"All the best people have some kind of scar."
Louis had heard his mother repeat those words to his father so many times, but he never understood why his father always needed that reassurance. Their mother was always proud to walk beside their father, often reminding them of how brave their father had been to the point where he, or either of his sisters, could repeat it from memory. That didn't stop his mother from telling the story anyway.
Not understanding the reason for his father being so self-conscious about his scar, he didn't want to bother his father about why. Louis knew he would understand eventually, and the thought of making his father sad upset him.
It was probably something adults understood.
…oOo…
"Have you noticed Ben acting strange lately?"
Louis had, of course, noticed that. Ben had been his first friend, who was not one of his many cousins, in Hogwarts. The other boy was a sixth year like him, and also in Gryffindor, but they took different subjects so sometimes didn't see each other for entire mornings or afternoons.
"Have you seen him? He's usually here by now, with how ravenous he always is," Louis joked, smiling lightly as everyone else laughed. His eyes flickered to the door in worry. Ben had been behaving strangely recently, more so than usual. He hadn't even been down to breakfast, and now he was missing lunch as well, which was worrying. Louis had often been forced to accompany the other boy to the kitchens for snacks between meals during the years.
"I haven't seen him in classes the entire morning. No one said anything though, so I'd assumed everyone knew something I didn't."
Something was clearly wrong.
Louis stood from the Gryffindor table, muttering something about a forgotten textbook in his trunk to the people who had glanced at him questioningly, before walking out of the hall as quickly as he could manage without drawing too much attention to himself. Once he was out of the hall, though, he broke into a sprint towards the Gryffindor dormitories, having a bad feeling about the entire situation: Ben had never disappeared without at least telling him.
After a breathless uttering of the password, the portrait swung open to reveal the Gryffindor common room. The staircase to their dorms was another set of stairs that his legs didn't want to deal with, but he forced them to keep moving. Ben was more important than a slight ache in his legs that would go away within a week, even if Ben was perfectly fine and just feeling a little under the weather, it would still be worth it.
Louis could hear the shower running when he got to their dorm, so he sat on his bed, giving Ben a little privacy. He frowned when he saw all of Ben's things neatly packed away. Ben was one of the messiest people he knew, and they often found a bit of Ben's clothing in the Great Hall on the day before they left Hogwarts for the summer.
Only a little while later, Louis realised that the shower had been going for far too long, and even his sisters didn't take that long in the shower.
"Ben?"
There was no answer. Only the shower continued running, and the mist was still building up within the room.
"Ben?"
Louis knocked on the door to the shower stall where the water was running. No water ever spilled out of the showers, Ben and Louis had attempted to have a water fight in the showers in first year. The water never left the space of the shower, unless it was carried on someone's skin. The shower curtain that covered the door had just been to make some of the muggleborns more comfortable. Some of the Slytherins had boasted that they had obsidian in their bathrooms, hoping to ignite some sort of response from the Gryffindors, but that was just a waste of good obsidian. Honestly, who paid attention to anything while they were showering?
"Ben?"
There was a slight splashing sound as Louis pushed lightly on the door, opening it slightly, only to slam the door open at seeing his friend's prone body lying on the floor.
"Ben! What in Merlin's name happened to you?!"
Ben's brown eyes were glazed slightly, and he looked far too pale. The water around him had turned a dull red colour, and Louis knew immediately that he was bleeding out. Searching for the source of the blood, hoping to stop it some way, Louis found the series of perfect cuts that lined both of Ben's forearms. Louis didn't know whether Ben had cut a vein or an artery, but he did know that it looked serious.
Louis knew without a doubt that Ben had been doing this to himself, and he had known nothing of it. Louis felt awful that he had never noticed anything, he was such an awful friend.
Glad that Ben was still dresses, Louis levitated him and ran to the Infimary. Madame Essen would know what to do, and how to heal him. Louis took every single short cut Albus and James had told him about when he had arrived at Hogwarts, but the fear of potentially being too late fuelled him to move faster than he was previously.
"Madame Essen!"
The woman bustled out immediately, the annoyed look being replaced immediately with a look of concern. Louis knew he wouldn't have to tell her anything, just point to Ben's wrists and she would know exactly what had happened, and she did. Her wand summoned various bottles to herself, and she tipped each one carefully into Ben's mouth.
Louis wanted to know why. He couldn't understand what could be so bad that Ben would think taking his life would be the only solution.
…oOo…
"I'm sorry you had to find me like that," Ben said, fiddling with the edge of his blanket. He looked as uncomfortable as Louis's father sometimes looked when talking about his scar.
"I'm sorry I hadn't noticed anything."
Ben looked surprised. "That isn't your fault. I never wanted anyone to find out, and you were constantly asking if everything was okay. It wasn't your fault."
"I should have noticed! I should have been able to do something!"
"You did," Ben said, eyes bright. "If it weren't for you, I would have done that weeks ago. Even now that it failed, I feel guilty for having to put you through that."
"You should be. Scared the magic out of me."
"Everyone has scars. It means they've learnt from a mistake. I'll just have to wear mine every day."
And Louis finally understood.
Written for Little League: Louis Weasley [Beater 1: Gryffindor]
Written for Game of Life: shower curtain, vein, obsidian
Written for Race to Space Prompt Challenge: The best people all have some kind of scar – Kiera Cass, The One