A/N: Uwaaa, this is the last chapter for this arc. I hope everyone enjoyed it, even though it was wayyy more drama filled than the previous one. I can't express my gratitude for having such lovely companions, they are amazing people. Enjoy!
Chapter 6: THE HEART
Heather is not known for her concern for others or kind heart, in fact it is rather the opposite. She is shrewd, brash, easily bored, and blunt. However, when she heard the words 'hospital wing' something gave a twang of worry in her chest. "Zack," her eyes snapped to attention, "get her to the hospital wing right now."
"Huh? Wait, why do I have to do it?"
The Hufflepuff girl grabbed the front of his shirt and shook him a bit. "Because you are a giant. Now grab her and run. You'll hopefully get there before we can."
"Okay, okay." He held out is arms to Ceru who at some point had picked up the smaller girl in her own arms. Dorrea fidgeted while being transferred between the two lions.
"I'm *huff* not having *huff* a heart *huff* attack."
Calmly, Zack pressed two fingers below her chin to take the young girl's pulse.
"Then you are having a palpitation. Not shut up, we are taking you to the hospital wing." Ceru gave Zack a fiery look. "Zack, go now."
He nodded and ran out of the room, attempting to question Dorrea on the way.
"Jude, did you just use a muscle relaxer?"
"Er, well, I mixed it with a few other things…"
"What other things?" He asked in an impatient tone.
The small snake mumbled between deep breathes.
"I need to know what you used or I won't be able to help when we reach the hospital wing." He scolded her.
Dorrea's head slumped against his chest, her eyes closed as her face paled and took on a sheen of sweat from her rigorous breathing.
"Geez, this girl is going to be the death of me." The tall lion grumbled and picked up his pace.
Bursting into the hospital wing, he set her down on one of the hospital wing beds, taking her pulse again. A few moments later, the rest of the group burst through the doors. Ceru stepped forward and shouted for the nurse while the others stayed out of the way near the entrance.
"I'm fine *huff* take me *huff* back." Dorrea tried to push Zack's fingers away from her neck with her shaky and clammy hand. He swatted her hand away and gave her a stern look. Motioning to Ceru to watch her while he spoke with the nurse, the two Gryffindor's switched places.
Zack stood some ways away and appeared to be trying to explain the situation, gesturing with his hands. Following right behind the nurse, they walked over to where the young pureblood heiress was laying. Asking her a series of questions to determine her health, the girl's eyes fluttered as she tried to stay awake. Her replies consisted of "I'm fine" and "nothing wrong" and "just tired".
"Liar." Ceru's eyes flashed angerly and gave Dorrea a stone cold glare.
Flinching and clutching her chest again, she gulped. "My ch-chest feels heav-vy, I feel like I ca-can't breathe, a-and my muscles hurt."
"Merlin, Jude, you gotta stop doing this." Zack shook his head and conversed with the nurse. Taking out a syringe and a small bottle, he filled up the needle with the fluid and flicked it with his finger. Ceru's face turned a bit green at the sight.
"Oi *huff* wh-what are *huff* you *huff* doing?" Dorrea's breathing picked up and her face remained pale with a sheen of sweat.
"Mending what you did to your body." Zack answered in a flat voice as he rubbed a cotton ball coated in alcohol on the girl's arm.
He pressed the needle into her arm with steady hands and a focused look.
She hissed and clenched her eyes shut.
"Zack…" tears weld up in the corner of her eyes, "that hurts…" Dorrea whined.
"Well don't be stupid next time." He kept his concentration on emptying the needle's contents.
"At least take it *huff* out easier." She pouted.
"I'm healing you, not playing dolls." Zack took the needle out of her arm as she winced. "That will clean your body out of toxins. You should feel better soon." He stood up from his crouched position next to her and sat on the edge on her bed with his arms crossed.
The young girl's body slumped and relaxed into the bed as the medicine did its work. The older Gryffindor took the forums from the nurse's hand and filled out some of the paper work and he handed it back to the medi-witch.
"I…" Dorrea's breathing mellowed out and the sickly complexion of her skin faded, she stared up at the ceiling. "I'm sorry for the trouble, it won't happen next time."
