Shifts

Bursting into the hospital wing, Toby instantly came to a screeching halt at the sight of Celes on a nearby cot. His mouth dropped uncharacteristically. She was…fine. His brows furrowed ever more then before he glanced about the large room. What in the world was going on?

"Celes?" he said hesitantly, obviously unsure of himself.

"Hmm?" she replied, glancing up from the magazine she had been leafing through. The moment she saw him, her eyes lit up like Christmas morning. "Toby! What are you doing here?"

He blinked followed by swallowing nervously. Was all this a hallucination maybe?

Her smile quickly turned to a frown. "What? Is something wrong?"

"I don't know." He then looked around the hospital wing again, attempting to see if anyone else was around. "I was told you were in the hospital wing."

She nodded slowly. "Yeah. And here I am. In the hospital wing." She laughed a moment later when he didn't reply. "Toby? What's going on?"

"I-I don't know." He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his long black hair. "I thought something was wrong," he admitted quietly. "Obviously, I was mistaken."

She smiled softly and reached for his hand. "I'm fine. Just here because I stupidly worked myself up earlier unfortunately."

He looked her over briefly before he sat in the chair beside her cot. "I don't follow."

"It's actually a rather stupid story, but Slughorn handed back our exams the other day."

"I'm aware." He had received an 'Exceeds' on his exam, much to his surprise.

"Well, I didn't look at mine until today."

"Ah." He then leaned forward, rubbing his thumb against the back of her hand gently. "I take it you didn't do well on it?"

"Understatement of the year," she mumbled glumly. She then motioned towards her bag on the floor. "It's in there."

He nodded silently before he reached over and picked the bag up, searching through it for her Potions exam. He found it soon after and smoothed the parchment out so he could look at it properly. His eyes quickly darted back to her.

"It's an 'Acceptable,' Celes."

"Yeah, I know." She sighed again before she ran a hand through her hair. "I thought I had it this time. I really did. I mean, I remembered you have to crush the bicorn before you add the wormwood, but I forgot the stupid clockwise stirring."

"It's a difficult potion to remember," he offered.

"So? You got it right, and you didn't even study."

He snorted and shook his head. "It's not a contest."

"I never said it was!" She then frowned and glanced away. "I just thought it'd be different this time, and it's not. I'm still the same stupid idiot I was before."

Sighing, he closed his eyes. So that's what this was all about. He should've guessed it.

"You're not an idiot, Celes," he countered quietly. "Not then and certainly not now."

"Of course you'd say that. You're—well, you know what you are," she grumped.

He couldn't hold back the soft chuckle.

"What?" she snapped, glaring at him.

He wisely withheld his annoyance at being snapped at and replied kindly, "If it's that upsetting to you, then I would be more than happy to tutor you."

"Tutor me?"

"Yes." He shrugged. "Clearly you wish you were better in Potions, which as you pointed out earlier comes naturally to me. Therefore, it's only logical I assist you in achieving this goal of yours."

"But I'm hopeless," she said quietly, picking at a loose strand on her cot.

"I wouldn't have asked if I thought for a second you were beyond all help." He then squeezed her hand and waited for her answer. "If you'd rather ask someone else—"

"No. Of course not. It's just, well, it's not a good idea."

"Oh?" His brow rose. "And just what gave you that idea?"

"I'm a distraction. You've said it a hundred times before."

He chuckled and shook his head.

"What? You said that!" she cried.

"I'm not arguing that I didn't say it."

"Then what?"

He smiled faintly and laughed. "I think I'll be able to remain focused." He caught her instant frown a moment later. "Celes?"

"Why? Because you found some other witch?!" she demanded, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"What?" Oh, dear Merlin. He quickly glanced around, wishing Pomfrey would step out at any moment and distract her. He truly couldn't handle her mood shifts the first time around. This time he had a feeling would be pure murder, what with her pregnancy on top of severe emotional trauma.

