When in doubt, jump in head first

4. LEGILIMENS! (the Galadriel™ version)

Laelynn woke the next morning in a bed far more comfortable than her own. Silken sheets pooled around her waist as she sat up, confusing her even more. "Wha..." she started, before remembering. She slumped in the bed: she would have to find a way to get back to Hogwarts. It had been nice, being gone, but if she was away for too long... well, she wouldn't be missed, but she really should get back.

She got out of the bed, the light-blue nightgown she had been given swirling round her ankles. The sun was just rising, and she took a moment to appreciate it. Then she pulled the covers down, to remake the bed, when she saw it: a patch of red.

"Dammit!" she swore softly, aware that not many people were going to be awake, "Fuck fuck fucking fuck you have to be kidding me." Of course she would repay her hosts by bleeding onto their sheets. It had definitely gotten onto her nightgown as well. She stripped the bed, leaving the clean linens at the foot of the it she dragged the stained sheets into the attached bathroom.

She paused a moment, blown away by the sheer opulence of the room (why were there three sinks? Who needs three sinks?), but quickly shook herself free of her stupor and started for the sink in the middle. The water ran icy cold, and she scrubbed at the stain on the sheet, trying to get most of the blood out. As she scratched at the sheet, trying in vain to get the worst of it out, Laelynn tried to think of a way she could ask for some pads.

Giving up her cleaning attempt as a bad job, she went back to the bedroom, throwing the stained sheet into a corner. Pulling off the silken nightgown, she saw her suspicions were wrong; there was no large patch of blood on the pale blue silk like she feared.

There was a knock on the door, and she started at the noise. "Laelynn?" it was Arwen, "Can I come in?" she asked.

"Yeah, just a sec," she called, pulling back on the nightgown and going to the door to open it. She saw the daughter of Elrond standing to the side of the door, a pile of clothes in her arms, and stepped out of the way to make room for the elf. She stepped in and frowned at the pile of wet sheets.

"What happened?" she asked, and the other's face flushed.

"It's my time of the month," she said hesitantly, "And I bled on the sheets. I'm really sorry." The ground between her feet was very interesting; the tiles had a nature pattern. She was admiring the intricate petals of a yellow flower when Arwen tapped her shoulder.

"Do you have any supplies?" she asked, and received a shake of the head. "No? Well, I can give you some cloths for the blood flow," she continued, acknowledging the gratitude shining in Laelynn's eyes with a nod of her head. "I'll be right back, and I'll bring you the recipe and some packs of Travelling Tea."

When Arwen shut the door behind her, she looked around the room for where she had dumped her clothes the night before (they were under a chair at the foot of the bed).

"I can't thank you enough," she said when Arwen returned with the promised cloths and a sheet of thin parchment. On it were the instructions for a herbal tea, and most if the ingredients were easy to find plant. Only the raspberry leaf might be difficult in the winter.

"It stops your bleeding, and also prevents pregnancy," Arwen said, as she passed her some tea bags, "Once this month's is done, you drink a cup every morning at breakfast, and each bag can be reused three times before it loses efficiency. Do it for six months, then you have to wait two weeks before beginning again. You'll have a bleeding then, and a heavy one at that, but it's dangerous if you don't stop."

"This is really useful, thank you," Laelynn replied, placing the tea bags on the dresser by the door, "But why is it called 'travel tea'?"

"Think nothing of it," was the reply. "It's called Travelling Tea," the elleth stressed the word she had gotten wrong, "Because it's mostly used when you have to travel. All sorts of horrible creatures can find you if you're bleeding." That made sense.