TRUST, harry potter¹

ch. 9 - the cut

'Her dreams are all alight,

Mocking the stars in the night,

Burning ferociously and bright.

But her eyes are on fire,

And her body lay fallen.'

– dreaming is for the dying, via tumblr

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"What was it, Sir?" Harry asked, voice croaky, after a moment of silence. Harry had been the one to take immediate action, easily lifting Adeline and laying her to the bed, sitting himself on the edge of it, while Dumbledore seemed too shocked to do anything, seating himself down on the armchair.

She remained unconscious, or maybe she was just sleeping, but either way she hadn't woken up yet. His hand holding onto hers, Harry's eyes shifted from a pale Dumbledore to a wilted, dead rose on one of her bedside tables in a skinny glass vase, probably from the lack of any water.

"The cut on her hand." Dumbledore motioned to the bandaged, underside of Adeline's palm. "The dark magic residing in the blood within her veins is, obviously, all around her body. I assume for there to be a sudden loss of that blood, it can trigger the transformation at any given moment. Now if you'll excuse me, I must be on my way. Keep an eye on her."

Before Harry could question his theory, turning to the Headmaster, he merely saw the trailing cloak of said man as the door closed. Eyebrows furrowing, he turned back to Adeline, smiling as he felt her subconsciously squeeze his hand back, the rose on her bedside table renewing itself, petals vibrant once more.

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It was almost an unspoken rule between the two, Harry and Adeline, that neither would mention the happenings of that night. It was too scary—too real to want to discuss, so they both tried the best to keep it normal, even if there was that anxious voice in the back of their heads, wondering if, or when, it'd happen again.

It was a few days after, and still the two hadn't mentioned it to one another. They were in the common room by the fire, Adeline slowly but surely reading and Harry doing his homework on the couch next to her. Even if she was only truly introduced to the curriculum late the previous year, she was exceeding in almost all her classes, and had already done her homework alongside Hermione the night they got it.

There was a slight commotion in the common room, as Fred and George were selling their sweets by the name of 'Weasley's Wizard Wheezes', causing Adeline to have a giggling fit after trying to pronounce it after the twins told her to say it 'five times faster'. Harry was by her when it happened, and began to laugh at her laugh.

"Hermione, you're honestly the most wonderful person I've ever met. And if I'm ever rude to you again..."

"I'll know you've gone back to normal."

The couch dipped lightly as Hermione sat down on Harry's other side on the couch, with Adeline on his other side, considering she'd claimed that corner spot as her spot whenever they'd sit there. So that Harry could sit beside her and not have to sit on the ground like Ron comfortably was in front of the fireplace, and because she felt better when he was next to her, Addie held his quill's ink for him in one hand while she read her book in her other, bandaged hand.

As she wanted to talk with Hermione over Harry, Addie leaned downward to put her book on the maroon carpet beside the couch, though as she brought her hand back up, she knocked it harshly, yet accidentally, on the arm of the chair.

She squeezed her eyes shut, freezing in place as her hand stung painfully. Harry had asked her not to mention the detention to Ron and Hermione, and she had agreed to do so even without an explanation. Trying to swallow the soreness, she leaned back so as to not draw attention to herself, grabbing a small nearby pillow to hide her hand beneath. Luckily, Ron and Hermione had been talking, so they hadn't notice her freeze up, eyes burning.

Feeling her hand warm up, Addie peeked a look under the cushion and sucked in a breath. Hearing it, Harry looked over to her instinctively, eyes widening as he spotted the blood seeping through. He took the inkbottle from her swiftly and put it on the carpet, gently holding her non-bloody in his own.

"Hey, hey, hey, are you okay?" He looked to her glassy eyes, Ad biting her lip and shaking her head.

This brought unwanted attention to them by Ron and Hermione, cutting their conversation short. Hermione scooted closer to get a better look.

"What happened to your hand?" She questioned worriedly, Ad wiping the fallen tears from her freckled cheeks, spotting Harry's also bandaged hand, voice urging with concern. "Both of you?"

"Nothing..." Harry brushed it off, Ron rolling his eyes.

"It's obviously something Harry... you've got to tell Dumbledore. For Addie's sake, at least—" She pursued, alarm tracing her words.

"Dumbledore's got enough on his mind right now. I don't want to give Umbridge the satisfaction." Adeline sniffed as he spoke, eyes watching the rag increasing with blood in fear.

They continued to argue back and forth, Hermione keeping an eye on Addie, consistently checking her status.

"Bloody hell, Harry. The woman's torturing you two. Look what she's done to Ad." Ron intercepted, sending a gentle smile to Adeline, though she wasn't looking. "If the parents knew about this..."

"Well I haven't got any of those, have I, Ron?" He snapped, Adeline's cheeks burning. A second of silence.

"Harry, you've got to report this. Please. It's perfectly simple. You're being—"

"No. It's not. Hermione, whatever this is, it's not simple." He lets go of Addie's hand, increasing the frown already spread on her lips, standing. "You don't understand."

"Then help us to." But he had already walked away, not bothering to turn around and respond, leading himself to his dormitory.

Hermione let out a breath in the form of a sigh, moving closer to sit next to Adeline, putting a hand on her lower arm, bringing her piercing eyes to look to her soft brown ones.

"Let's get you something for that, yeah?"

a/n:

Early update! Woo!

Next chapter should be two weeks from now, but it miiight be a lil' late, since I'm going away for a little bit.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays :))

Until next time,

-G