The Story of Regulus Black - Years 1-4

XXXVII. The New Captain

Regulus Black spent the next week and a half in the hospital wing.

When he awoke the day after the incident, he was in considerably less pain. Though, his back still hurt, but it didn't feel any worse than the Stinging Hex that Sirius had hit him with on Christmas. Regulus had to sit up with his back rested up against a wall of pillows, or else lay on his stomach so as not to disturb the wound too much.

After Regulus had woken up, Madam Pomfrey told him that his wound couldn't be healed as quickly as other injuries, so he would have to stay in the hospital wing for a few days. Twice a day, Madam Pomfrey would run a thick and cold-feeling salve over the burns on his back. She would often give him something to bite down on, as the salve and the spreading of it made the pain multiply quite exponentially.

It would induce a white-hot pain all over the area that it was rubbed on, and would fade agonizingly slowly into ice cold. She did this every morning and every afternoon. The more days that passed, the better the pain would get.

"What does this stuff even do?" Regulus asked on Wednesday, only after his body had stopped trembling from the pain.

Madam Pomfrey was silent for a moment. "It sounds worse than it is. See, you were burned quite badly. Your skin, it sort of... melted. So, the salve is... well, it's melting it back, really."

"Melting it back?!"

"Yes. Like I said, it sounds worse than it is. It's the only thing I could think of to heal it more quickly. It seems to be working. So far, it looks much better," she gave him a smile and poured a cup of a potion to reduce the pain.

"Is it... am I going to have a scar?" Regulus asked, slipping his button-up pyjama shirt on, wincing slightly at the way that moving his arms stretched the skin of his back.

"No, dear, I don't think you will." She handed him the cup, and he downed it in one go.

Regulus let out a sigh of relief, feeling the pain washing away.

Other than Madam Pomfrey and the occasional hospital wing patient, Regulus actually had quite a bit of company. Barty would come everyday after class, bringing Regulus's homework along with him. They would sit together, either doing homework or chatting away. Barty was updating Regulus on everything happening in the school, and Regulus was fully interested. He didn't have anything else to be interested in at the moment, really. However, when Barty told Regulus that Evan Rosier hadn't been expelled, he was livid.

"How could he have not been expelled?! I'VE BEEN IN THE HOSPITAL WING FOR THREE BLOODY DAYS!" Regulus said on Monday, when Barty had finally found the right time to tell him.

"Yeah, I know. It's stupid. He's been walking around the common room like he owns the place. It's like he's bragging about it." Barty rolled his eyes. "Carson's furious. Don't think I've ever seen anyone more angry. A few times, Harrison and Wyatt have had to hold him back from hexing him. I suspect that Gillian would've held him back, if Valeria didn't have to hold her. They both want to murder him for what he did to you." Regulus could see Barty clenching his fists in his lap. "I want to kill you for what he did to you. I swear, if that little rat even-"

"Mr. Crouch, if you're going to be threatening death on other students, at least wait until I am out of the room!" Madam Pomfrey called from the other side of the ward where she was sorting potions in a small cabinet.

"Sorry, Madam Pomfrey," he said. Regulus couldn't help but laugh.

Aside from Barty, Gillian and Carson both came to visit him, too. They didn't come as much as Barty did, however. Carson was busy revising for his N.E.W.T.'s, and he still had Quidditch to worry about, too. Regulus didn't know exactly why Gillian was so busy, for they wouldn't tell him whenever he asked. Carson had seemed a bit down, as well, but Regulus passed this off as the sad thoughts of almost being done with his time at Hogwarts.