Hospital Wing
As Kaneki started to wake up the first thing he noticed was how warm and comfortable he felt, it was a far cry from the coldness of abandoned buildings and concrete floors he'd grown used to sleeping in. As he awoke and opened his eyes they were met with blank, too white walls. Actually…were those walls? They looked a bit flimsy. He rubbed his bleary eyes but it didn’t do anything to dispel the fuzziness in his vision. His body ached and his limbs felt heavier than lead so the simple action drained him. For a moment he wondered if Tsukiyama was going through another minimalist phase but this seemed almost sterile-.
Wait… a sterile roo-? He bolted up in a panic ignoring the pain and tiredness with practiced ease. Hospital, he was in a hospital. Why!? He would’ve never gone willingly, not after Kanou!
Was it the CCG?! But they would never leave him unrestrained like this, besides, they wouldn’t go through the trouble of putting him in a hospital. They would just give him whatever they gave the ghouls in Cochlea and toss him in a cell to regenerate.
Adrenaline brought the world back into focus and he realized that the white “walls” were actually curtains. Pushing them aside, instead of medical machinery and the fateful room that destroyed his humanity, there were giant windows and stoney walls. His eyes widened, there was no way he could ever forget this room. Hogwarts! But how?!
He tried to remember and immediately regretted it. Everything came back too quickly. The fight with Amon, the burning remains of Anteiku, his encounter with Arima and-
He gasped. His stomach felt heavy and the air caught in his lungs.
Hide.
Oh god. what had he done?
He choked out a sob. Was it mercy or torture that he couldn't remember exactly what had happened?
He was reminded of his surroundings when an owl nearly crashed into the window. It corrected itself just in time but still grazed the window. It was the rattling that shocked him back to reality and made him realize he couldn't have a break down here.
He looked over to the bedside table and noticed a pair of old glasses, likely charmed to adjust to the wearer’s vision. He slipped them on and sighed in relief, they weren’t pretty but at least he could see properly now.
His glassy eyes glanced over the mountainous horizon. He couldn’t stay here. Hogwarts was perfect, he didn’t want to taint that with his presence, not again.
He contemplated jumping from the window, it definitely wasn’t the highest he’d jumped from before. Unlike usual though there weren’t any other buildings around. He was used to closely packed skyscrapers, not a free fall with nothing to slow his descent.
He staggered experimentally to his feet, not confident in his ability to stand yet. Thankfully he still had enough strength to support his own weight. Assessing the drop more closely he realized that as long as he was careful not to push himself away from the building as he jumped out he could still make it down safely. It definitely wouldn’t be like his usual jumps that left the building unmarred and no trace he was there since he would have to use his kagune to slow his fall, but it would be enough to get him out of this pinch.
Unfortunately he spent too much time contemplating because as he was preparing to climb out of the window Madame Pomfrey walked in.
"Oh you're awake! Those potions worked faster than I- Oh good heavens you shouldn't be standing yet! Sit back down."
Kaneki’s heart almost jumped out of his chest. Thank lord he hadn’t actually started climbing out yet, he wasn’t sure how he would’ve explained that away. He didn’t want to be put on suicide watch or whatever the wizarding equivalant was. It would be much harder to slip out under constant surveillance.
“H-how did I end up here?” He asked before realizing he’d reflexively spoken in japanese “I mean how did I end up here?” he corrected in embarrassment as he let the woman guide him back to the bed.
“Well…We were hoping you could tell us.” She admitted. “I wasn't in the room when it happened. Dumbledore should be able to give you more details though, he’ll be by in the morning. You’ve been out for nearly a week but I was expecting you to be out for at least another few day.”
"Hmm a week, that’s slow for me.” He muttered under his breath “What time is it now?"
"Around 5 Harry." She said while getting out a spoon of pepper-up potion.
He looked up in surprise, “How did you recognize me? I imagine I look quite different."
"Scar dear," she replied, pointing to his forehead.
Kaneki’s eyes went wide in understanding.
Suddenly the matron’s tone turned serious. “I need to know, what have you been doing to continue your magical education in the past few years?”
He looked a bit panicked but also sheepish as he fumbled for worlds. “I- umm...”
“You haven’t been, have you?”
He sighed, “How did you know?”
“You were in danger of becoming an obscurial.”
“A what?”
“A person with a magical parasite caused by the suppression of magic through abuse and feelings of alienation and loneliness.”
“It’s dangerous to not do magic?”
“No, it’s dangerous to forcefully keep it locked away.” Her eyes softened, “What happened to make you feel the sort of sorrow and pain required to create one of those? If your body hadn’t rerouted your excess magic into accidental magic you would’ve become one already.”
He averted his eyes from her gaze, not sure what to say.
“Well in any case you need to finish your magical education. That alone will drastically reduce your risk. Then maybe also get some therapy? I can’t really offer a good magical alternative but the route of the problem is also emotional. I can look for places in London if you like?”
“I don’t- I’m not sure…”
“Well I’ll let you think about it ok? We’ll be having follow ups to talk more about this.” She smirked at him “I’ll talk to you in the morning, you should get some rest ok?”
He stared at her in shock “You know Japanese?!”
“ I was adopted by a family of Japanese immigrants,” She said mischievously. “I am serious though, get some rest.”
She was about to leave when Kaneki stopped her. “Wait! Could I get a few books?" He asked sheepishly.
"Of course. Just tell me what you want and I'll go fetch them,"
"Does the library carry muggle books?”
"It carries some. Give me the titles and I’ll check.”
"Thanks! Could you get Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, Monochrome Rainbows by Sen Takatsuki, and-"
He paused debating the addition of the last book. The book had been one of his favorites only a few years ago, but now it hit too close to home.
In the end, he decided to add it to his request despite not being sure if he'd actually be able to read it.
"-and Black Goat's Egg also by Sen Takatsuki." He asked
Madam Pomfrey nodded "I'll be back with them soon." she assured as she closed the door behind her.
…
Madam Pomfrey was intrigued. It was infamously difficult to track down Japan's magical community if you knew what you were looking for, even more so if you didn’t. She’d seen it in her parents even though they’d refused to talk about it. They had always seemed like they were running from something. When she’d expressed interest in visiting Japan they’d always cautioned her. Told her that people went missing in the night and were never found, that they couldn’t lose another child to them, whoever they were.
From the few books she'd found though, she had a pretty good guess.
The asiatic ghoul
Though all the sources seemed to agree that ghouls were humanoid, that was where the similarities ended…
Well of that and their diet
When the boy who lived suddenly disappeared there had been a nationwide manhunt for him. He hadn’t been found, meaning he likely hadn’t been in the nation. Of course he might’ve picked it up without ever going to Japan like she’d done herself but she couldn’t get the possibility out of her head. Madam Pomfrey was indeed very intrigued.