𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑠𝘩𝑎𝑑𝑒'𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝗁.𝗉. 𝗇𝖾𝗑𝗍 𝗀𝖾𝗇.

.twenty-three.

Cas slowly woke up...and immediately regretted it. Her legs buzzed with a dull pain as she struggled to remember how she had gotten there.

She immediately regretted that too.

The events of that night came rushing back to her, she vaguely registered the thick fog that covered the memories, like she was seeing them but not clearly. Surprisingly, the gory images didn't bother. Surprisingly, nothing really was bothering her. Even the fact that she was in the Infirmary seemed slightly amusing. Her head pounded through the thick layer of pain meds that were undoubtedly coursing through her body.

Slowly she took in her surroundings with a dazed smile on her face. A sense of confused happiness had settled in her chest. Something in the back of her head worried when she saw Al laying the bed next to her, clearly unconscious, bruised, and broken, but any feeling of rational worry was washed away by the thick, sparkling fog. The dazed happiness in her chest grew when she saw Ophelia reading a book in a few beds over, scratched and burned, but seemingly unharmed. Sleeping in the bed next to her was her blue-haired cousin, she couldn't see his face but hoped he was okay.

Any guilt she should or could have felt was washed away from the unfamiliar fog.

She slowly sat up, the pain was minimal but noticeable. She didn't dwell on it due to the fog.

"Well hello, Sleeping Beauty." His voice awoke her whole body. Even through the pain her heartbeat quickened and her stomach swirled. She looked his way. He had his head propped on his hand as he surveyed her from across the room, he looked adorably disheveled, his platinum hair was tousled and his sparkling eyes dropped with slight tiredness. Some still rash part of Cas' brain thought she should probably be worried that his usually flawless face was covered in little burns, but the shimmery fog washed away her worry. Leaving her a longing to be next to him, a feeling she was used too, but this time was different. This time the fog made it possible. Her pesky voice of reason wasn't there to stop her.

"Why, so nice to see you, Princess." Scorpius looked taken aback by her cheeky answer, Cas was just enjoying the naivety the thick fog was providing. Cas was disappointed when Madame Pomfrey came out of her office, preventing Scorpius from answering.

"Oh good, Cas, you're awake.'

Cas smiled, "Yeppers."

"How are you feeling?" She stepped towards Cas and started fussing with her. Checking her temperature, looking at her pupils, and peaking at the thick white bandages that covered her legs from her mid-thigh down. "I just gave a fresh dose of strong pain medicine, you may feel slightly...dazed, as a result. Some of the past patients described it as being "loopy" but don't worry--"

"I'm not worried," Cas stated brightly.

"It'll fade in about an hour, leaving you to be able to think straight and be relatively pain-free." She continued as if Cas hadn't interrupted, "So, just try to sleep it off." And with that, she nodded curtly at Ophelia and Scorpius and made her way back to her office.

Cas started to play the edges of her hair, suddenly fascinated by the way it curled at the edges. Happily becoming immersed in twirling her hair she took advantage of the carefree emptiness of her head, content with being enamored with twirling her hair around her burned finger.

Easily distracted, her eyes snapped back up to Scorpius, happily taking in the view that was his glorious self. In the sunlight lit Infirmary he seemed to glow, even injured, he held an air of grace that Cas thought nothing was able to take away. He slowly turned his neck, like he was testing the waters of movement, then cautiously used his sweatshirt clad arms to sit himself up. Even through the fog, Cas felt her heartbreak. He looked like he was in so much pain, even if it was just for a second, he looked...vulnerable. Which was the most intriguing and terrifying thing Cas had ever seen.