10
Anna stared at the ceiling of the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey bustled around her, providing the only noise in the otherwise silent room.
"All right, dear, can you move your head from side to side? Tell me if there's any pain," Madam Pomfrey questioned. Anna slowly moved her head toward the left; there was no pain. She winced slightly when she moved to her right, where Madam Pomfrey stood.
"Just a little when I turn my head this way," Anna answered.
"That's a good thing, it should hurt when you look to the right. There will be some severe bruising from the hit and dislocation. I can give you some Bruisewort Balm for that, but I don't want you to be freaked out by the severity. I requested for Miss Fortescue to bring a change of clothes for you before your parents arrive," Madam Pomfrey explained.
"Okay," Anna rolled her head back to stare at the ceiling.
She tried to fight the exhaustion that clung to her body. Her eyes fluttered as she thought of the last moments of the game, the way the cold wind wrapped around her, the fear etched on her and her teammates' faces, and the brief moment of acceptance she felt before James grabbed her and accidentally dislocated her shoulder. However, the part that scared her the most was her acceptance that those were her last moments. As a gentle hand patted hers, Anna heard Madam Pomfrey murmur something, her words unintelligible. Anna finally gave in to exhaustion, letting the shadowy claws of sleep take her with a soft sigh.
Regulus slowly cracked open the door to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey quietly talked to four talk figures at the foot of Anna's bed. He recognised one as Professor McGonagall, catching a glimpse of worry in her eyes. That's when he noticed Alice Fortescue sitting on the edge of Anna's bed, staring at him. The other tall figures must've been Frank, Mr and Mrs Longbottom. Regulus carefully closed the door; he could always come back later.
His grey gaze travelled to the bottom of the door; the torchlight caught the lights from inside the hospital wing. Why did he even care about checking on Anna? Was it because he couldn't shake the image of her fear-stricken face as she plummeted to the pitch? Possibly. Reg didn't know, but the one thing he did know was that he should come back when her family and her Head of House weren't there.
Regulus turned and began to walk back down the empty corridor. He suddenly heard footsteps following, yet he hadn't heard the door to the hospital wing close.
"Black," Frank's voice called after him. Regulus turned around.
"What were you needing? In the Hospital Wing," Frank questioned.
"Nothing," Regulus answered, "I just wanted to make sure she's all right."
Longbottom furrowed his brows slightly. He must've known about the rivalry between Regulus and Anna.
"She will be," Frank nodded, crossing his arms, "James accidentally dislocated her shoulder trying to catch her and her back is severely bruised, but Madam Pomfrey expects her to recover. I didn't know you two were close, let alone close enough to check on her."
Regulus frowned slightly at the mention of Potter but nodded.
"We aren't close, but she and I have a few mutual friends. Plus, Longbottom, just because one of my teammates caused this whole mess, doesn't mean I knew or wanted any of it to happen," Regulus answered. A moment of silence passed between the boys.
"You could visit her later, once Mother and Father have left," Frank announced. Regulus slowly nodded and turned to continue walking away.
The next morning, Anna sat against the pillows, her arm lying across herself in the sling. The Hospital Wing was quiet, with only Anna's thoughts and the sound of Madam Pomfrey organising the storage wardrobes to entertain the young Gryffindor. Pandora walked in with Dorcas, both girls heading straight for her.
"You scared us!" Dorcas complained, leaning against the nightstand beside the bed. Pandora sat on Anna's left side, patting her good hand.
"I was scared too. After all it was me who was falling," Anna admitted.
"I'm just happy you're alive," Pandora hummed. Anna smiled softly at her blonde friend.
"Thanks, Pans."
"I swear, you Gryffindors have a death wish," Dorcas shook her head, crossing her arms.
"We do not! At least, not on purpose. Plus, it wasn't purely my fault, Cas. Mulciber was the one that hit the bloody Bludger into me while I was trying to help my team," Anna defended.
"Speaking of Mulciber," Pandora looked at Dorcas, "Tell her what you told me!"
"That git was boasting about what he did to you the moment he walked into the common room. Then, Slughorn came into the common room later, undoubtedly furious with Mulciber after the game and scolded him before us," Dorcas informed.
"Didn't know he could do that," Anna joked, earning a few giggles from both girls. Her smile didn't reach fully up; she was too upset that Mulciber was so prideful about putting her in the Hospital Wing.
"Oh, but he can, and it was glorious," Dorcas grinned widely, "Mulciber looked like a toddler that got told he couldn't get anything from Honeyduke's by the time Sluggy was done with him."
"That was nice of Slughorn," Anna hummed, rolling her neck before wincing, "Madam Pomfrey said I was lucky that I only ended up with a dislocation and a horrid bruise. She said I the hit could've broken parts of my back, my shoulder blade, or my collarbone if the hit had been any harder."
"I would say that's lucky then," Pandora agreed, brushing some of Anna's hair away from her face. As soon as the blonde witch touched the wavy brunette hair, she felt the world spin like she was about to be apparated away.
Pandora stood on a cliffside, her senses overcome with the ocean's salty breeze. She looked around– the last thing she had done was touch Anna's hair. A slightly taller version of Anna stood, hugging a lengthy figure with an elderly house-elf near them. Pandora moved beside the elf, staring at the couple as they watched the sunset.
Dorcas and Anna stared at Pandora, curious at what she was seeing.
"Pans, what do you see?" Dorcas asked softly.
"The sun is setting while Annie stands at a cliffside," Pandora murmured, her gaze distant. Anna furrowed her brows; why was she standing at a cliffside?
"Do you know why, Pans?" Anna inquired.
"It's solemn, like something awful will happen," Pandora hummed before blinking and looking at the girls. Dorcas looked at Anna nervously.
"I'm sorry, Annie. I don't mean to scare you with it. It-"
"It just happens, I know, Pans. I'll make sure to keep away from cliffs from now on," Anna interrupted, trying to console her friends and herself.
"Everything comes back to us in the end," Pandora said with a small, grim smile, "But it didn't feel like your end, Annie."