Disparate Experiences

"I was awake through it all, you know? I heard everything that happened around me."

My voice shook, but I managed to keep the tears from falling.

"Mother and Father were there at first… But… But then Father started leaving for business and then he stopped coming at all. And Mother… she stopped being there little by little until she stopped coming for months on end. She- she wanted to bring my sisters to meet me in case I- In case I died."

The tears finally won and sobs shook me.

"They left me and I was alone. I was trapped and I couldn't move. I couldn't speak or do anything!"

My rather swift breakdown prompted my friends to drop down beside me and try to comfort me. Their arms tightened around me and I tried to let their words wash away the memories. I'd kept myself from thinking about those days, those unending months, and for the first time in years I could talk to someone about them. They hadn't been there. They could have done anything about it. They couldn't blame themselves even if I had wanted them to.

I cried and cried and through it all they did their best to comfort me.

I wasn't sure when I finally fell asleep, but I know that when it finally happened I was with people who loved me. Two girls who I knew wouldn't abandon me if they had anything to say about it.

They whispered sweet, comforting words in my ears as sleep descended on me, and I hugged them close to me with all the strength in my arms and all the magic in my soul.

It was a wonderful feeling. It suffused my very being with their warmth and suffused theirs with mine. Affection, intimacy, beyond anything I'd ever felt before. I wasn't sure when I fell asleep, but by the time it happened, the tears running down my face were not born of sadness.

In my sleep I dreamed.

I should have been used to them by now.

I suppose I was to some degree.

I woke up in the middle of the night in a rush of sadness and fear. I didn't want to dream anymore. I didn't want to see the things I did, even the ones I didn't remember, but especially the ones I did. I pulled Lily and Dawnie closer to me, hoping their warmth would drive away the memories.

I let my mind wander, thinking of ways to improve the rune clusters in my and my friend's arms, ways to improve the wards protecting our room, ways to improve anything my mind could think of, anything to distract myself. I fell back asleep to the rhythmic beat of their hearts and the soothing sound of their breaths.

"Izzy, wake up sleepyhead. We have classes."

Sweet melodious sounds brought me up from a delicious dream of stomping some noobs in a grand battle for domination of a living world. You know, after the usual dreams pretending to be visions. At least the living planet was nice. Very magical. Lots of different races. Though the crazy undead people weren't very nice, especially their crazy undead queen in particular.

I snuggled into my deliciously cuddly pillows that smelled really nice. I didn't waste any time latching onto one of them them and once again applying tongue to pillow.

"Ah! Izzy! What are you doing?!"

"See?! I told you!"

My other pillow made nice soothing noises, so I wrapped my tails around it.

"I never knew she was such a big cuddler. She always slept with grandma and grandpa."

"It's really nice, though, isn't it? And her tails are so… so fluffy and warm. It's hard to leave that and get ready for class."

I put lips to pillow and sucked on it.

"AH! She's sucking my neck!"

Quiet laughter brought me to full consciousness, and for the second time in so many days I found myself sucking on a very tasty neck. I blushed and let go of said neck. I had to get a handle on that.

"Um. Sorry, Dawnie," I said.

"My great aunt the vampire."

Lily let out a giggle at the comment, so I turned towards her, eyes narrowed, and latched onto her neck.

"Nooo! Izzy!"

She managed to pull me off her neck after a brief struggle, and my lips separated from her neck with a wet pop. We got ready after a brief bout of fighting over who got to shower first, during which my suggestions that we all shower together to save on time were ignored. I had to get Tipsy bring some clothes up for Dawnie, since she was a bit bigger than both Lily and I, but we made it in time for breakfast.

A breakfast where the Hufflepuffs were looking at us weird. Wonder why? Was it because Dawnie was sitting with us Ravenclaws?

No matter, a new day awaited.

A new boring day.

Why did we even need to learn Herbology anyway? I had zero interest in plants. Like, zero. I mean, zero interest beyond pretty decorations. Or recreational activities. At least the greenhouses were pretty, and Professor Sprout's reaction when she realized one of her Hufflepuffs was in her Slytherin and Ravenclaw Class definitely made up for it. Dawnie's response of "What difference does it make who I take my classes with as long as I take all of them?" when pressed about why she was with us made up for having to muck about with plants.

