Sweet Dreams Turn into Nightmares
September 2nd, 2020
Everything happened so fast. One day we were bringing the kids to school—then the next minute, one of them mysteriously fainted in the Hospital Wing, causing us to be called in immediately.
We didn't know what was going on. e weren't even told which child it was who was sick. All that we were told was that we had better get there fast.
Harry was panicking so much, that we had to take the Floo as he wasn't stable enough to apparate, which was unsurprising—I couldn't really concentrate either.
Once we got to the school, we were met by Neville. Ginny was also there, which told us that it was either James, Albus, or Lily who was hurt.
"Nev," Harry breathed. "What's going on?"
"Why is she here?" Ginny snapped, shooting me a disgusted glare. I rolled my eyes. Why did that matter when one of the kids were sick? When we didn't even know what was wrong with them?
Harry ignored her—God only knows what would have happened if he didn't. - keeping his attention on Neville, who looked a little pale.
"It's Lily," he started, his lips sculpting into a worried frown. "She fainted in the hospital wing. Lyra is doing tests on her as we speak...she still hasn't gained consciousness"
"What caused her to faint?" Harry asked, scratching his head like he always did when he was bewildered by something.
Neville shrugged. "You'll have to ask Lyra."
The three of us made our way to the hospital wing, even though I knew Ginny was less than pleased about my presence. Surprisingly, she didn't say anything else to me or Harry—presumably because she knew that neither of us were going to answer her question.
Once we got to the Hospital Wing, we were forced to wait until Lyra was done assessing Lily. It seemed like hours passed by before she emerged from the private ward, a frown clear on her face.
"Is she okay?" I demanded to know as soon as Lyra came over to us.
"No," Lyra said truthfully. "She will be...but currently she is massively underweight as well as dehydrated, she also has mysterious bruises on her lower body."
"Do you..." Harry paused. "Do you think she was raped?"
"I won't know anything until Lily wakes up," Lyra nodded. "But it sure looks that way."
"I bet it was that Malfoy boy," Ginny huffed, shaking her head. "I told you letting him in her life would be nothing but trouble!"
"Shut up," I snapped. "Scorpius loves Lily, he would never hurt her."
Ginny went to open her mouth again, only to be cut off by Lyra. "You forget that Scorpius is my nephew who you're talking about, Ginny. I will kick you out if you keep talking bad about my students."
Ginny sighed, but didn't say anything else. I couldn't believe her. Scorpius would never, ever in a million years hurt Lily. I was sure of it. Ginny however, couldn't let go of her prejudices.
"Lyra…" she paused. "Why can't you see the truth?"
I rolled my eyes. Scorpius' father was Lyra's brother; they were as close as siblings could get before Draco died. I knew full well that Lyra was never going to see any of the Malfoy's the way that Ginny did. Lyra swiftly kicked Ginny out, which left just the three of us.
"Can we see her?" Harry asked anxiously.
"She's asleep," Lyra answered. "I sedated her so she could get some rest before can go in there, just try not to wake her up."
Once I stepped through the door, my heart broke. Lily, who was only thirteen years old, looked like she was about nine due to the massive amount of weight that she had lost. She looked like a resplendent doll–the kind that you're afraid to touch in case it breaks. The wait for her to wake up was worse though; it felt like the emotional equivalent of watching paint dry. It was so agonizingly painful, but eventually, three hours later, she woke up. The room she was staying in was small–just a four poster bed with matching nightstand occupied it. When Lily saw the three of us in her room, she sighed. I could already tell that she wanted anything but to talk.
"I'm not talking to you," she retaliated,, a distant, lost look on her face. "I'm fine."
"You can keep trying to convince yourself of that all you want, Lily." Lyra said. "But the truth is, you're not fine. You haven't been fine in a while. That's why you've been wearing a glamour."
Lily wiped tears away from her eyes, looking at Lyra with an unreadable look. "No, I..."
"Lily," I whispered. "When was the last time you ate?"
Lily shrugged, looking down at her lap so she could avoid everyone's gazes. "A while ago."
"I've diagnosed you with Anorexia Nervosa," Lyra said softly. "It's a horrible illness, but you can get through it."
Lily nodded. "What happens now?"
"Now you start to get better," Lyra nodded. "You will be put in an extensive therapy program. Your food intake will be monitored as well."
"I just…" Lily paused. "I've had enough. I've seen enough. I just want out. I want it to end. I don't…I don't care anymore."
"Lily," I whispered, moving closer to her, wrapping my arms around her. "It'll be okay."
Lily nodded. "Maybe someday."
Triwizard: No and, resplendent, Sweet Dreams, Quote: "I'VE HAD ENOUGH, I'VE SEEN ENOUGH, I WANT OUT, I WANT IT TO END, I DON'T CARE ANYMORE!" -Harry Potter, Genre: Family
Flying Lessons: Four Poster Bed, anorexia
Gringotts Prompts: [Prepositions] By, but [Feelings] Sympathetic, Ashamed [Psychological!AU] Anorexia Nervosa [Words instead of said] breathed, snapped, retaliated
