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Challenges listed at the bottom.
Word Count: 939
Hogwarts Assignment, 1: Medicine, Task 1: Write about someone suffering a bad burn
Day To Day (I'll Be There)
Day 1
"It was a near miss," Anna told him, shaking her head as she smoothed a hand over the bandages covering Charlie's right arm and chest. "If he hadn't gotten out of there when he did, he'd not have made it out of there at all."
Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Thanks for letting me know, Anna."
She nodded, and left the bedside, closing the curtains around them so that they were blocked from the rest of the Reserve's Hospital Wing.
"Bloody idiot," Harry muttered, as he spelled the visitor chair to be a little comfier, and sat down. He rested his ankle on his knee, and opened the book he'd brought with him, resting it in the crook of his leg.
It wasn't the first time Harry had been firecalled about Charlie getting burnt on the job, and he was sure it wouldn't be the last. Shifting just slightly in the chair, he made himself comfy. He'd be there for a while.
…
Day 2
"You know you don't have to sit here all day, right?" Charlie asked, when Harry glanced his way as he turned a page in his book. "I don't need your sympathy."
Harry laughed, shaking his head. "Good, because you don't have it. You're an idiot, and you're also taking your grumpiness of being stuck here out on me, so if you've nothing nice to say, zip it."
There was a long, silent pause, and then Charlie sighed. "Sorry."
"Uh huh."
…
Day 3
"I brought Monopoly," Harry said, stepping inside the curtain. "You looked bored yesterday."
"And you thought the most frustrating board game in existence would be a good way to entertain me?"
"I'm more about entertaining myself, to be honest," Harry replied with a shrug. He set the game up on the wheeled table, and slid it closer. Charlie pushed himself into a more upright position, hissing in pain when the movement pulled at the burn on his chest.
Harry paused to arch his eyebrow. "You done complaining?"
Charlie snorted. "Sure. Gimme the goddamn dice then. And next time, fetch a deck of cards instead, will you? I should at least be allowed to fleece you of your money if I'm laid up in hospital."
"What do I get if I win?" Harry asked.
Charlie blushed and rolled the dice.
…
Day 4
Harry brought a deck of cards to the hospital wing but was distracted by the changing of Charlie's bandages when he arrived. The burn was brutal, far worse than any Harry had seen, and he felt his eyebrows raise.
Charlie noticed the look on his face and grinned. "Impressive, isn't it?"
"That's… one word for it," Harry replied, as he shifted out of Anna's way. "I'm wondering how bubble-wrap will work around dragon fire."
"You're worse than my mother."
Making a show of being offended, Harry sniffed haughtily. "Now I'm really gonna have to beat your ass at Go Fish. I was going to take it easy on you, what with you being laid up and all."
…
Day 5
"Anna said I should be able to leave in a few days," Charlie said, when Harry arrived in the morning. He was far more upbeat than he'd been since waking up, and Harry smiled at him.
"That's great. I'm surprised she's letting you out so early. Usually she'd keep you until you were able to function by yourself."
"If she was waiting for that, I'd have to move here permanently."
Harry paused for a second and then nodded. "Point."
"Anyway, she said since we're still sharing a flat, she trusts you not to let me be an idiot."
"That's her second mistake," Harry said.
"What was her first?"
"Thinking that there was any chance either of us could be functional adults."
…
Day 6
"... and you need to make sure his bandages are changed every other day," Anna said, nodding to the bag she'd prepared. Harry nodded.
"I'll make sure he's at least half of a functional adult until he's healed," he promised and she snorted.
"Is it weird that I take comfort from that?"
"Probably. When can I take him home?"
"Tomorrow, as long as his burns are still healing at the rate they have been. I'll let you tell him the happy news, shall I?"
"Eh, I'll tell him when I come and pick him up in the morning."
…
Day 7
"Come on then, loser," Harry said, pulling the curtains back. He'd checked with Anna that Charlie could still come home before going to get his friend.
Charlie blinked at him. "What?"
"I'm taking you home," Harry said, waving his hand. "Come on, chop chop."
"I can go home?"
"Well, you can if you don't take five years, sure," Harry agreed, rolling his eyes.
Charlie grinned widely, and with Harry's help, levered himself up so he was sitting on the edge of the bed. "I thought Anna seemed cheerful when she was changing my bandages."
"That's because she's getting rid of you."
…
Day 7 (later)
Harry cooked dinner for them, and smiled to himself. Charlie seemed far more content now that he was laid up on their sofa instead of being stuck in a hospital bed.
He was glad.
Despite them only being friends—albeit the very best of friends—there was little Harry wouldn't do for Charlie, and he knew the feeling was the same in reverse. And despite the occasional wish that he had the guts to do something about the not-exactly-friendly feelings he also had for Charlie, Harry wouldn't change what they had for the world.
He was happy.
Written for:
Games Corner: Green: Regent Street: Book
Showtime: 20. Content
Amber's Anime: 11. Friendship
Pucker Up: Fred Weasley: 3. Roommates
Treat Yourself: Sugar Scrub: Friendship
Puzzle Club: Puzzle 5: Hospital Wing
Chocolate Frogs: Montague Knightley: Playing a Board Game
Alphabetti: N: Near Miss
NeonFae's Nibbles: Carrot Cake: Comfort (1) "What do I get if I win?" (2)
365: 38. Arch
Musical Yearly: 90's: Strong Enough: I don't need your sympathy
Character Collection: 344. Charlie Weasley
Insane Challenge: 13. Laughing
