knees beside me. "What happened?"

"I just puked a little. I'm fine, Hermione, really. It's just a little stomach bug. Where's Harry?" She sighed, helping me to sit up. "He has another one of those private lessons with the Headmaster. If he saw you like this, he'd have you in the Hospital Wing in a split second." I nodded in agreement, and massaged my throbbing temples. "That's why he's not going to see me like this. Until I'm better, he's not allowed up here." She frowned at me. "So, you want me to keep him away from you? Riley, he's worried sick about you. If you actually think he's going to let me keep him from checking on you, you're insane."

I groaned, and clenched my hair in my fists, making sure not to hit my earrings. "Hermione, I'm begging you! I swear, you'll only have to hold him off for a couple days at the most. This is all I'll ever ask of you ever again!" She huffed, and pulled me off the floor. "What is it you have against the Hospital Wing, anyway? Do the remedies there really taste that bad?" I sighed, as we headed back over to my bed. "No, I just really don't want to go there. This'll all pass over in a few days, so why go?"

When we finally reached my bed, I laid down, and tried falling asleep. Unfortunately, it was hard to do that with a migraine and the feeling that I was about to vomit. But, after laying there for a few hours, I finally fell asleep.

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I woke up the next morning in a pool of my own sweat. My clothes were practically stuck to my body because of it. My headache was worse than ever, and the feeling that I would puke never went away. During the few hours of which I had slept, I had gotten way worse. I tried to sit up, but it was extremely difficult, seeing as my body was as weak as a twig.

"Oh my gosh! Riley, you don't look so good!" Padma exclaimed, running to my side. "Where's Hermione?" I croaked, ignoring her prior statement. "She's down in the common room. I think she and Harry are having a row. Do you need me to get him?" I reached up with a weak hand, and grabbed the front of her robes. "If you so much as give him a hint as to my current state, I will hex you so badly, you won't know what hit you." I growled. She nodded fearfully, and hurried out of the room. "Same goes for the rest of you!" I snapped at the other girls, who were getting dressed. They nodded, and began leaving as well.

I groaned, and peeled the sheets off of me. On the outside of my body, I was sweating like crazy, but internally, I felt like I was sitting in an icebox. Clutching the sides of my head with my hands, I groaned, mentally pleading this sickness to go away.

"Harry, you really shouldn't go up there! Riley doesn't want to be bothered!" Hermione's voice said, in a panicked tone. It sounded like Harry was already trying to make his way up to see me. "Who said I was going to bother her? All I want to do is check on her! Why is that such a problem to you?" He snapped at her. "It's not a problem, she just wants to be alone. Please, Harry, just let her be!"

Suddenly, I heard footsteps pounding up the stairs. I began to panic, and looked around for somewhere to hide. I pushed myself up, and found myself looking into a mirror. My face was as white as paper, and my eyes were bloodshot. Harry was sure to kill me if he saw that I let myself get this bad.

But, it was too late.

The door swung open, to reveal my flustered boyfriend. When he saw me, his angry expression turned to pure worry. "Riley! Oh, love, why aren't you in the Hospital Wing? Look at you!" He rushed over to me, cupping my face in his hands. "Come on, I'll take you to Madame Pomfrey. You poor thing," I began backing away, as he tried to pick me up. "I don't want to go to the Hospital Wing. I'll get better here, okay? I just need rest, and-" He sighed, grabbing my waist and the backs of my knees. I was too weak to fight him, so I did all I could do. I cried.

"Please don't do this to me, Harry! I don't want to go! Please don't make me!" He frowned, but didn't put me back down on my bed. "Love, you have to go. Laying miserably in here all by yourself is only making you worse, in case you haven't noticed. Madame Pomfrey will have you in and out of there in a day. I'll be there with you the whole time." I shook my head, and wiped my tears. "I'll do anything! Please let me stay here!" He looked at me for a moment. "I'm sorry, Riley. If anything happens to you in here, I won't be able to live with myself.

With that, he carried me to the Hospital Wing.