REHAB
It felt forced, the homeliness of the floral curtains and beige carpet. Maybe because it still felt cold, sterile almost.
There was a medical ambience to the room despite the paintings depicting a sunny afternoon at the beach or a cool morning in the misty valley between two snow capped mountains. It was difficult to ignore.
A bell rung throughout the room, coming from the hallway beyond the cream coloured wooden door.
"Everyone up for morning meeting!" A commanding voice sounded, alike to McGonagall's in tone but contrasting in pitch.
It was cold outside the warm protection of the bed covers, almost taunting and teasing at how hard it already was to get out of bed.
There was movement on the other side of the room where a small lamp flicked on, a girl with short pink hair was making her bed systematically. She brushed a hand over the doona to smooth any creases, tucking it snuggly under the mattress.
"You should really get up. A bad reputation gets you nowhere here, new girl." The girl spoke with slight humour lacing her tone.
Lucia groaned and squeezed her eyes shut, pulling the covers over her eyes to shield her from the morning light as the pink haired girl pulled open the curtains.
"Don't say I didn't warn you." She chuckled when Lucia stayed curled up in bed, walking towards the door to the hallway.
A few minutes passed of Lucia drifting in and out of sleep, before the door opened once again to reveal a tall curly haired woman entering.
"Sweetheart, it's time to get up. You miss morning meeting and you'll already be losing your privileges." The gravelly voice of a woman who'd smoked too many cigarettes in a lifetime filled the room.
Lucia groaned again, the comedown piercing her temples like a drill and deflating her mood like a pin to a balloon.
Eventually, she managed to roll herself out of bed. She pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie, putting her hair back in a loose low bun at the back of her head.
After slipping on a pair of slippers, she made her way out into the hallway that was milling with other people, both nurses and patients. With a sigh, she trudged toward the open space she knew the meeting would be held.
Fuck this, she couldn't help but think to herself.
As she walked into the general space, she saw the group had already taken their seats, her seemingly being the last one to arrive.
She received a couple of glares for her tardiness, and the curly haired woman from earlier sat with a clipboard patiently on one side of the circle.
"Nice you could join us, Ms. Cohen." She announced as Lucia slumped down in one of the only free armchairs.
Lucia put minimal effort into a forced smile in return.
The woman began the meeting, discussing the timetable for the day and jobs everyone would be taking part in.
"As you all may have noticed, we have a new addition to the program as of last night. Lucia, would you please introduce yourself and your reason for being here to the group?" The curly haired woman raised her eyebrows to Lucia.
Lucia cleared her throat, her legs curled up beside her in her chair and hands hidden within the sleeves of her hoodie.
"I'm Lucia, and I'm not really sure why I'm here. I went a bit far at my strict boarding school with coke, so I suppose they thought sending me here was a good idea. I just don't think they understand that I have it under control." Lucia couldn't disguise the irritation in her voice.
"Great, another stuck up boarding school bitch using daddy's credit card to buy her designer drugs." She heard a boy murmur to his friend quietly. Lucia sent them a cold glare.
"And why do you think they thought you needed to come here?" The woman pressed.
"Because it wasn't the first time I'd been in trouble for something drug related." Lucia sighed.
"So it seems they are under the impression you had developed a dependency on substances such as those. Would you say that was an accurate assumption?" The doctor continued, looking with an expectant gaze at Lucia as she avoided looking the woman in the eye.
"I have it under control." Lucia said sternly, already irritated to be singled out in front of the small group so early in the morning.
The woman gave an understanding smile that had underlying tones of disappointment, but continued the morning meeting discussion. When it was finally breakfast time, the group filtered toward the dining room in a buzz of morning chatter that grated into Lucia's ears uncomfortably.
When Lucia slid down onto a seat at the dining table, someone immediately sat beside her. When she raised her gaze to see who it was, she found her pink haired roommate in the seat next to her.
"Nice introduction, really made a good impression to all the supervisors." The girl chuckled sarcastically, putting a couple of slices of fruit onto her plate.
"Oh fuck off, she shouldn't have singled me out of the group like that." Lucia laughed in return, grabbing a banana and beginning to peel back the skin.
