Black and Blue

Chapter 10

A/N

The past 2 chapters were filler chapters because nothing much was happening with the teachers and staff. This chapter and the next few may also be filler chapters depending on how creative I feel while writing it :')

December bled into January. As the students trickled back into Hogwarts, the pace of lessons resumed with remarkable swiftness, abruptly drawing my idyllic holiday to a close and thrusting me back into the world of teaching. 

I passed the hospital wing one quiet evening. Some students still roamed, mostly curious first years and mischievous sixth and seventh years. 

Recalling the event that left Miss Hermione Granger in the hospital wing, leaving her with feline features and fur and whiskers, done by a malfunctioning potion, I felt compelled to pay her a visit. 

Hermione had always been among my most diligent and respectful students, and was likely distressed at the abundance of work she had missed. I entered the infirmary quietly, offering Madame Pomfrey a quick greeting.

While asking to see Hermione, I noticed a furry face peeking out from behind the curtain. With a warm smile, I addressed her, "Good evening, Miss Granger." Her expression held a mix of surprise and embarrassment, yet she returned the greeting with a shy smile, "Good evening Professor."

Handing her the missed assignments, I proceeded to provide a brief lesson and answered her queries, until Madame Pomfrey intervened, insisting that both Hermione and I needed rest, promptly ushering me out of the infirmary.

I strolled along the path leading to my well-worn office, when out of nowhere, a shrill, enraged voice echoed from the floor above, jolting me from my routine: "...even more work for me! Mopping all night, like I haven't got enough to do! No, this is the final straw, I'm going to Dumbledore..." The voice registered immediately as Argus's. A sigh escaped me, a pang of sympathy stabbing my chest. That poor man—always needing to tidy this castle practically single-handedly.

I continued walking, unwilling to snoop in on anything in my current, exhausted state. I dragged myself along the endless, winding corridors until I finally found my office. I wrestled with the door. When it finally wielded, a small hurricane of dust from the stone wall above the door assaulted my eyes. Blinking rapidly and my eyes watering, I stumbled inside, kicking the door shut and lighting a candle, illuminating the dimly lit room.

I rubbed my eyes, which were itching with both tiredness and the dust that had recently flown into them. I took off my coat and sat on my bed, my body heavy and cold. I gathered the strength to stand up and stumble into the bathroom.

I leaned against the bathroom sink in the dark, my eyes closed. I opened them before lighting up the candles in the bathroom, filling the room with an eerie, orange glow.

Shadows like spiders danced on the walls as I undressed myself. The fabric of my clothing pooled on the floor below me. My hair spilled down my shoulders and I got the shower running. 

Unfortunately, due to my position in the castle, the water temperatures were unpredictable, and today, the water was ice cold. I cringed and stepped into the icy water, letting out a hiss of discomfort.

Hurriedly, I darted out of the shower, goosebumps bubbling painfully on my arms as shivers wracked my body. Hastily dressing myself, I grimaced at the biting claws of the freezing January night air against my bare skin. Yearning to thaw my chilled body, I nestled into my blankets, only to find them uncomfortably cold, providing little respite from the pervasive chill.

Yearning to thaw my chilled body, I nestled into my blankets, only to find them uncomfortably cold, providing little respite from the pervasive chill.

Soon, the blankets warmed up and I finally found sleep awaiting me. My eyes grew heavier and my vision darkened.

Unfortunately, a recurring nightmare awaited me for when sleep finally overcame me.

It took place when I was younger, in my sixth year at Hogwarts. My dream self was skipping happily along a corridor. She stopped suddenly as a sense of fear washed over her. Her neck prickled, but she knew this was a dream, and she knew exactly what dream it was.

Laughs and jeers bled into earshot as James Potter and his friends walked into view. Younger me was paralyzed, like every time she was in this dream, and no matter how hard she tried, she could never move.

The chilling gaze of James fixated on her, his cold, green eyes locking onto hers before erupting into a derisive laugh. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" His voice reverberated through the hall, sending a shiver down my spine. Dread settled in as I felt my muscles slackening—a familiar terror seizing control.

The scene unfolded as James and his cohorts unleashed a torrent of insults, their laughter echoing like a cruel symphony that taunted and tore at my sense of self.

"You're nothing but a frail ghost haunting the halls, Zorya. How do you even call yourself a witch?"

"Look at you, all skin and bones. You're not even worth the space you take up."
"Why don't you disappear like a good ghost, Zorya? No one wants you around."
"Mudblood like you doesn't belong in Hogwarts. Go back to your Muggle life where you fit in."
"Bet your family disowned you the moment they found out you're a freak, right?"
"Everyone can see right through you, Zorya. You're transparent, just like your pathetic attempts at magic."
"Hey, look, it's the walking skeleton! Too scared to eat or just trying to vanish completely?"
"Think you're special because you got your Hogwarts letter? You're a joke, Zorya."
"No wonder you're always alone. Who'd want to be friends with a ghostly freak like you?"
"I'd cast a spell on you, but I'm afraid you'd just disappear into thin air. Oh wait, you already have!"

The insults he and his friends sent me hurt me physically, like daggers stabbing and slicing at me. Tears streamed down my face before I heard a familiar, monotonous voice.

"Stop," said the voice of Severus Snape. Dream me did not look up, knowing what was going to happen next. "Oooh, look, it's Skelly's boyfriend, Snivelous. What are you gonna do, huh?" James mocks. I barely heard what Severus said next before a flash of red light overtook the hall, and the sound of Severus's body hitting the floor behind me echoed.

I finally looked up. I had forgotten this was a dream. James had his wand pointed at me. "Diffindo!" he shouts. His friends gasp. A stabbing pain erupts throughout my chest and torso, making me shriek in pain. A warm wetness drew my vision downward, and there lay a precise, clean cut all the way from my upper chest to my hip. 

My knees buckled and I fell to the ground. James and his friends scattered as Professors arrived on the scene, but I barely noticed...

I awoke abruptly, my sheets clinging damply to my skin, chilled by the cold sweat trickling down my body. As I rose, my legs trembled beneath me. With a forceful swallow, I navigated toward the bathroom, reaching for a refreshing splash of icy water upon my face. Gazing into the mirror, I confronted a reflection of bloodshot eyes and tracks of tears marking their path down my cheeks. A sigh escaped me, a frail attempt at calming myself.

I surveyed my pallid, water-beaded face in the mirror. The flickering, dancing candlelight in the room heightened the shadows under my eyes and accentuated the hollows of my cheeks.

Uncertain whether the haunting nightmare would revisit, I cautiously returned to bed, closing my eyes in hopeful surrender to the embrace of sleep once more.