I'd been all set to dismiss the day as a bit of a waste after History of Magic turned out to be as boring as one would expect when considering the teacher was a ghost, but Defense Against the Dark Arts turned out to be extremely concerning. Lily had started complaining about a headache not long after we'd entered the classroom, which had transitioned to a migraine by the end of the class.

A class that had surprisingly been as bad as History of Magic, maybe even worse. There had been rumours that Quirrel had an unhealthy obsession with vampires, and being in his classroom I couldn't help but feel that maybe he did, because his classroom stank so badly of garlic I actually puked my guts out after the class, courtesy of the multitudes of garlic braids hanging all over the fucking room.

How do you fuck up a class whose name sounds so exciting?

Like yeah, it wasn't actual Dark Arts, but it should still have been exciting.

At least Father's collection was large and relatively easily accessible. It wouldn't be the same as having a teacher, of course, but it was something.

It was especially disappointing because I felt like Quirrel should have been more impressive. Like, some part of me told me he was more than just the mess I saw in the class. Well, that and the general feeling of distrust he caused in me. They were linked, somehow. I knew it even if I couldn't say how or why.

The class passed by at a horrible crawl, and by the time Lily and stumbled out of the classroom I was utterly glad we didn't have the class more than once a week. At least Tipsy was there to clean up the vomit. Next class I was going to let it out and aim for Quirrel. It'd serve him right for keeping so much garlic around.

We made it to the ground floor before I had to sit down or puke my guts out again. Judging by how pale she was looking, Lily also seemed to be in dire need of a break. We hadn't been sitting there long before a somewhat familiar voice brought me out of my misery.

"What's all this then?"

"Oh, Tonks, thank god. We were in Defense Against the Dark Arts and I don't know what's wrong with them!"

Dawnie was talking to someone.

"Ah. Yeah, some people have been having issues with Quirrel's obsession with garlic. Granted, no one I know has looked quite this bad after a class with him, but I suppose there's always a first time."

She was talking to someone familiar, but my addled brain just wouldn't cough up an answer.

"Can you help them?"

"I could try. But honestly, it'd be better to just take them to the infirmary."

"Oh. Where is it? Can you help me take them?"

"Alright, I'll show you. Grab one of them."

Several gut churningly nauseating moments later and we entered a room that looked like a larger version of my room in St. Mungo's. It had the whole hospital feel but instead of having only one bed, it had several. We hadn't been inside for more than a few seconds before a nice plump lady walked up to us we were being ushered into a sideroom that turned to be an office. We took a seat in one of the chairs, and the the school nurse started questioning us.

"What's wrong dears?"

"They got really sick in Professor Quirrel's class. Izzy threw up on the way out too," Dawnie said, and I heard the nurse mutter something about paranoid idiots that I was fairly certain she hadn't meant for student ears. Unfortunately for her, my ears were much better than most.

"It was the smell," I said and my stomach roiled at the mere memory. I groaned and the remaining contents of my stomach made their way out of it and thanks to a last second position change, onto the floor.

"Oh my. A rather strong reaction, but I suppose it should have been expected. I've had a few students in after Defense classes already." She waved her wand at the puddle of vomit and it vanished. A second flick freshened the air in the room. She stood up and pulled some potions from a cabinet and gave them to me. "Drink these. It should make you feel better."

The potions worked fast, and a few seconds later I stopped feeling like I wanted to die just to stop feeling so terribly. The nurse, whose name eluded me, had moved on to Lily, and after a few questions and spells gave her a very familiar looking potion.

Lily drank it down without a second thought, and a few seconds after she relaxed into a boneless heap in her chair.

"Oh… That's… That's much better, thank you."

"You're welcome, dear. Please come back if you start to feel unwell again."

