Chapter 5

Christmas time was fast approaching, and pretty much every pupil had returned home for the holidays. Cecelia's family had found a way to get her home for the holidays, so Astoria would be spending them alone. Addison was leaving as well, so Astoria spent her days wandering around the empty castle, and doing things she could not do when her fellow students were at school.

She ate breakfast in the dining hall, alone, every morning while the Headmaster glared at her from the head table. She also read as many books as she possibly could in the library, and she even wandered outdoors to enjoy the snow that was covering the grounds. Astoria knew that she would not be receiving any Christmas gifts, but the freedom she enjoyed while everyone was gone from the castle was as great a gift as anything she could receive in a box.

Christmas came and went, and Astoria had only received one gift; it was from Professor Riley. She had sent Astoria a gold necklace with a star charm on it. Her note read "A star for my star pupil." Professor Riley received the biggest hug imaginable when she returned after the New Year, and, of course, Cecelia did as well. Astoria was happy that everyone was back, even if it meant she could not do the things she did when she was the only student left in the castle. Astoria was glad that everything seemed to be getting back to normal. Astoria did not know that things were far from normal, and that everything that she knew was about to change.

The first day of classes after break was not something that Astoria was looking forward to, but she woke up nonetheless. She knew that this day was going to be pretty bad, but Astoria knew something else was wrong as soon as she woke up. Cecelia was normally awake and getting ready long before Astoria, but on this morning Cecelia was still in bed when Astoria woke up. She walked over to her friend's bed and noticed how labored Cecelia's breathing was; Astoria was getting worried.

"Celia! Cecelia wake up!" She said, shaking her friend's shoulder. Cecelia slowly opened her eyes, and Astoria let out the breath that she did not even notice she had been holding in. "Oi, you scared me."

"I'm sorry. I think I'm just going to skip today. I feel bloody awful. My muscles all feel like I just ran a marathon. It hurts to move and to talk." Her eyelids drooped slightly and she took a deep breath. "I think I'm jus gonna sleep today." Cecelia said, her words were somewhat slurred.

"No way! You stay awake. I'm going to go fetch Madam Plum. You look seriously sick." Astoria made her way to the door. "Don't you fall asleep!" she said before hurrying through the corridors to find the nurse. She found Madam Plum and took her to their room, where Cecelia was fighting to stay awake. Madam Plum took her temperature and did some quick checks over Cecelia with her wand.

"I'm afraid I need to take her to the infirmary. I need to do some more tests to see how serious this is." The nurse said. "How long has she been this tired and lethargic?"

"I don't know. She seemed pretty fine to me when she got back from hols, but now that I think on it, she was a bit peaky a couple days ago." Astoria mentally slapped herself because she had not thought about taking Cecelia to the infirmary sooner. Madam Plum looked a little concerned. Madam Plum levitated Cecelia off of her bed and told Astoria to bring some of her things up to the infirmary. Once Cecelia was settled, the nurse sent Astoria off to classes without one word about Cecelia's condition.

Astoria could not focus in any of her classes, for she had been worrying about Cecelia all day. She grabbed a roll and some fruit from dinner and made her way to the infirmary as soon as she was able. She walked into the infirmary and saw Cecelia lying in one of the beds, staring listlessly at the wall; she was awake.

"Bloody hell, thank Merlin you're awake!" Astoria rushed to Cecelia's bedside and grabbed her hand. "How do you feel?"

"I feel like I fell out the carriage and hit the ground 500 meters below about ten separate times." She said slowly, grinning at Astoria, but Astoria did not smile back.

"I'll be right back. I'm going to go talk to Plum." She walked over to the nurse's office and went in to ask Madam Plum some questions. "Madam Plum," the older woman looked up from the book she was currently reading, "Would you mind telling me how serious Cecelia's situation is? I'm kind of freaking out here." Madam Plum smiled somewhat sadly and motioned to the chair in front of her desk.

"I'm going to tell you exactly how serious this is, because it is serious. I've told Miss Donnelly, and she still is refusing to let me treat her. I'm hoping that you can talk some sense into her." Astoria frowned, and Madam Plum continued. "Miss Donnelly has a severe case of a commonly muggle virus called botulism. She has gotten food borne botulism, and botulism is a rare but serious paralytic illness caused by a nerve toxin. It can cause serious respiratory problems, and can lead to death if it is not treated. She is at the moment refusing treatment. I most likely will be able to heal her, but she would have to stay in the infirmary for a matter of months."

Astoria managed to utter out a 'thank you' before she left the infirmary. She knew that Cecelia had gotten the illness over the holidays, and that it was probably from something she had eaten that was not properly prepared. It wasn't and illness that people died from in this day and age, but she knew Cecelia was stubborn, and that she would continue to act as such. Astoria needed someone to talk to, so she went to visit Addison.

