Snakes And The Moon

Chapter 14

Waking up the next morning was a challenge. His whole body hurt from the tossing and turning he did all night. His arms and legs were covered in bruises from where he'd punched himself out of frustration and he recklessly ripped off his gloves in the middle of the night to claw at his own face, as he was feeling immense amounts of self loathing, tears streaming down his cheeks.

He ended up with yet another gnarly wound going down his cheek, adding to the rest, and a claw mark going across his neck which made him look as if he'd been attacked with a knife, or tried to poorly cut his own throat in a suicide attempt. It wasn't a pleasant sight, at all.

He waited until Ron left their dorm before getting up and going to the bathroom in peace. He applied some Dittany which closed up the wounds and stopped the bleeding, but there would be more scars there. He wiped his teary eyes and took in a shuddering breath, trying to keep himself calm.

'No use in crying, the damage is done. It'll only make me feel worse,' he told himself bravely.

He kept his gloves on again and sulked on his bed, only feeling a tiny bit better when an elf popped into the room and offered him a raw steak which he scoffed down. He decided to skip out on breakfast, getting back under the covers and not coming out until lunch, when Ron kept pestering him.

"What happened to you?" he asked when he saw his scratches.

Harry gulped and refused to look at him. "I had a crazy dream and accidentally scratched myself, no big deal," he shrugged, lying to his face. Ron eyed him sceptically for a second before nodding.

"Come on, you've got to get up and eat. I don't want you wasting away in here, even if you are sick," he said, trying to pull him out of the bed.

Harry groaned unhappily. "I'm not in the mood, Ron. Just leave me," he sighed. But Ron didn't loosen his grip on his arm, only tugging harder and yelling at him to get up. "Fine, fine! Happy?" he said, getting up.

"Very." Ron handed him some clean clothes and Harry quickly got dressed, putting a thick scarf over his neck to hide the gash, and followed him down to the Great Hall for lunch. He ate tiny pieces of sausage, nearly falling back asleep on his plate.

"We should probably go visit Hermione later, see how she's doing," Ron said. Harry just nodded slowly. "She's still stuck the same way..." he whispered.

Harry's eyes went wide and then he frowned. "How long until..." he trailed off, not wanting to bring it up as it was a sensitive issue at the moment.

"She's no longer an ugly, furry animal?" Ron asked. Harry cringed at the wording, he so badly wanted to just tell him stop. Instead, he just nodded. "Couple of weeks, maybe? That's what Pomfrey said, remember?"

Harry just nodded again and quickly ate the rest of his food, not uttering a word. Eventually, they were both done and decided to go to the hospital wing to visit her.

"Hello?" Harry asked from the doorway.

"Harry!" Hermione yelled from where she was hiding behind curtains. "Ron! Over here." They walked over to her and sat on her bed with her.

"How are you feeling?" Harry asked.

She shrugged and played with her fingers nervously. "Still the same..." she muttered, as if it weren't obvious. But it obviously was. Harry fought the internal instinct to stay away, rooting himself to the spot on the bed.

"You'll be fine, I promise," he smiled. She nodded and they all continued talking happily for the next hour that they were allowed to visit, before getting kicked out by Madam Pomfrey.