Invisible String - A Sebastian Sallow Story

Chapter XXXV

When they finally arrived in the hospital wing, Aesop was glad to finally have a place to set the injured girl. He's sure that to Matilda, Nurse Blainey, Fig and the others standing nearby they were a sight for sore eyes. His jacket wrapped around her wounded frame in a crude attempt to veil her modesty, the deep cut going down her face leaving her covered in her own blood, and his own aggravated limp very apparent as he carried her towards the closest available bed.

"Heavens! Is she even still alive, Aesop?" Professor Weasley asked, rushing to the bedside along with the school nurse looking down at the severely injured young woman. The unpleasant groan that left her lips as she was set down, causing everyone to cringe.

"Yes she is. Someone will need to fetch Officer Singer." he said, moving himself to sit on the bed next to her, the pain in his own leg suddenly becoming too much for him to bear.

"Officer Singer? Why?" Professor Ronen said coming closer as the majority of the Hogwarts professors piled in after them. Sensing it would be a while before anyone would be able to treat Poppy's small scrapes, Professor Garlick turned towards the hufflepuff saying "let's get you all fixed up sweetheart, I imagine it will be a while before the nurse can see you", before steering Poppy to a bed at the far end of the ward.

"Because she managed to take down Victor Rookwood. He is dead." he explained with an exasperated sigh. Running a hand over his face, he tried not to let the frustration at the situation show. Knowing the world was now rid of such a horrible dark wizard was a good thing, but to know it took a student to do so, no less after being tortured nearly to death didn't sit right with him. He won't lie, he was still extremely impressed that she had managed to fight him at all, given her condition, let alone successfully. Watching how she was able to repel the killing curse, using some form of magic he'd never seen to send the curse back into the man, thus bringing his reign of terror effectively to an end. The gasps that filled the room at the knowledge that she had won a duel against one of the most notorious criminals of their time, as a student with little experience within the magical world, confused many.

"Merlin... why did he take her?" Professor Hecat questioned coming closer to inspect the girl, who was now finally having Nurse Blainey tend to her wounds as the woman forced a potion down her throat.

"It's a long story." Sharp said, finally having caught his breath enough to stand again. He took one last look at the young woman, beaten like a rag doll but somehow still alive. Bending down he placed a hand on hers, squeezing it gently to let her know he was still there before moving back.

With that Nurse Blainey quickly drew curtains around her bedside, giving them some privacy as she removed the professor's jacket to see the damage inflicted on the young girl. Rushing around she asked the house elf she kept as an assistant to grab potions of various varieties in a hushed voice as she tended to her.

She tried to keep her pained noises to a minimum, in order to listen in on what the others were saying. The first thing the matron had done when she arrived was force a potion to keep her alert, not knowing if she had a concussion and not wanting her to fall asleep if she did. From there she was stripped of the professor's jacket, along with the tattered camisole she wore, as the nurse brought forth a large bandage to quickly tend to the cuts along her chest before covering her breasts in case anyone came to look. Nurse Blainey, with the assistance of a house elf, helped raise her to sitting upright in order to assess the damage done to her back, as well as fasten the bandage around her so it would stay in place, before moving along to see the damage done to her face.

As the teachers discussed what had happened they almost didn't realize that young Anne Sallow had gotten up from her bedside, looking stronger than she had in over a year, until they heard someone ask "so she is alive?" from behind them.