The occupants of the room gave a collective sigh.
"No more potions Jude. The medical department cannot justify another empty flask of that healing potion." Zack scolded her.
"What?" Her eyes fell from staring at the ceiling towards the boy sitting on her bed. "My family can pay for another one! I can't stop researching this!" She gave the boy a glare.
"No Jude, or else I will have to report this."
"Agreed, I won't hesitate to inform Kian Amery about this." Heather approached the bed with her arms crossed.
"Fine, I won't ask for your help next time." Dorrea's gazed attached to the ceiling again.
"You're lucky I was here, Jude." Zack frowned.
Her eyes narrowed at the ceiling. "Well, I am certainly not stopping my research."
"Then you are at the very least going to have someone look through your calculations first." Surprisingly it was Ceru who voiced this opinion.
"No, Ceru, this is much too dangerous." Heather argued.
"I will tear apart her notes if she continues." Zack added.
"Guys, stop antagonizing her. Ultimatums won't work. I want her to stop as well, but she's obviously not going to listen. If we shut her down like this, she's going to do them in private; and then she will defiantly be in danger." Ceru gave a frustrated look.
"Sorry, Ceru, but this could have affected all of us in a bad, bad way. If this happens again I am telling her Head of House." The Hufflepuff put her hands on her hips in a final manner.
Through the arguing came a small voice.
"I'd rather die than continue living like this."
Silence.
"Whatever, I'm out of here." Ceru gave an angry huff and stood up from her seat next to the young snake's bed. "I'm gonna get some air." She crossed the room towards the exit.
"Ce-ceru!"
The Gryffindor paused at the sound of her name, she turned and observed Dorrea in the hospital wing bed. Her hair was ruffled all over the place, she had bags under her eyes, pale skin, an overall look of misery in her eyes. Sighing, Ceru put a hand on her hip. "Yeah?"
Dorrea fidgeted with the blanket on her lap, her eyes looking around at the others in the room. "I, um, I feel like I owe you an explanation…." Her gaze fell to the wall directly behind Ceru.
Ceru nodded and slowly returned to her previous seat next to the girl's bedside.
"Um, well," Dorrea bit her lip and looked at the others in the room, "could I tell… just you?" Her eyes fell to the blanket in her lap, face flushing from the uncomfortableness of the situation.
Turning to face the others, Ceru gave them a look.
A collective shrug of the shoulders came from the small group as they exited the hospital wing.
Leaving the two girls to talk it out, Zack grumbled and shoved his hands in his pockets as both he and Heather walked side-by-side towards the Room of Requirement.
"Well, that was awkward." Heather announced in a bored voice.
"Meh, I don't find it awkward." He shrugged.
"Well I do."
"Why?"
"That's your girlfriend, Black. If that's how you want to let your lady act, fine. But I'd be pissed if Dee was locked in the hospital wing talking about them feels with someone else."
Zack shrugged. "Well, Barnes, I allow her to do anything she wants as long as I'm around."
"Allow her to?" She raised an eyebrow. "She isn't something you own…"
"You know what I meant." He sighed.
"You two have the most 'effed up relationship ever." The Hufflepuff grumbled.
"What? Why do you say that?"
"Seriously, you have to ask?" She scoffed. "I don't want to cut you deep or anything, but any fool can see you still want Flourish."
He paused mid-step. "What?"
Heather stopped and turned to face the boy with her eyebrow raised. "As if you don't know."
"I have no feeling for Flourish."
She gave an impatient huff and crossed her arms. "Anytime we are talking about Amery and Sam, you get all broody and pouty. Sound like jealousy to me." Heather huffed.
"I'm not jealous. I simply don't like him, nor his attempts to 'be the best' at everything." Zack continued walking, passing by the Hufflepuff. "I have better things to do than stand here and discuss whatever this is."
"Mhm, I'm sure you do, Black." Heather remained standing where she was as she watched Zack walk down the corridor in front of her. Sighing, she turned and walked the opposite direction.
"So." Ceru pulled up the chair that sat next to Dorrea's bedside. She gave the smaller girl an expectant, but patient look.
