petrichor ; harry potter

2.1 | caim

[TW: Character Death]

Caim
"sanctuary"; an invisible circle of protection, drawn around the body with the hand, that reminds you that you are safe and loved, even in the darkest times.

December 25, 2000

"Ciana, hurry!" Mrs. Cressida called from downstairs. Ciana hurriedly collected her fathers' presents and put her shoes on. She rushed downstairs to where her mother was waiting for her, "Took you long enough."

"Sorry," She mumbled, and Mrs. Cressida shook her head,

"It's fine, let's just go." They checked that they had everything before Apparating to St Mungos. Checking in with the Welcome Witch quickly before walking the steps up to the second floor and the 20th room. It all happened so quickly to Ciana. A lot of things seemed to go by quickly these days. They stopped in front of the door, their reluctance to open the door clear as day.

Mrs. Cressida decided to rip off the bandage and open the door, stepping in slowly. The room was quiet, and still. It smelled of potions and...death. Death. It smelled like death. The sounds of Mr. Cressidas labored breathing filling the space, and leaving them standing. He was laying on his side on the bed in the middle, his hands tucked in between him. Ciana and Mrs. Cressida pulled in a chair at the sides, sitting, and watching him breathe.

He was still breathing, and alive. At least there was that. He was still alive.

The door opened and the healer from yesterday walked in, not surprised to see them there already. He gave them a quick smile and checked the clipboard. He checked things off before turning to them again. "Do you want the cold truth?"

Ciana and Mrs. Cressida looked at each other before nodding, and Paskal cleared his throat, reading from the clipboard. "He's not doing any better, and we don't think he will. He's close to losing the ability to talk, and move. It will be painful. Don't worry, he's not showing any signs right now but he will soon. So, I wanted to ask if I have your permission to put him under a temporary coma to reduce the pain once the symptoms start to progress regularly?"

Cianas face scrunched up in pain, looking down at her hands. She couldn't let anybody see her right now. Mrs. Cressida blinked away her tears and stood up, "Y—Yes, you have my permission."

"Okay," He wrote something down before putting the clipboard away and turning to the grieving women, "You'll have to sign the papers out here, just follow me." Mrs. Cressida squeezed her daughter's hand quickly before following the healer out. Leaving her alone with her father. He still hasn't woken up.

She sat there, with a wrapped box-pressed to her chest, waiting for her father to wake up. Like a child.

It wasn't a few minutes later that he started to stir and she straightened in the chair, her breathing stalling. Mr. Cressida groaned and shut his eyes tightly. He coughed a couple of times before opening his eyes and landing on his daughter. "Ci—Ciana."

"Hi," She smiled and moved to sit at the edge of the chair to be closer to the bed.

"How...how long was I-I asleep?" His words came out slowly, in stutters.

"Not long, don't worry."

"I'm not," He fell quiet after. She didn't know what to say.