An Heir

Part Sixteen- Regurgitation

Thankfully Potions was quiet, we were so busy taking notes and trying to cut valerian roots ‘to and adequate standard’ that I didn’t get a chance to breathe let alone anything else. But I wasn’t expecting Harry to be alone or for Snape to talk to me- not really. After that class the two houses split up and us Slytherins went to transfiguration while Harry and the others went to Care of Magical Creatures. I sat in my seat at the back of the classroom and Sthyss still hadn’t shown up so I presumed he was still in the common room, or finding dinner- one of the two. We were learning how to transform our quills into birds and I had particular fun with it because there was no specific bird you had to turn it into, once I’d seen Professor McGonagall turn hers into a canary in front of the class I realised that it would be possible to not only change the colour and plumage of the bird but also the type of bird entirely, I sat in the back of the class with a heron perched over my desk; it eyed me carefully and let out a brief noise before it became a red-breasted robin.

I wasn’t aware that the whole time I’d been feeling very sick. Not just mildly sick but incredibly, utterly, atrociously sick; and it hit me suddenly like a moving staircase -and I knew what that felt like. I was about to raise my hand and ask to go to the hospital wing when I felt the burning sting of bile at the back of my throat and my stomach clenched and emptied its contents out onto the floor- in other words there was very little that came up, and there was a faint red tinge. I was about to sit up and turn around when I felt a hand on my back rubbing gently. “It’s alright Imogene,” It was Professor McGonagall and once she seemed positive I wasn’t going to throw up again cleaned the floor with a swish of her wand. “I’m sorry Professor.” I slurred, I suddenly felt very light headed and- yep there it was again. I retched and this time all that came out was a little pale clear liquid and blood. I was struggling to breathe and could feel my chest expanding but no air was going in or out, I felt like a fish without water- gasping. Professor McGonagall’s hand was still there and there was the shocked murmur of my peers but they all slowly seemed to fade away, like they weren’t really there. Sort of like a dream and I must have drifted off further into my dream because I felt my eyes close and my head impact upon something very hard.

Waking up again in the hospital wing I muttered a particularly rude word in Parseltongue and opened my eyes, surprisingly it was dark; yet the light still stung my eyes. I sat up and felt like I was in an ice cube, clutching the quilt around me I held it close and sat curled up in it. I surveyed the long room and realised the wing was completely empty; before the nauseous feeling returned and I looked around searchingly, and found a bowl next to my bed in which to retch yet more bile and blood up, leaving my throat feeling raw and burnt. I coughed painfully and held my body over the bowl anticipating throwing up again. I began to feel a cold wet stream running down from my nose and over my upper lip, muscles still tensed I didn’t move even though I knew my nose was bleeding. I heard footsteps and realised my ears were ringing, a hand pulled my hair away and a few seconds later a towel was pushed into my face, surprisingly gentle hands holding pressure to my nose and someone telling me it was okay. I wasn’t okay I was falling apart piece by piece and it was agonising, the part of me not in physical pain telling me that I was pissed off and increasing my already raid heart rate and making my breathing more laboured. After a long time my nose must have stopped bleeding because the towel was pulled away and my breathing and heartbeat slowed down, a goblet was pushed into my shaking hands and I looked down into the smoking liquid, I took a sip and my body screamed in protest and I threw it up immediately.

Once Madame Pomfrey had finally managed to calm me down and lie back down I was wide awake, my head pulsated and I felt every single cell of my body screaming in hatred- it hurt. Professor Lupin had shown up and gone with Madame Pomfrey into her office after only a glance in my direction and I was conscious enough to know that that wasn’t good even if I felt a bit better. The two soon emerged from the matron’s office but only Professor Lupin walked towards me, Madame Pomfrey walked off out of sight from the bed I was in.