laconic • t.nott ✓

22 ➺ sandwiches and open wounds

「 SANDWICHES AND OPEN WOUNDS 」

THEO STOOD SHIRTLESS IN FRONT of the mirror. He kept the shower running to keep his dorm mates from wondering what he was doing inside. His eyes trailed over the two spots on his chest where Amycus had pressed his wand. Theo remembered them being red but now they have turned into angry blisters the colour of the deepest purple. They didn't hurt but they stung when his shirt rubbed over them.

The side of his stomach was still bandaged by the strip of cloth that Theo assumed Seamus had torn from an old shirt. The wound hurt every time he moved. He wondered if he should tear off the bandage, whether it would cause the wound to worsen. He possibly couldn't take a shower with the piece of cloth still stuck to him, could he? He didn't have the faintest clue on how to treat wounds but he could tell it wouldn't be a good idea if he let the only barrier keeping his wound safe get wet.

But he really needed the shower.

Theo could still feel Alecto's hands pressing into his chest, her long sharp nails - no, claws - digging into his shoulder blades. Every time he closed his eyes he felt the cold metal of the knife cutting through the skin of his stomach. Amycus's sneering glare as he pushed the hot tip of his wand into his chest. When it got too silent, Theo heard their condescending voices telling him how it was his own father who had instructed them to punish Theo for his incompetence.

No, he didn't care if his wound would get worse. He needed to wash away the cruel touches of the Carrows that he felt crawling all over his body.

He stripped down the rest of the way. Without looking, he pulled the strip of cloth from his stomach and dropped it on the sink. He wouldn't turn to see the state of his wound. He would take a shower first and then he would have ample time to judge the degree of damage he has caused.

He wished Seamus had given him some instructions on how to take care of the wound. But Theo couldn't really blame him. He has done all he could as a boy who hasn't yet left school, that too with minimal ingredients. Theo was grateful - yes he was - for what Seamus had done for him.

And anyway, he was going to meet Seamus tonight. Seamus would take care of any careless mistake he had made.

Before he could change his mind, he stepped into the shower.

Theo gasped as the cold water hit his skin. He hugged himself tightly and bent forward, digging his feet into the floor to keep himself from moving. A sharp twinge of pain radiated from the side of his stomach, up along his spine and down to every bone in his body. But the intense cold washed over him, numbing his senses and within a few minutes, he felt no pain.

He stood under the shower, shivering madly. His muscles spasmed but he kept himself firmly rooted to the floor. The wound on his side hurt no more but a dull, throbbing ache began at his temples and circled around his head. He squeezed his eyes shut and embraced the freezing water as it took control of all of his senses and numbed him to the bone.

He turned off the shower and stood there, trembling like a fallen leaf in the wind.

When he opened his eyes, gasping lightly, he noticed the water around his feet was stained a pale red. His eyes shot to the wound on his stomach. It was open and a thin stream of blood trickled out. Even with his entire body numb, Theo registered in his head that Seamus would not be happy to see it.

He stood there silently for several more minutes, hoping for the shivers to stop. But they didn't. In fact, the more he stood with not a thread covering his body with a layer of cold water running down his skin, the colder he felt. He decided that he needed to dry himself and put something on. But his feet were glued to the floor.