"That's it, isn't it? You've replaced me." She yanked her hand back. "Just because you made that silly little team, it doesn't mean that people won't—"

"Well," called out a loud voice from the far side of the room. Madam Pomfrey, Toby noted a moment later. "I see Mister Brooks found you."

"He was just leaving," Celes replied snottily.

"Oh?" Madam Pomfrey glanced at him with a polite smile as she approached. "He doesn't look like he's in any hurry to leave you."

Celes clenched her jaw and glared out the nearest window. "I don't care. I don't want him here."

Pomfrey drew in a calculating breath, her wand held loosely in her hand. "I see. Why is that?"

"What do you mean, why?" she yelled. "Isn't it obvious? The bastard decided that I'm too damaged for him now."

"Too damaged?" Pomfrey repeated softly. "Odd. I didn't find any damage when I examined you earlier. Maybe I should do a more thorough exam this time."

"Absolutely not!"

"Why not? If he's claiming—"

"Enough of your damn mind games!" she yelled, cutting the matron off. "You know what I mean. So stop it! Just stop it!"

"No. I'm afraid I don't know what you mean, Celes." Pomfrey then paused for a moment. "Or is it Aurora I'm speaking to this time?"

Clearly perplexed, Toby glanced between the two witches. He was missing something again. A great deal of things, he later amended. Had he truly never figured his wife out? In all their years of knowing one another, was that even possible? He frowned inwardly.

It felt now as if someone was holding back all the puzzle pieces that made up their relationship until just the right moment before he'd receive a piece. No words could accurately describe the frustration he felt in this moment as he waited and watched Celes struggle to hold back her fiery temper. She was clearly angry about something, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out what it was. So how in the world could he fix it, whatever it was?

He glanced back at Pomfrey. She clearly had a plan based on her actions with Celes. Though, it seemed that he wasn't privy to its details unfortunately. So, whatever this plan entailed, he knew he'd have to figure it out himself. Or perhaps the matron didn't want him to get in the middle of this? He wasn't certain anymore.

"Don't," Celes finally said with a tremble in her voice.

"Don't what?" Pomfrey replied.

"Don't play your head games with me. I know who I am."

"Oh?" Pomfrey briefly glanced at Toby before her gaze returned to Celes. "And who's that?"

His frown deepened. Was Pomfrey trying to reveal their true identities to everyone? No. That didn't seem possible. So, then she had to be testing Celes. Just like that, his mind quickly returned to the other day in the Headmaster's office. "I don't want to be Aurora right now. I just want to be a fifteen-year-old girl who has fun and is happy. That's it." His eyes darted back to Celes. He had heard it at the time, of course, but he hadn't thought anything on it really.

"This is ridiculous," she scoffed.

"Is it?" Pomfrey replied.

"Yes. I know who I am."

"Then why won't you answer the question?"

"Because you're just trying to prove one of your stupid points again."

Pomfrey laughed. "And just what point is that?"

"That I'm trying to escape my mental pain in order to protect myself."

"Interesting theory."

Toby's eyes narrowed instantly. Why wasn't the matron confirming that she was right? What was he missing this time? He shook his head, feeling a headache coming on. His sessions with Pomfrey were never this confusing. The matron was usually direct with him. Just how he liked it.

"It's not a theory, and you know it. It's what I'm doing," Celes admitted quietly a moment later. "I'm trying to forget about…it to spare myself the pain." She sighed. "I keep telling myself that if I say I'm Celes Martins enough times that maybe I can convince myself that it's true then. So it won't hurt so much. So it's like it happened to someone else."

"And?" the matron said softly, a polite smile on her face.

"And it works. For a little bit." She ran a hand through her hair. "But it always comes back." She sank more into the pillows propped up behind her. "I just thought it'd be different this time."

"Different from what?" Pomfrey asked inquiringly.

"From before. From our past. It was supposed to be different this time for both of us. But it's only working for him. I'm stuck like this."

"Why do you think you're stuck?" Pomfrey's eyes darted to Toby again before she once more glanced away.

