NIGHTINGALE ( draco malfoy! )

06. jeremiah's injury

     "Hey, Jer." Malia greeted, sitting down on the chair next to his bed, gently holding his hand in hers.

     "Hey." Jeremiah replied softly.

     "How are you feeling?" Malia asked.

     Jeremiah's eyes struggled to stay open, his lips forming a small smile as he murmured, "Malia, you're so pretty."

     The girl was taken aback by this, her cheeks growing red, "Oh...um...thank you."

     "He seems to be still on his pain medication." Daphne Greengrass spoke from beside her. "Must explain why he's still loopy."

    "You should get some rest, Jer." Malia soothed the boy, rubbing his forehead. "I'll be right here when you wake up."

     "Okay, pretty girl." he whispers, his voice slowly lowering to a whisper as he falls back asleep.

     "I'm going to go get lunch, do you want anything?" Daphne asked, standing up.

     "No, that's okay." Malia replied. "I'll just stay here."

     After Daphne Greengrass walked out the door, Malia sighed and looked around the hospital wing. From what it looked like, Jeremiah was the only student there. Since she had nothing else to do, Malia pulled out the Curses book from her bag and began reading.

     Hours upon hours she sat in that metal chair next to Jeremiah's bed, her nose almost touching the old pieces of parchment as she flipped the pages continuously.

     Page after page after page of useless information. That was, until she got to the chapter that read Imperious Curse. Lifting her eyebrow, the girl read along the lines:

     "Imperio makes the victim feel as if their minds have been "wiped of all thought" and they are in a "blissful" dream state. When cast successfully, the curse places the victim completely under the caster's control..."

     This was it. This was the curse she had been looking for. She learned about the Unforgivable Curses in her fourth year, but she never even considered that they could now help her fulfill her task.

     When he next woke a few hours later, Jeremiah Prince was much more alert and aware of his actions.

     "How long was I out?" The boy immediately asked, sitting up in his bed.

    Malia put her book down and looked up at the boy with relief, "Just a couple hours. How are you feeling now?"

     Jeremiah groaned, falling back into his pillows, "My head is bloody killing me, and my whole body feels like it's been thrown off a cliff."

     Malia frowned, rubbing his forehead, "I'm so sorry, Jer."

     "For what?" The boy asked, oblivious. "Did something happen?"

     Malia furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, "What's the last thing you remember?"

     "Well, uh, I got up and I had breakfast and I talked to you and then..." Jeremiah's memory then went fuzzy. "That's all I can remember."

     Pausing for a moment, Jeremiah asked the girl, "How did I get in here, anyway?"

     "You fell off your broom during the Quidditch match this morning." Malia answered, continuing to run her fingers through Jeremiah's hair.

     It seemed as though the boy hit his head so hard that he forgot everything that happened at the match. Coincidentally, that also meant that he forgot Malia wasn't there, and in that case, he had no reason to be mad at her. It was a selfish thing to be happy about, but Malia was quite relieved.

     "It's alright, you'll be okay." Malia soothed the boy. "I'm here."

     "I see you're awake, Jeremiah," Madam Pomfrey spoke from afar, making her way over towards the two. "I brought you some medicine. Here, drink up."

    "What is it?" Jeremiah asked, slightly gagging at the scent of the substance.

     "Never mind what it is, just drink." Madam Pomfrey continued. "It will help with the pain. As for you, Miss Avery, shouldn't be heading to lunch right about now?"

     "Well, I should really be here-"

     "Nonsense, go eat." Jeremiah cut her off, his eyes meeting hers. "Please."

     Sighing, the girl obliged. Standing up from her seated position and slinging her bag over her shoulder, Malia reached down and kissed Jeremiah goodbye.

     "I'll see you later..."  Malia whispered softly. "Feel better, love."

     Before exiting the hospital wing, the girl took one last look at the injured boy in front of her. He didn't deserve this, none of it. She couldn't help but feel that all of this was her fault. In all honesty, it was. Malia didn't want to keep putting him through this pain.

     This caused her to think.

     If she was to stay in her relationship with Jeremiah. He would be happy, and so would she. But, if she chose this, she would be putting him in danger. If something went wrong with her and Draco's plan, even just being affiliated with Malia would potentially lead to certain death.

     However, if she let him go, he would be safe. Malia wouldn't have to worry about the Dark Lord harming him. Nor would she have to continue to explain where she was going off to everyday. But, he would be heartbroken. The boy was head over heels in love, and Malia just couldn't bring herself to do it. Not yet.

     Not knowing what to do, Malia pushed the two thoughts away. This wasn't a problem that needed to be solved just yet.

     But, she was running out of time.