With a gulp, Dorrea began to apologize. "I'm sorry, about yesterday and today. I, I… panicked." She picked at the threads on the blanket in front of her. "These, experiments are very important to me… and I rushed this one because of that panic. This is all my fault." Her eyes fell to her hands that rested in her lap.
"It's okay, I was a little rash myself. But, panicked? I don't understand…"
Dorrea fidgeted at Ceru's implied question. "Well…"
"Jude, I know these experiments of yours are important to you, but you need to understand that being safe is more important. You shouldn't be repressing your emotions anyway." The Gryffindor crossed her arms.
"But," her gaze rose from her hands to meet Ceru's eyes, "I…" Her eyes watered. "I'm afraid." She whispered as she let her eyes fall back down to her hands.
"Of what? Jude, emotions are nothing to be afraid of-"
"Yes, they are." Dorrea interrupted with a stern tone,
Ceru sighed. "Why do you think so?"
Dorrea fiddled with the blanket in her hands. "Well, emotions caused Zack to get himself almost killed," her hands ceased their fiddling and began counting off the reasons on her fingers, "they drove you to the hospital wing for days, I almost Crucio-ed you, and I was incapacitated yesterday by too many of them." Her hands clenched.
Ceru's eyebrows rose. "That's what you think? Emotions did that? Jude," she pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration, "those weren't emotions that did all of that, those events happened because of a lack of common sense." She crosses her arms. "Zack just walked off because he didn't think, I got curious and overstepped by boundaries, and you got dosed with a potion and let your instincts take over. Which I already forgave you for by the way." She gave the girl a serious look. "This is about choice, not emotion."
Keeping her head down, Dorrea stayed silent as she glared at the blanket on her lap.
"Hey," Ceru tilted her head to appear in Dorrea's line of sight, "if you cut out all emotion, I won't have any connection with you. I value that connection."
Giving a small flinch and a clench of her small fists, Dorrea let out a sigh. "I don't like being out of control. It scares me." She whispered bitterly.
Straightening back up in her chair, Ceru smirked. "Then just practice control, mentally! You can't control your emotions with some chemicals in a flask." She rolled her eyes.
"It seemed easier." Dorrea pouted.
Ceru gave a chuckle. "Well, of course control isn't easy! It's not something you can just brew up nicely in a day."
The small snake's head lifted as she gave Ceru and contemplative look. "I suppose…"
"Look," Ceru moved to the edge of her seat, "you have to work at stopping yourself before you say hurtful things or do bad things. It's not a matter of chemicals, it's in here," she pointed to Dorrea's heart, "and in here," moving her finger to the small girl's forehead." Giving a smirk the Gryffindor chuckled. "It's not in any of those bottles, got it?"
Dorrea looked down at her own chest then up towards her forehead, tilting her head to the side in thought, she smirked. "That was very… how to the muggles say it? Ah, right, 'cheezy'." The pureblood heiress covered her mouth as she snickered.
Letting out a mocking huff, Ceru smirked along with Dorrea. "Well duh! I'm teaching you a life lesson, how else can I sound." She rolled her eyes as the small snake trembled in laughter. Dorrea clutched her stomach as she laughed harder, grinning wildly.
"Can I go on my adven- I mean, appointment now?" Ceru stood up from the chair and gave the girl an amused look.
"Hahaha! Saying that *laugh* with such *laugh* a straight face!" Dorrea continued to giggle.
"Well, you are obviously feeling better," Ceru put a hand on her hip. "Now if you will excuse me-"
"Ceru," Dorrea stopped giggling, wiping some tears of laughter from her eyes, "Ceru, thank you." Giving her a warm smile, Dorrea finally felt some stability returning to her.
Returning the smile with her own, Ceru leaned down and pressed a kiss to the girl's forehead. "See ya later."
Watching her white-knight lion stroll off to go Merlin knows where, to do who knows what, the small first year on the hospital wing bed couldn't help but give a fond smile and a wave before she snuggled into the blanket and fell asleep.
A/N: AWEEEEEEE~ So sweet. Jude is still an ignorant twat, but I think Ceru is helping her become more human. Haha. Once again, thanks for reading!