Lacerta Black -- James Potter --

47

It was one of her bad days. The ones where she couldn't even force herself out of bed. Her limbs were heavy metal and she didn't have the strength to budge. James had checked on her in the morning leaving only a soft kiss on her forehead before he left for class.

They only had a day left before they boarded the train and she felt a wave of shame wash over her that she couldn't even budge.

The night before, Avery had made some unsavory comment - no different than what he usually said - but it left her scrubbing her skin until it was bright red. It was as if his words sank beneath her skin and infested her body with some sort of disease.

A soft knock came from the door. It took too much energy to speak so she merely grunted in return. Peter's blonde hair poked through not a moment later, followed by Mary's curls.

"Hey," Peter smiled warmly as he carried in a tray full of foods. A steaming bowl of soup made the room smell of steamed vegetables. Her stomach lurched - either from not eating or simply not wanting to eat. "James had some Head Boy stuff he had to do and sent us with some food."

Lacerta hadn't even noticed how a whole day had passed since James had left.

Mary walked forward to sit on the edge of the bed. Her nose crinkled slightly, "It reeks in here. Is that moldy bread on your end table?"

Her eyes slowly moved to see that there was in fact moldy bread. Her hair was probably as greasy as Snapes and her skin felt dry from all the scrubbing.

Another grunt in response.

"I'm just tired," she said because she didn't want them to think that she was weak. That she couldn't take care of herself.

"No you're not," Peter said simply, like it  was the easiest and most obvious thing in the world. If her sharp look made him falter, it didn't show. "Its alright to not be yourself sometimes. We need to let ourselves be sad and then build ourselves back up or let others help us come back stronger."

"I said I'm tired, Pettigrew," she said harshly. "What the fuck dont you understand about that?"

He was quiet for a second. Seemingly pondering the right thing to say. "Get up," he ordered as Mary opened the blinds and vanished her dirty dishes.

"Go fuck yourself," she buried her head under the covers. Trying to drown them out.

"No," Mary pulled them away and she nearly hissed like a vampire as the sun made her eyes squint. "James coddles you because he cant bring himself to do the hard thing. Get up so you can wash your hair."

"No." Why did her eyes feel so warm? Her face certainly had a blush. The thought of rolling out of bed made her think of all the horrible things waiting outside her door. The Death Eaters. Voldemort. The entire war.

"Now." Mary didn't her time to object as she pulled on her ankles, making them both tumble to the floor in a pile of limbs.

Her chest felt tight now that she was away from the comfort of her own bed. "This is so fucking stupid. I'm fine."

"Mary's going to help you wash your hair while I clean your room with the house elves," Peter shooed them away with a wave of his hand.

It was humiliating to sit in her tub as the Gryffindor lathered her curls and made sure her skin was moisturized. She felt a bit like a puppet. Her arms and legs were limp as she stared blankly as the grout in the tile.

"Everyone was too soft around me when it happened," she talked even if Lacerta turned away. "They were too scared to even be near me I think. They didn't want me to start crying again or something."

She picked at her cuticles while Mary cast a drying spell on her hair and began to pull it up out of her face.

"The girls let me sleep for nearly two months in my bed. They did my homework and cleaned the room while I just laid there like a lump. I came out of it by myself but I've always sort of hated how they treated me. I wanted someone to treat me normally. To stop acting like I was glass.

She swallowed the growing lump in her throat with a bit of effort.

"James doesn't hold me like he used to. He holds me like he's scared I'm either going to float away or break. I don't feel ready to kiss him but he wont ask anymore either and it feels like he doesn't love me anymore. Sirius doesn't pick fights anymore. He just gives me what I want. Then I feel guilty for acting like a bitch when I just want him to get annoyed or angry or something. They've all been like that."

"Look how fucking beautiful you are," Mary turned her face towards the mirror. Whatever the girl had done had left a certain glow to her skin and a new shine to her hair that hadn't been there in a while. "Do you want to break something?"

The shock mirrored in her reflection as she looked up at Mary. "What?"

"I brought Peter here to help us sneak into the forbidden forest. Let's go scream and break something. When we comeback, we try and put it behind us and start anew."

"This doesn't seem healthy."

"Of course it is," Mary rolled her big doe eyes as they walked out of the bathroom to find a sparkling room that smelt of lemons and lavender. A bouquet of flowers sat nicely on her bedside table and Peter was tidying her comforter when he saw them.

"You look less dead," he smiled and it was void of any pity. It made her chest warm and she cursed herself for not noticing Peter as much as she should have. "Ready to go break some shit?"

Lacerta hadn't felt that light in so long it felt like her feet weren't touching the ground.