Chocolate Frogs

by iwasbotwp

A series of vignettes depicting the reactions various characters have to seeing themselves or others on Chocolate Frog trading cards. Spanning different time frames from before the first war, to far past the second war.

19. Bathilda

She hated the tight feeling, the inability to move the way she used to. Everything looked and felt different inside the body of a woman who was nearly 180 years old. Bathilda Bagshot disliked the smell of herself, the smell of her house. She flicked her tongue out, tasting her lips and the air around her mouth. Disgusting. It tasted like death and decay. The smell and sight of recent death wasn't so bad, but once it turned to decay, it repulsed her.

She looked at the table with its cold cup of tea, a pile of books, and a Chocolate Frog trading card off to the side. It felt strange to see the picture of herself on the card when she wasn't even really herself anymore. She attempted to move her hand and fingers in a way that would allow her to pick up the card for a closer look. The eyes in this ancient body barely worked. Alas, the fingers barely worked either. She knocked over the cup of tea, spilling it onto the floor, soaking a pile of papers.

The now wet pieces of parchment were full of notes written in the spidery hand of an old lady. Bathilda watched as they ran and blurred. She thought the papers may have been important, but since she couldn't read them, she was unsure. Her muddled mind knew she was famous, someone important, a witch of consequence. Something to do with all of the tea stained, ruined papers at her feet and the books that weren't just piled on the table, but were present everywhere in the house.

Bathilda no longer comprehended her true significance in the world, no longer understood the concept that many of the books in this room were written by her, no longer even grasped the concept of history. Bathilda Bagshot couldn't appreciate being awarded a Chocolate Frog trading card in honor of the knowledge she imparted to nearly all wizards and witches worldwide regarding their origins and history.

Nigini hissed in irritation at the picture on the card, remembering her master's sneer before he killed the witch. "The next historians won't dare to leave me out."

A/N: Thanks for the inspiration, HeartOfAspen!