Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious or Harry Potter, the former belongs to Dan and Nickelodeon, the latter to J. K. Rowling. This is a collab done with BloodyJesus, we're just working together to make this the best story possible.
Chapter 2: Disappearing Disease
11 years passed since Holly left Hogwarts that fateful night. A year ago, when Madam Pomfrey arrived and her eldest still suffered from some pain due to magic, she felt an overwhelming need to cry; her baby girl wouldn't be able to go to Hogwarts that year. Yet it was all thanks to Snape's potion and Poppy's cares that Trina grew as a healthy child, and the healer believed in precaution; better to start a year late, than to have her suffer while she was there.
Holly was gravely conflicted; part of her wanted her child to go to Hogwarts, the other, to save the girl from pain. She remembered how it was at the beginning. It had been really, really hard for her, mainly due to the pain attacks and how frequently they occurred. If it wasn't because of the sparks . . . by the age of 10 Trina's attacks had disappeared almost completely, she would have been able to assist to school without trouble. But it was best to be prudent than reckless; this didn't make her feel less conflicted.
So, in order to keep everything in the low and aid in the healing, she had stopped all magic use. David agreed, as he was the one who came up with the idea and even took a Muggle job to prevent them from attracting unwanted attention. To their daughters, magic was part of make believe, and the closest thing to it were Muggle tricks, nothing else. They weren't witch and wizard, they were only husband and wife. She was grateful that the West family, which lived in the neighborhood, couldn't use magic, and that Marie Oliver decided, out of respect, not to use it; poor Mrs. Shapiro was bound by a promise to her daughter-in-law and she was nothing, if not an honorable woman.
Shaking those thoughts off, she called Trina over. It was time for her annual check-up, so even though it was summer, the chimney was on. As always, Madam Pomfrey arrived at 13:00 hours without miss. Exchanging usual greetings, they heard rampaging elephants, stomping down the stairs. Her youngest arrived (they never liked to miss when the "doctor" arrived or left their house) just to be tackled by a slightly taller girl, and they both rolled on the floor.
"Ouch!" The youngest claimed, still left on the carpeted floor, and pouting as her sister went to stand in front of the healer; the women laughed. "No fair Treen!"
"Quit your whining," Trina replied smugly, but her face fell when the cup was brought and she groaned. "Why can't Tori drink it for me?!"
"Yeah, I wanna taste!" The youngest quipped; the sisters looked at each other, frowning a bit at the fact that they couldn't see exactly where their mother kept the drink.
"Tori, we've talked about this," Holly replied with a sigh; she passed the healer the cup and went to help her youngest straighten, "it's for Trina's pain attacks."
"She hasn't had any for a full year!" The youngest remarked with quite a pout, then it turned smug as she faced the doctor, who was inspecting her sister with a stick, "I've been taking the best care of her."
"Yeah, you have," Trina remarked fondly, taking a chance as the stick was removed from her person to hold her sister's head between her right arm and ruffling the chocolate mane; she used that chance to whisper, "she's using the dowsing rod."
"She always uses the dowsing rod," the other replied, struggling to break free.
Holly sighed at their antics. "Girls . . ."
"Sorry mum." They straightened; even though Tori never asked questions, after a while, Trina said she wanted her baby sister to get checked up, just in case.
"Close your eyes," Poppy requested, smiling as the girls obeyed, "now, remember, don't fret or move much."
It was the last examination, checking the magic levels and how well they handled it. It was cute, she believed, how Tori, instead of being jealous about Trina's special treatments, developed a protective nature towards her sister due to her condition; she had to take care of her at the school when she got pain attacks there, and protect her from the children who made fun of her. But there was a flaw, and it was that it made them angry or scared, or both, and weird stuff happened when either of them didn't get those strong feelings under control.
The healer knew about all those misadventures, like when a boy grew a long brown dog tail because he called Trina a freak, or that time when Trina got a pain attack when they were heading back from school. That last incident, proved to be the most lucrative. The youngster, panicked and trying her best to not show it, began to run, pulling Trina's arm but after a few seconds, both girls felt as though they were sucked by some sort of twisting portal and appeared in front of their house. They described the sensation as being 'pressed very hard from all directions. They could not breathe, as if there were iron bands tightening around their chests and their eyeballs were being forced back into their head. Worse, their eardrums felt as though they were being pushed deeper into their skull.'
"Like, being forced through a very," Tori had remarked, feeling queasy, "very tight rubber tube."
To say least, they felt like throwing up; they actually did. Madam Pomfrey knew why Holly was really proud (and worried) of that day, so much of both that she asked the girls to repeat the tale for the healer to hear and she had to do triple checks on Trina that year. What they described was the high level Apparition, though the girls never knew why their mother acted so happy and yet concerned, and then their father made such a big deal of it. It was a decisive point; ever since forever, Trina was Holly's baby but Tori, Tori officially became a daddy's girl that day.
"So . . ." Holly was hovering expectantly, and while Trina didn't flinch this time, her hands shook. Tori though, seemed to vibrate. "How are they?"
Madam Pomfrey didn't answer right away, she just looked at the girls for a few seconds and then, she finally spoke.
"Okay girls," she remarked softly, and the children sat down; they seemed to be ready for some mischief and it would explain why the eldest trembled. The healer turned her most inquisitive look at her. "No attacks in a year?"
"Last one I had was during my last check-up," the girl remarked with a shrug as the youngest began pouting.
"It would have been two years hadn't that happened," the child commented sullenly, and the adults chuckled at her antics; she pouted some more and turned away.
"What about your nightmares?" Poppy asked, turning the eldest face a bit; the blush was answer enough. "Ah . . ."