He frowned in response. Was the matron trying to tell him something here with all the looks? If so, he was clearly missing it. He sighed inwardly soon after. This was precisely why he didn't understand women. The subtleties of potions were a piece of cake for him. The subtleties of a woman, however, were way beyond his current comprehension on the matter.

Celes remained silent, though.

"Is it because he's trying new things? Like joining the Quidditch team?" Pomfrey offered.

"I suppose." Celes shrugged, biting her bottom lip for a few moments. "Yeah, it could be that. I don't know." She picked at a loose thread on the blanket and sighed. Hesitantly, she glanced up and looked at him with a sad expression on her face. "It's like I don't know you anymore. Like you've outgrown me or something."

"And how does that make you feel?" Pomfrey asked softly, glancing at Toby again.

Celes, however, sighed heavily. "Could we please for once not dissect my feelings? It gets exhausting, Poppy," she groaned.

"She's only asking so you'll stop and think about it for a minute. It sometimes helps a person figure things out. Annoying as hell, of course, but it does help," Toby offered quietly. "At least it's helped me so far." He caught the slight softening of her face before it vanished again. As the silence fell around them, he waited patiently, watching Celes and noting the inner battle she was fighting with herself. She clearly wanted to talk, but just didn't know what words to say.

"I'm scared. All right?" She shrugged again before she picked even more at the blanket covering her legs. Her eyes then dropped from his. "I'm scared that all this is going to backfire. That instead of this being a second chance for us to get it right, it'll turn into a chance for you to realize what a mistake I am. That there are worthier women out there than me. That I was just a thing of convenience for you. So I lashed out earlier. Because I'm scared that you're going to leave."

He quickly leaned forward and grabbed her hand once more. "Never. I've never once thought that, and I sure as hell will never think it. I love you. I don't know how to make that any clearer than that." He tenderly rubbed his thumb against the back of her hand. "I love you, Aurora. With all my heart, I swear it." He slowly reached for her face, lifting her chin up so they'd be staring into one another's eyes again. "If you want me to shout it from the top of the castle, I will. By Merlin's right hand, I will. Just say the word. I'll climb up there and scream it for all these horrid brats to hear." He caught her soft laugh immediately and smiled in response.

"Well, I think that's a good stopping point for today, don't you?" Pomfrey said with a laugh. The young couple glanced at her. "Unless you'd like to continue with your joint session?"

Toby waited for Celes to answer. He wouldn't force her into this.

"No. Um, I think I've had all I can handle tonight," Celes answered a few moments later.

"As you wish." Pomfrey then smiled warmly at her, placing a hand on Celes's shoulder. "You weren't responding when it was just you and me during our sessions, so I improvised when I saw him today. If there's one person who can get you to open up, it's him. Not to mention, it was time for you two to have a joint session together."

"Time?"

Pomfrey nodded. "Yes. Obviously I don't need to tell either of you this, but clearly your relationship with one another has been affected. Now, I've spoken with both of you separately, but I think going forward it would be more beneficial if future sessions were held together." She then sighed. "Frankly, it's the only way I can get you to speak with me, Aurora. And while Severus is farther ahead of you in terms of his self-healing, he has quite some ways to go in terms of relationships."

He winced and glanced away. That was a hell of a way to put it.

"In other words, I believe that in order to heal fully, you two need to heal one another. Which today showed can be done. As long as you're guided along, that is.

"So, I can get out of here then? Since I did so well today, I mean?"

Toby snorted silently at Celes's wheedling.

"Nice try, but no. I'd like you to stay here for tonight at least." At the sound of Celes's loud groan, Pomfrey added, "It's just precautionary. You'll be back in class in no time."

"Great," Celes replied dryly, making a face.

Unable to hold back his smile, Toby shook his head. She had picked up his sarcasm after all.

At the sound of the door to the hospital wing opening, Pomfrey quickly returned to her usual brisk mannerisms. "You've got an hour. Then, it's off to bed with you, Mister Brooks."

Toby nodded curtly and turned to Celes. "So…"