"Get used to it, darl. Just wait until you start the group therapy." The pink haired girl teased, taking a pot of coffee and pouring some into a mug in front of her, "Coffee?" She gestured with the pot to Lucia.
Lucia nodded, moving the mug in front of her towards the girl sitting next to her.
"I used to work at a café, so I really should be an expert at this." She chuckled as a bit of coffee dripped onto the table. She wiped it up with a napkin, then reached for the carton of soy milk across the table to pour a splash into her mug, "Soy or regular?" She asked as she held up the carton to Lucia.
"Soy is fine." Lucia responded, taking a bite of her banana.
"I tell you, being vegan in this place is a real shit show." The pink haired girl laughed.
Lucia dropped her banana on her plate and turned sharply to the girl beside her, looking at her face intently in shock. "Holy fuck."
"What?" The pink haired girl seemed slightly alarmed, looking at Lucia with a shocked expression.
"Did you work at a vegan cafe in central London?" Lucia spoke in equal shock.
"Yes." The pink haired girl drew out in curiosity.
Lucia began to laugh, putting her head in her hands in disbelief.
"What?" The pink haired girl was still rather alarmed.
"I went to that café a couple of months ago and you gave me your number." Lucia exclaimed, still in disbelief.
"Oh my fucking God, no way! I remember that!" The girl began to laugh too, "You were eyeballing me the whole time, then you didn't even text me you bitch!" She spoke through laughter.
"The guy I was with is now my boyfriend, I'm sorry!" Lucia said as she picked her banana back up, "I would have texted you otherwise though, I promise."
The pink haired girl laughed and shook her head, "I'm Bette by the way, since you never found out."
"Right, well it's very nice to meet you Bette."
***
"Mr. Rosier, I'm going to have to ask you to calm down." McGonagall's firm voice sounded throughout her office.
"Three months?" Tom spoke with fury in every cell of his body.
"It is in Ms. Cohen's best interest to get the best treatment she can." The headmistress explained.
"And in the muggle world? You can't be telling me they do not have this kind of treatment in the wizarding world." He continued his forceful tone.
"This is a muggle substance abuse issue, which requires a muggle solution. There is nothing of the sort in the wizarding world for muggle substances." The headmistress continued, matching if not exceeding the strength of tone directed towards her.
Tom clenched his jaw in frustration, "I need to see her."
"I'm afraid that for the first two weeks there is a strict no visitation policy so she can settle in. Even after that period, it is up to those facilitating her treatment to decide if visitation is something that would benefit her progress. And may I remind you, it is still a school term." McGonagall narrowed her beady eyes.
"This is ludicrous." Tom scolded.
"Mr. Rosier," McGonagall said in a softer tone, taking a seat at her desk instead of standing, "I need you to understand that I have only organised this to help Lucia. You have seen first hand the self destructive behaviour she has become accustomed to engaging in. That girl has been through a lot, and she needs help and separation to give her the best chance at a good life. You of all people would want her future to be more than where she is headed."
Tom couldn't help but spare a look to the silent portrait of Albus Dumbledore, seeing he was watching intently at the conversation.
"The program she is in is apparently one of the best, and know I will be checking in frequently to ensure the care she is receiving is adequate." The headmistress continued.
Tom couldn't take it any longer, he turned and exited the room. As he walked quickly down the stairs and into the hallway, his hands found his longer curly hair and tugged hard in frustration.
"Fuck!" He groaned in irritation, taking a deep breath as he paced away. He was supposed to be in class, but he could think of nothing he cared about less in that moment.
Some of the nearby paintings watched in curiosity, scowls on their features at his crude language. When he looked up at them, they immediately pretended not to be watching, which earned them a cold glare from Tom as he walked away.
author's note
eekkk thank you all for your patience!
95k, I literally can't believe it. the fact that 100k is so close is absolutely insane.
this chapter is a tiny bit short and needs some editing, but honestly I'd rather just get it out for you to read rather than fuss over it for ages for it not to even improve that much.
hope you all had a nice easter if you celebrate it, otherwise enjoy the public holiday if you get one! see you all soon <3