"No, that's my fault," Tori admitted quietly, taking hold of her sister's hand, "I've been having those, so, lately . . ."
"Tori, I told you," Holly began with a soft sigh, "Trina has to sleep alone —"
"Everyone has nightmares!" Trina began; just as her sister was protective of her, she was protective of her sister, "I would often crawl with you guys, then I began crawling in her bed and now, she crawls in mine!"
"Sorry," the youngest looked ready to burst in tears, and being a good, older sister, she placed a comforting arm around her shoulder, giving their mother an intense glare, "very sorry . . ."
"Well, sleeping with another doesn't mean she can't have them," the healer shook her head, and gave the mother a pointing look, "I think you might do well to remember, Holly . . ."
"Ahh, very true," their mother blushed softly and they looked between the grown-ups in awe; should they rejoice in someone getting the upper hand with their mother, or protect her?
"Wait, so that's it?" Tori asked suddenly, tears away as though they were actual faucets; she approached the healer shyly. "Is my sis finally cured?"
The healer smiled fondly at the girls, especially when Trina went to stand by her sister's side, clearly there in case the answer was a negative. They were such close girls, but from the way she understood, the eldest could be a tad difficult. Huge, hazel eyes gazed at her and she rolled her eyes as a smile appeared on her face.
"They take so well after their mother," she remarked, giving the woman a question a glance, then turning to both girls and offering them a cauldron cake and a bottle of butterbeer each, "I guess, she's finally cured."
Holly sighed with relief, taking the girl's treat before they could dig in but they didn't care. Tori and Trina cheered and hugged while jumping around; they then both ran towards the healer and hugged her. The witch was a bit taken aback, but hugged them back as well.
"Now then," she began, trying to calm them down, "don't forget Trina that this is due to your own strength."
"See, I knew I was strong!" Trina began smugly, pushing her sister a little, but the contact made them realize that Tori had a bad, rug burn. "Sorry . . ."
"No, you're not," the youngest accused, then smiled when the doctor placed some ointment on her; Madam Pomfrey was used to their antics, and always kept something on her to help her in such occasions. "It's sad that you don't have to come."
"We'll miss you," Trina agreed with something of a pout. She believed she was too old to pout.
"I'm pretty sure we'll meet again, sooner than either of you expect," she told them mysteriously, although her tone was as serious as ever; was it them, or did the doctor gave the, mysterious smile? "Tori, you're about to turn 11, right? And you, young lady, will turn 12, correct?"
"Yes," Trina replied, both girls looking confused. "That's next week though, why?"
"I'm not the proper person to explain," she replied kindly, but the look she gave Holly, who looked kinda nervous, was filled with meaning; the girls looked at each other. "Anyway, I think we'll be seeing each other soon."
After that unusual observation, the girls' hissed at each other and pointed to the clock. Madam Pomfrey simply smiled, placed a long, dark navy blue robe on herself, and went to the kitchen. Holly prevented the girls from entering, and ushered them off to the second floor. The girls turned around, tiptoed to the kitchen. The grown-ups were discussing something in low voices, but the girls had their own plan. Sure, they wanted to know what the doctor had meant, why her mother kept promising explanations during Tori's birthday. So they would ask questions, after the came back.
"You ready to leave?" Trina asked once they got to the jacket closet; they had stashed their goodies and the beds were already prepared to make it seem as though they were asleep already.
"I'm still not sure it's a good idea," Tori replied uncertainly; she still took their jackets out, "mum and dad both have told us not to go to the West Household."
"So what?" The eldest snorted a bit, folding her jacket and placing it in her bag as she rolled her eyes. "Really, I swear you're worse than mum at times. It's summer Tor, summer."
"It sometimes gets chilly at night!" The girl replied with a mild huff. "You just want to go see Beck, don't you?"
"Well, duh," she replied with a roll of her eyes. "Besides, they're going to be doing magic tricks."
"Magic tricks?" That always sparked the youngest interest. "Really?"
"Yeah, so ready to break some rules and sneak out of the house?" She grinned wickedly, eyes sparkling, and her sister nodded; at long-last, reluctance was overcome and worries forgotten. "We go to the party for a while and we come back before they realize the ruse left in our room! Besides, it's at HC."
"Wait, Hollywood Conservatory is at the other side of the city. . . ." She frowned in realization. "How are we getting there in the first place?"
"How about you do that magic trick of yours?" They had kept it a secret, but the youngster had been trying to master it, and they felt lucky that nothing bad had happened yet. At the reluctance, Trina huffed a bit. "Listen Tori, I've been sick my whole life, and now that I know I'm better, I totally deserve to celebrate. Not just a little, but since that's all we have for now, I'm taking it!"
The youngest sighed and opened the door. Trina was right, as she usually was; that was the reason why she was the oldest, right? Besides, they rarely went out for something other than going to school and HC, and since Treen finally could, she definitely deserved to have fun for once. Even though their mother had advised her against using that trick, none of those freaky incidents had happened to either of them as she practiced. She took a step out (mum had recommended only trying outdoors) and went to the lawn. She had clearly forgotten that Holly had said no in the first place, although they weren't going to the West household and besides, the girl who invited them (Cat Valentine, a cute, cheerful redhead from their neighborhood) was really nice to them, if odd, and she was very excited at the fact that Trina would go. They noticed a cat was in the walkway; for a second, Tori thought the cat was wearing square shaped glasses, but it was just a pattern around the cat's eyes, looking kinda severe. They had never seen such a cat in the neighborhood before.
"Okay!" Tori said, taking a deep breath and extending her hand; her sister beamed and the youngster realized that she had never seen Trina so happy in her whole life, and that alone made it a risk worth taking. "Here we go!"