We skipped going to the Great Hall for dinner and went directly to the Ravenclaw dorms, and once safely ensconced in the our room, we climbed onto my bed and curled up. Dawnie hadn't felt anywhere as unwell as we had, but she seemed to want us to feel better by sheer proximity and affection. When hunger finally started to bother us, I had Tipsy bring us sandwiches and orange juice.

"It's a good potion, isn't it?" I said to Lily once we'd finished eating. She was still under the effects of what the nurse had given her, and I knew from experience how good it and the absence of pain felt. "It's the one I use. I'll keep an extra one with me from now on, in case you get another migraine, okay?"

"My aunt the dealer," Dawnie said from Lily's other side.

"Huh… You know, that has a lot of merit. Maybe Herbology isn't as useless as I'd thought," I said, mind half thinking and other half enjoying the delicious warmth of their presence. "Really, with how big the school is, growing things in secret wouldn't be that hard. Honestly, getting seeds and spores would be the hardest part."

"What are you on about?"

Her puzzled question brought me back from thoughts of grow ops protected by layers of wards and enhanced by magic and magical growing methods and back to reality.

"Uuuuuh. Nothing, I guess. Just, just being crazy, I suppose."

I mean, surely those were ridiculous ideas.

She shook her head and while I couldn't see her roll her eyes at me, I knew she had done it.

"Still, Lily, if you get another migraine, tell me, okay?" I said and kissed her cheek. "I'll get you one of my potions in no time."

She nodded against me and snuggled closer. We all fell asleep in a pile of limbs and hugs, I couldn't help but feel a tad annoyed at Quirrel for essentially ruining our evening though, even if it did end in a good note.

More importantly though, I was curious whose neck would I end up attached to come tomorrow morning. Probably Lily. She was in the middle, after all.

I dreamed again.

At least they would be there when I woke up in the middle of the night again.

Breakfast the next day had started as a nice affair. We'd once again taken turns showering before leaving the dorm, which was silly since the bathing room had plenty of space, and then I'd been nagged into getting Tipsy to bring a change of clothes for Dawnie since she neither mine or Lily's fit her. She definitely took after Elias and her mother in height. She was as tall as some second years.

Still, breakfast started nice, but well, the racist girl from the opening feast could keep her mouth shut.

Massacrator, The End of All Things had flown in with the books on riddles I'd asked Yamashiro for, and apparently that was not okay with her.

"Really, you need books to help you get in? You're pathetic, Alstreim. I suppose it's to be expected from your kind."

Her comments were, let's be honest, not very cutting and if I were a less confrontational person I would have ignored her.

"My kind, you say? Half-bloods, you mean? I mean I guess. We haffies and first generations do have better things to do than waste our time on idiotic things like answering riddles. I mean really, a riddle? Who thought that was a good idea? Set a password and be done."

She turned an ugly shade of red and hissed her response, completely unaware of the seventh year girl with bring pink hair walking up behind her.

"Of course you would have no respect for traditions, you filth-"'

"Is there a problem here, Edgecomb?" Tonks said, and the girl in question went pale.

"No, everything's fine. I was just leaving."

Man, Tonks got bonus point because if the half full bowl of oatmeal was anything to go by, Edgecomb was clearly not done eating. Judging by the smile on her face she knew exactly what she'd done.

"How are you three?" she asked as she sat down in Edgecomb's former seat.

"I'm doing much better now, thank you for helping us yesterday!" Lily said with a smile on her face. "Izzy is better too."

I nodded even as I chewed on some delicious bacon.

"What classes do you have today?

"Double Potions and Charms," Dawnie said, a pout on her lips.

"Ouch. Well, at least you're not Gryffindors. Snape can be pretty nasty to everyone, but he's especially bad to them. Good luck, you three," Tonks said and left the table, a few strips of bacon clutched in one of her hands.

Honestly, I couldn't imagine today would be any worse than yesterday. For one, we didn't have Defense or Herbology or History. Like, sure Potions was a bit whatever, but it wasn't bad. Hadn't been bad. I suppose one class wasn't a big enough sample size to really judge.

We finished our breakfast and went to our class. Hopefully our second Charms class would be as interesting as the first one.