Janna Black and The Cite of the Dead

Slugs and Filibusters

¤ ¤ ¤

The sun glowed through the clouds to give snowflakes a shimmer as though there were flakes of diamonds in the air, the Castle's slopes were carpeted in snow, the naked trees swayed in the crisp morning air, the evergreens retained their needle-like leaves which caught the snow like green fingers. Around the Shrieking Shack the world seemed to be in a noir theme, the hibernating trees were black with cold and the evergreens seemed to have their colours drained by the snow.

Inside the shack was definitely a noir scene, at the bottom of the stairs laid a young girl in a foetal position with blood in her mouth that had seeped from her slightly opened lips, the blood trail on her pale cheek lead to a smudged puddle of dark scarlet on the floorboards. The scrap on her left leg bore many splinters which Ash could not pull out during the night before the sun rose, adding to her injures was a purplish-green bruise between her shoulders where a small path of dried blood came from a cut in the bruise where her back collided with the step.

Ash had pulled down a blanket for Janna to keep warm under, his small body convulsing with the ball of his abdomen moving back and forth as he pulled the blanket with his teeth off the bed. Ash burst into white flakes landing at Janna's head with the blanket in his jaws, he pulled the blanket over her feet then pulled the material to her head. The blanket partially covered her so he hopped over her body to pull the over corner to her chin.

Shortly after feeling the warmth of Ash in her arms Janna woke up, she shivered in the cold air, Ash pressed his head to her chin trying to rub the heat into her face, she smiled with much pain. Janna's face felt like a tree had swatted her but she knew that she was on the floor the entire night since her de-splintered leg was rendered useless; anytime the skin moved the wood chips scraped her muscle.

To her chagrin she was stuck to the floor by the dried up blood she had coughed up, with a lot of will she managed to sit up, pressing her body onto her wobbly elbows and kneeling up against the pole of the railings. Hissing through her teeth as her shoulders ached and tensed. Ash watched as pieces of dust and bits fell from Janna's hair, her face was dusted and her blood had stained her arms on the side she was laying on.

   "Ash" she purred in a raspy voice, tugging the blanket around herself, attempting to hide from the shadow-dwelling cold "take us to Pomfrey" the ferret hesitated before hopping onto Janna's shoulders.

A bright flash of white light blinded Janna even as she closed her eyes, she felt herself lose her mass as through she was now a floating object free from gravity. Her bones creaked as she felt her own body swirl around her, spinning like a spinningtop the world whooshed past her sensitive ears as her body reformed around her conscience. Finally she felt a soft surface under her, she fell back onto a pillow still hugging the blanket to her body.

There was a sharp yell, followed by a shuffle of shoes that shuffled to Janna "Miss Black?! How on earth did you apparate?" Janna weakly  opened an eye, seeing Ash on her higher shoulder, she was laid on her side away from the nurse, so she looked at Pomfrey over her shoulder, Janna lifted a blood stained finger and pointed to Ash "A ferret? At least he brought you her, dear, you look terribly hurt"

Janna nodded subconsciously, letting her eyes sink in her skull, her mass began to sink into the mattress as Pomfrey cleared the splinters on Janna's shin and knee. Pomfrey pulled Janna's head up, lifting the young girl onto a few cushions before opening Janna's mouth to allow a healing potion to flow into her mouth, Janna swallowed halfheartedly, her mouth and throat was stiff from the shifting letting the blood come from her gums as her teeth reshaped.

Pomfrey let Albus visit Janna giving the young girl instructions to say she fell down an old flight of stairs at the kitchens, Albus saw Janna's wrapped up knee her swollen red lips, the ointment on her back Pomfrey had placed on the bruise smelled like strong rosemary and pepper.

    "You look...er...terrible" Albus murmured to Janna who laughed at his comment, he was at her waist holding her hand in his as he sat on a stool.

Janna grinned through her swollen lips, feeling a spasm in her jaw.

    "You're right" Janna then strengthened her lie "I didn't see where I was stepping when I went down those stairs. Pomfrey said you were worried about me" Albus' face went red.

    "Oh—er...um... D-Did she?" Albus stuttered nervously so Janna nodded in response "Well...I missed you during our breakfast date". Janna chuckled, holding her stomach from a spasm with her other hand she took from Albus curling at her chin attempting to hide her smile.

   "Thank you Albus, for waiting for me... I just wonder how the boys are doing..." Janna trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

This statement made Albus' go red, but not a nervous red...

"I haven't written to them yet," Janna looked at Albus, her plumped lips curling into a smile "I'll do that later, thank you for being here Albus, I really appreciate this" Janna took Albus' hand stroking her red thumb on the back of his hand "I didn't think anyone would notice I was missing"

    "I would notice if you disappeared, I would be worried sick. Teddy would most probably sneak slugs into my toast that if he knew I would forget about you" Albus laughed nervously seeing Janna's eyebrows furrow.

    "Teddy puts slugs in your toast? Why would he do that?" Janna questioned, her eyebrows knitting together.

   "No, no, no, I-I mean he does things like that," Albus reassured Janna waving his hands at her "I don't think Teddy would have the heart of put little adorable slugs onto my toast. He would most probably put filibusters under my seat or smoke balls in my hair"

Janna chuckled, imaging how high Albus would shoot into the air as filibusters explode like firecrackers under his seat, Albus stared at Janna as she laughed to herself curious to what she was thinking.