A/N: Written for Hogwarts Assignment 9 - Herbology: task 1 - Write about something that seems to happen too quickly.
Warning: needles/vaccinations
Word count: 469
"I just can't believe that you never got the Dragon Pox vaccination as a kid," Ginny said.
Fleur rolled her eyes. She'd already listened to Ginny go on about this ten times in the past week. "I've told you that it's not common to get it in France, and I'm still not convinced this is a good idea to be honest. Especially when needles are involved. There's a very effective cure for Dragon Pox. Why hurt yourself before you even have it? And swallowing potions is far easier than injecting them."
Ginny shrugged. "I'm not a Healer. I don't know the ins and outs of it, but it's completely safe. And, sure, there's a cure, but Dragon Pox still really stucks. After this, you don't have to worry about getting it at all. What's not to like?"
Fleur raised an eyebrow. "Sticking a giant needle in my arm is what's not to like," she shot back.
Ginny laughed and pulled Fleur into a brief hug, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Relax. The needle's not going to be giant."
"How would you know? You were three when you got it. You can't actually remember how big the needle was."
"I still know it's not giant," she said.
Before Fleur could argue further, the door to the hospital room opened and a Healer walked in wearing a bright smile that put Fleur even more on edge. She tried not to glance down at the needle and syringe that the Healer was carrying on a tray.
She hated that she was scared about something regularly done to toddlers. Usually, she wasn't phased about having to visit Healers, but this had managed to shake her.
"Relax," Ginny said, running her thumb across the back of Fleur's hand. "It will be easier if you're not tense."
"That's easy for you to say. You're not getting it," Fleur muttered, but she took deep breaths, trying to relax the muscles in her arms as much as possible as the Healer readied the needle.
"It will just take a second," the Healer said. Fleur squeezed her eyes shut as the woman approached, tensing despite her best efforts. "All done."
Fleur's eyes flew open. "What?"
"We're finished," the Healer said with a smirk. She showed Fleur the now empty syringe.
"Told you it would be easy," Ginny said with a laugh.
Fleur stared down at her arm. There was a small dot where the needle had gone in, but otherwise, there was no sign that anything had happened. Soon, even the dot was gone with a wave of the Healer's wand.
"That's really it?" Fleur asked Ginny as the Healer left. She wasn't sure she could trust how short the whole interaction had been.
Ginny kissed her cheek. "That's really it. Promise."
Fleur laughed with relief.