butterfly's repose ━━ remus lupin

𝐢𝐱. sweets and sickness

     Selene waited to hear the ticking noise of Madam Pomfrey's heels against the cold tiles before she went any further inside. A few seconds of anxious waiting passed, and the nurse appeared from behind a curtained-off corner, after what sounded like muttering a silencing spell.

     Selene was curious at the hasty use of that kind of charm. She tried to dismiss this curiosity that washed over her as the nurse approached the entrance where she was stood, but she couldn't quite shake it. Selene glanced over at the area at the back discreetly, not wanting to invade Madam Pomfrey's wishes to keep it under the carpet.

     That was always there ─ an enclosed area on the opposite side of the hospital. Selene had never questioned it. No noise came from the strange, curtained-off section far from her usual bed in the nursing wing. Selene had always assumed that that was where Madam Pomfrey kept extra medicine and supplies. 

     Concluding that was probably all there was to it, and telling herself off for querying the matter in the first place, Selene adopted a sweet smile, as Madam Pomfrey greeted her, "Hi Miss," she said, breathily, like the comforting look on the nurse's face was like a fresh breath of air that she had been holding in while she put off visiting the hospital. Selene always had a thing for denying her pain just to please others. That's why she wasn't in the ward as much as she probably should be. But why hide it anymore? This condition was always going to hurt and it always does hurt. Why should she apologise because of it?

     "Hello Selene," Madam Pomfrey greeted back, her dimples popping. "Not feeling too great?" she asked her tone heavy with sympathy.

     Selene didn't like the pity that came with her condition, but she knew Madam Pomfrey would be harsher on her later, so she always decided just to put up with it anyway. Instead of verbally replying, Selene shook her head shyly, all the wistfulness clear as day.

     Madam Pomfrey was quick to place a gentle hand behind Selene's back, leading her to her usual bed, and Selene couldn't help but feel like a young child that had been attention deprived for too long. It made her feel stupid. But the fatigue weighing her down, and the position she will be in this time tomorrow reminded her that she didn't have time to dwell on such silly thoughts.

     "You need to take it easy for the next few hours," the Nurse said, wagging a finger to emphasise her point. "It's going to be a rough couple of days."

     Selene tried her best to make her next smile a genuine one but her confidence levels were on the floor ─ she was always at her most vulnerable the day before. "Don't I know it," she said, adding a breathy chuckle, the awkward undertones more vivid than ever.

     The next hour was a blurry murk, her legs shut down, tucked under heavy sheets, and her mind elsewhere because of all the drugs Madam Pomfrey had given her for the muscle pain. She tried to sleep like she had been advised to, but every time she shut her eyes for even a second, Selene felt as though she was out of control of her body like she was when it came to transformations ─ she didn't know what she could or was going to do. 

     Madam Pomfrey was scurrying here and there, attending to whatever Selene needed ─ extra pillows, sleeping pills (which Selene immediately refused), a knitted blanket for the chills. The nurse kept disappearing behind the sectioned-off area that stood across from Selene, and like before, Selene heard nothing. Not even rustling or rummaging. No muffled words, no crinkling of sheets. It was a noise-cancelling room that sucked away even tiny peeps.

     Selene pretended to be asleep every time Madam Pomfrey ventured behind the curtains of the mystery area, but once the head nurse was out of sight, she'd crack her eyes open just a little to see if she could solve the conundrum. But she never could.