mahogany ; d.m

17 - rid

For the remainder of the day, Malfoy was nowhere to be seen. He stopped attending his lessons and Athena couldn't help but feel regretful to how she had delivered to news to him. She reckoned she had probably ought to have been more subtle when telling him instead of letting it spill point blank.

She surprised herself too. It later came to her realisation that she had never said it out loud before and once she did, it was as if it had finally become real. Not set in stone, as she still battled with the decision to keep the unborn foetus. But quite real.

After dinner, Athena and her friends went straight to the common room. They gathered around the fireplace on the sofa and chairs, but as Athena was about to sit, a draining emptiness emerged inside her chest.

"I think I'll go off to bed,"she yawned, trying to escape the cheery mood of the Gryffindor common room, desperate to seek her solitude. "Night."

None of her friends protested at her departure, they simply let her go, cautious and very much aware of her change in behaviour over the past couple of weeks.

.

Hermione slumped back in her chair, feeling defeated for the lack of understanding she seemed to have for her best friend. She wasn't completely ignorant. There was obviously something the matter with Athena.

"We've got to find out what's wrong with her,"she sighed, audible so only Harry and Ron could hear.

But what could it possibly be?

She, Ron and Harry had been discussing it occasionally, trying to come to conclusions for her strange change in behaviour. The others didn't seem too concerned, narrowing the issue down to 'girls stuff', but Hermione knew better than that.

She had noticed the difference after Athena's time off of lessons due to her stomach flu. At first she figured it was just because she had been ill and it was most likely the aftermath of it. Though it had been two weeks and she hadn't changed.

Could it be that she was still feeling the side effects of her illness?

Perhaps it was no ordinary illness. Athena could have told her that in order to not worry her.

What if she was dying?

No, it was not possible. Athena wouldn't have kept something like that from her closest friends, her family even. She would also be sent to the hospital wing more often if she was facing death.

'Think Hermione! You're supposed to be good at that!'her mind commanded.

It began with the nausea. Three days in a row with no aftermath whatsoever. She was completely fine, though Hermione made her go to the hospital wing.

Nausea. That was one piece of evidence.

During breakfast one morning, Athena claimed that the bacon tasted off. But it was not. It was completely delightful. Besides Athena usually loved bacon and ate it every time it was offered. But she vomited after taking another bite.

When Athena would leave early, Hermione had figured it to be because she wanted to be alone, making the excuse that she was tired. But a couple of instances she had gone up to their dormitory ten minutes after her and Athena would be fast asleep.

There was something missing, a hidden piece of key information. The worst part was there was nothing which could excuse her best friends abrupt change in persona.

The only thing she could come up with was that Athena had some lingering illness which she didn't want anyone to know about. She had seemed so happy the night before they went to the hospital wing, so completely herself only to come out of it changed in mood.