She walked slowly from the infirmary to Professor Riley's quarters so that she could try to get her thoughts in order, even though she knew that was impossible. As soon as Addison opened the door, Astoria threw her arms around her neck. Addison squeezed her tightly and led her over to the sofa.

"I heard about Cecelia. It's going to be all right. Madam Plum is quite good at her job." She told Astoria while softly stroking her hair.

"Yeah, but how can Plum put her right if she is refusing treatment!" Astoria cried. Addison put her hand on Astoria's forehead gently, but she had a perplexed look on her face as well.

"I think I know why she's doing this." She whispered.

"Why? What possible reason could she have for wanting to die?" Addison shushed her quietly.

"You just answered your own question my dear." The professor replied sadly. Astoria's eyes grew wide in comprehension.

"No!"

"It seems to me that she can't handle it all anymore. Things must have gotten worse at home for her over the holidays. She probably is feeling even worse because her parents can't come and see her. Cecelia figures death is the easiest way out." Addison told her pupil, and tears started making their way down Astoria's cheeks.

"She never acted as if she was this miserable, but I understand, somewhat. I have to try and convince her to take the treatment! She can't die, she just can't!" She buried her face is Addison's neck as the misery of her close friend became her own despair.

She tried many times to convince Cecelia to accept the treatment, but she would not acquiesce. She visited Cecelia in the infirmary everyday for about two weeks, and Cecelia's illness continued to grow worse and worse. One Friday near the end of January, Astoria went to visit Cecelia in the infirmary at night; it was getting harder and harder for her to sleep in their room alone.

Astoria entered the infirmary that night and noticed that Cecelia was still awake. Cecelia's face held a look of pain, and Astoria felt the need to comfort her friend in any way possible. She climbed into the small hospital bed next to Cecelia, wrapped her arms around her friend's thin, frail waist, and laid her head on Cecelia's arm. Tears were flowing from her eyes as she listened to Cecelia's slow, harsh breathing; she could almost feel the pain emanating from Cecelia's body with each breath she took.

"Why won't you fight it? The nurse said in a few months you could be all right, and that with proper care you could be okay." Astoria asked, struggling to keep her voice from breaking up and revealing her worry. Cecelia stroked Astoria's hair calmly, and then placed her cheek on top of Astoria's head.

"I'm tired of fighting. My whole life I've been fighting, whether it is for my family's happiness, against my classmates, or just against the world in general. The odds have been set against me from the beginning, and I'm just tired. This virus is going to beat me, and I don't want to keep fighting. I don't want to spend what could possibly be the last few months of my life restricted to a hospital bed, just because I might be able to get better. I just want this all to be over." Cecelia said softly, and Astoria could feel her tears soaking into the hair on her head.

Even though it killed Astoria, she nodded. "I understand." She heard Cecelia sniffle and then felt her cheek move against her head as her mouth curved into a smile.

"Will you stay with me tonight? The pain seems less severe when you're here with me." Cecelia said. Astoria nodded and she cuddled even closer to Cecelia.

Astoria lay with her head on Cecelia's chest, listening to her harsh, slow breathing, and she fell asleep within minutes. Cecelia was still in pain, but she was comforted by the fact that her best friend was with her that night. Not long after Astoria fell asleep, Cecelia's breathing continued to slow down until she stopped breathing all together.

The next morning, Astoria woke up to find herself in a strange room she had never seen before. The bed was strangely comfortable, and there were green hangings on all four sides of it. She sat bolt upright when she realized the Cecelia was not beside her. She frantically looked around the room, and then she saw Professor Riley sitting beside her bed, with her head in her hands.

"Professor, where is Cecelia?" she asked quietly. Professor Riley looked up at Astoria with tears in her eyes. "Addison, where is Cecelia!?" Astoria cried. Addison Riley sat on the bed and took Astoria's hand.

"She died at about three o'clock this morning." She told Astoria, her voice just above a whisper. Astoria let out a heart-wrenching sob as Addison wrapped her arms around her distraught student. Astoria cried more than she had ever cried before. That day, she did not only cry for Cecelia. She cried for Cecelia, Althea, Daphne, her mum and dad, and she cried because the only thing she felt was pain. She was blinded by pain, she was drowning in pain, and she couldn't see how the pain would ever go away. She cried because, at the moment, it was the only thing that she could do.

A/N: Yeah... I bet you didn't see that one coming. I know it's sad, but it was pretty much necessary to the plot. Please continue reading and reviewing, I really appreciate it :]