✓ | EPISKEY → remus lupin [ discontinued ]

Chapter Twenty Five

Alanna was awoken the next morning by Tiffany and the other girls that resided in their dorm room. She turned onto her side and grumbled to herself before pushing her duvet off her and sitting upright. Tiffany was using the mirror to do her hair; Antonia Apperly was reading the Transfiguration textbook, leaning against her headboard; Jessie Carmichael was rattling through her bedside drawers, obviously trying to find something; Rachel Bronte was plaiting her long blonde locks. Alanna was the only girl not even remotely close to being ready, and she picked up on it very quickly.

Alanna jumped out of bed and rushed to get her uniform and needed textbooks from her trunk. She shoved the textbooks into her bag and rushed to get dressed. Once she was finished getting changed, she headed to the mirror to plait her own hair. When she'd finally managed to do that, she threw her bag over her shoulder and followed the other four girls from the dorm.

Down in the common room, Alanna and Tiffany found Luke and Leonard talking animatedly. The looks on their faces told the girl that it wasn't a delightful conversation. Alanna gave her friend a look and Tiffany nodded in agreement. The two headed over to the twins. Tiffany sat next to Luke while Alanna stood beside them.

"What are y'all talking about?" Tiffany asked. The three gave her a look. Tiffany dropped her head and muttered an apology. "It's just fun to say," she muttered. Alanna shook her head in bewilderment before returning to the question on her mind.

"So what are you talking about?" she asked pointedly. Luke gestured to his brother, and Leonard rolled his eyes.

"Douche. So, um ... y'know that little Sleeping Beauty episode you had before Christmas, Alanna?" Leonard asked. Alanna nodded.

"Yes ..." she said slowly. "Why? What does that have to do with anything?"

"We were just trying to figure out the possibilities." Leonard paused. Alanna nodded for him to continue. "We think maybe Kleine Levin Syndrome."

Alanna frowned for a moment. The name didn't ring a bell in her head, she'd never heard of it. Meanwhile Tiffany, being a pureblood, didn't understand anything Leonard was saying. She had heard far more about wizarding injuries and major diseases than smaller, insignificant syndromes and diseases like Kleine Levin.

"Explain, please," Alanna said quietly, closing her eyes.

"KLS is a syndrome that some people call Sleeping Beauty syndrome. It's ..." Luke frowned, trying to figure out a way to word it. "It's pretty much just sleeping for long periods of time, and only waking up to eat or go to the bathroom. Not many people have it, which is probably why you both look really confused."

Alanna shook her head, opening her eyes again. "Wait, what does this mean?"

"Well ... KLS means you can fall asleep at any moment, and stay asleep for days, weeks, even months. And you'd miss a lot of school and other stuff."

Alanna shook her head again, having a hard time believing anything the two were saying. "No, this can't ... this can't be right! I can't miss school, Mum and Dad'll take me out as soon as they hear something's wrong with me! You can't just diagnose me with some disease that doesn't even make sense!"

Luke and Leonard raised their hands in unison.

"We didn't diagnose anything," Luke said quickly.

"We just said it was a possibility," Leonard reiterated. "But we can't really see anything else that's plausible."

Alanna was near tears, which made Luke grimace in discomfort. Tiffany still looked confused, but you could tell she was in deep thought about the situation that had just been presented to her. Leonard just looked concerned for Alanna and her well-being if the information was in fact true and she had Kleine Levin Syndrome.

"D'you think Madam Pomfrey knows what it is? Because if she does, maybe we can get a diagnosis from her," Tiffany suggested. Leonard nodded, while Luke glanced up at Alanna.

"Only if you're comfortable with it," he said.

Alanna nodded firmly. "I just want to know what's wrong with me," she said, taking in a shaky breath. Leonard nodded.

"Alright, then. It's settled. We'll see Madam Pomfrey after classes."

***

The first class Alanna and Tiffany had together was Defense Against the Dark Arts. They sat together at the back, mainly so they could whisper to each other about their newfound information. They had it with the Hufflepuffs, so it was easy to whisper and not get caught, especially since Professor Jeckels was more focused on explaining and writing things on the chalkboard than what two girls were whispering about in the back.

As Professor Jeckels started her explanation on vampires, Tiffany leaned over and whispered in Alanna's ear while Alanna was drawing another eye; this one was a light blue colour which Tiffany recognised to be the same shade as Luke's one.

"D'you reckon you have that syndrome?" Tiffany whispered, ignoring the eye. Alanna quickly shuffled a few pieces of paper over her doodle page as Professor Jeckels glanced in the girls' direction. When the professor looked away, Alanna whispered a response.

"I don't what to think, Tiff," she answered. "I don't want to believe it, but then it just seems like I'm looking for an excuse to stay at Hogwarts, because of my parents. And at the same time I want to believe it, but then I sound like I want something to be wrong with me so I can get out of everything that life throws my way."

Tiffany blinked a few times. "Okay, that was a bit extensive," she muttered.

"What do you think?" Alanna questioned.

Tiffany shrugged. "No idea. I just think that maybe this is the only possible explanation for your weird sleep episode before Christmas. I know it doesn't sound right and it sounds kind of scary, but you don't have much of a choice but to accept it."

Alanna shook her head. "I can deny it, if I really wanted to," she muttered. Tiffany raised her eyebrows. "That doesn't mean I'm going to, I'm just saying that I could if I didn't want to believe it was true."

"Well at least it's something," Tiffany said. "We have something to go on now, and you didn't just fall into a weird coma or something for a few weeks."

Alanna shrugged. "I guess," she sighed. She moved her papers and returned to her doodling. "I just hope that it's not true and I really did slip into a coma."

Tiffany frowned. "Why do you want to fall into a random coma? I don't know many people who hope for comas."

Alanna managed a small smile. "I'm just saying I'd rather a random, one-time coma than a repetitive Sleeping Beauty syndrome, y'know?"

"I get where you're coming from," Tiffany said with a nod. "And if it makes you feel any better, I'd rather have a one-time coma too." Alanna smiled again. " I guess we'll just have to wait and see what Madam Pomfrey says."

Alanna sighed shakily. "I guess so."