It's nothing, I promise!

[Rue Undersee]

As fellow Durmstrang students mingled aimlessly in the large courtyard, discussing pointless things like boys and make-up, Rue was the one watching from the shadows, who couldn't be seen by most people. The little fourteen year old seemed to have lost all hope in finding any confidence, as she tried to hold back the tears which dwelled behind her twinkling blue eyes. The world was a big and scary place for such a tiny person, that was a fact, and there was no denying it. And whilst Rue had come to accept this fate, there was still one thing which she couldn't escape from by running nor hiding, like she could and did with most of her difficulties. It left her trapped in a dark hole too deep to climb out of, and the hole seemed to be filling with rain. It left Rue feeling helpless, miserable, and without a hope that things could ever be better. She began to shiver, despite it being sunny, and inside she was roasting hot. Her bones were prominent under her skin, as she had been losing weight despite eating normally. Rue wanted to cry, or better, die. But she knew deep down inside she had to be strong. She would get over these feelings no matter what happened.

Trying to ease the dull ache in her abdomen, Rue started to shuffle around on the bench, hunching over to try and find a more comfortable position. Nothing seemed to work. The pain would come and go, striking at certain moments when she was expecting it least. That was the worst bit. Rue could handle most things, but pain was difficult. Some things could just be too much for a little person. Feeling tired and thirsty, Rue leaned back on the bench and closed her eyes. Somehow, a tear crept through her sealed eyes, and she made no effort to wipe it away. Why was she so tired? Rue began to drift off, only being woken every now and then by the sharp pain. She ignored it for as long as she could, but these days it seemed to be getting worse and worse. Before, it had just ached, but now, there was a terrifying, sickening pain that shot through her stomach to her back which came on and off throughout her day. It struck now, causing Rue to tense up and sweat. Trying to ride it out, Rue kept her eyes closed, but it her distress was obvious to anybody looking.

The pain made Rue feel lightheaded, but it was nicer to keep her eyes shut, and there seemed to be nobody around anyway. She had been to the school nurse about her pain a few months ago, but she had dismissed her as another trouble-maker who wanted to get out of lessons, and had sent her on her way without a look back. Rue had never returned for the fear of the nurse ignoring her again, deciding it wasn't worth the hassle and that her pain would go on its own. Growing pains she told herself as the pain subsided and Rue relaxed. It always did disappear, no matter how long it took. But she was always left shaken and pale afterwards, her body limp as she sat helplessly on the bench.

 

[James Green]

Durmstrang for James, was like a numbing drug for muggles. It was the rain after the drought, and the sun after the frost. It relieved him from everything that weighed him down, and throwing himself into his studies took away the everlasting, throbbing pain of feeling unwanted and unloved. It had been a good few months since his world had been violently shaken and completely turned upside down. This time last year, he had been enjoying the freedom that life had brought. Without a care in the world, the young boy had been naive, innocent and free. However, within a whole week, every secure port in the storm had been destroyed, and he had been shaken up so much that he thought he would never be able to stand still and safely again. Ever since his dad had been pushed into hospital, containing a horrible and irregular disease, he had believed that life would sort itself out. But, as the problem got worse, James began to doubt even himself. And, if matters weren't bad enough when his dad was killed by a raging death-eater, his mum had suddenly decided to bring into the light the small fact that she was having an affair with an American man and she planned to go and live with him. Without even taking a few days to sort James out first, or even consider him going with them, she had sauntered off to the other side of the world, forgetting that she even had a son who was alone in the world now. The pain of this rejection stung more than the pain of his dad. If it was bad enough for someone close to be taken unceremoniously from him, it hurt beyond thought for someone to chose to leave him. That was when the 13 year old had decided to open his eyes to the world that really surrounded him. Where he used to see love and friendship, now he only saw possible hurt, damage and general pain.

Wandering through the courtyard of the school that brought relief from these problems, he breathed a heavy breath and smiled weakly at his mates. They had been supporting, and seemed to understand him enough to know when he needed a break from other people. As it happened, the very day was his birthday, but instead of feeling pleased, light and free about this, he only felt a hollow, empty dull pain and hole inside of him that had increased when no message, present or even card had come through from his mother. He had lived with the thought that it had gotten delayed, but recalling the one, single letter that she had first sent him to explain where she had gone, he realised that if she really cared, she would have found a way to get it to him. Sighing and covering his eyes with his hand, he breathed a sigh of relief and looked around him. Taking a few deep breaths, he removed his hand, and opened his eyes, the bright sunlight streaming into the dark splodges that appeared. Blinking rapidly to get rid of them, he scanned around, his dark eyes taking in every sight that was visible. There were many people in the courtyard, but the one person who drew his attention in was a girl he recognised with a spark. Her name was.... well forgetting it now didn't seem a big problem, because he hoped and was sure that it would come back to him. Smiling a little stronger now, he wandered over, picking his way through the crowds of students as they slowed their progress to their next lesson. Waving away his friends who returned to go and play quidditch with him, he shrugged an apology their way before dipping through people towards the girl. Hovering behind a nearby tree, he waited cautiously. She was sitting on a bench, and having what seemed to be pain attacks. Concern filled the young boy, and he made his way over, to see that the closer he got, the more obvious her pain was. The sunlight reflected what he could see was sweat, and remembering his dad, he knew that it wasn't a sports sweat, but one of pain and panic. She had stopped writhering around now, and was sitting on the bench, looking small, helpless and like she needed some company. Smiling bravely, he pushed his own troubles to the small corner of his mind, and wandered over. Sitting down on the seat next to her, he waited for her to see him before beginning some conversation. Trying to remember her name, he began talking, the name arriving at the tip of his tongue as he began to talk. "Hey Rue." He smiled, his voice and facial expression one of natural charm but still a type of concern for a friend. James was naturally a 'cool' type of person, with a strong amount of friends, but unlike so many people he knew, he didn't let it go to his head, and was just as friendly to his mates, as he was to everyone else he saw. Smiling still, he ran a hand through his hair, and continued with his talk. "Whats wrong? Please don't say nothing, i can't deal with a lie right now." He added, biting his lip inwardly as he brought up the topic of his own struggles again. He didn't mean to do it, and felt bad. Hoping that she wouldn't notice though, he smiled again and turned to face her, his full attention on her.

 

[Rue Undersee]

As a boy, who she was sure was James, neared Rue, she closed her eyes. Not now, she thought, hoping he would go away, but he carried on towards her, much to her dismay. She wiped her forehead with her damp sleeve and squinted at James, her eyes unable to focus properly. 'Noth-' She stopped herself from saying this, realizing what he'd said to her. She didn't want to tell the truth. She hated it when people worried about her, and it was the last thing she needed. Not many people cared anyway, and she was surprised James was concerned. She had no idea to reply, in fact. If she told the truth, he'd get help, she was sure, but attention of others would be attracted, which Rue certainly didn't want. But if she said she was fine, or made up a lousy excuse for her pain and discomfort, things would only get worse.

'It's just.. A pain. Here', Rue placed her hand on her upper abdomen, 'It comes and goes.. I.. I'm fine now', she assured James, though the moment she said it, the pain suddenly shot through her stomach again, causing her to double over in pain. More than anything, Rue was embarrassed. She knew James would be worried, and she hated that. She just wished that her pain would go. She was crying without realizing it, only noticing when she felt a tickle on her chin. Her face was pale, and she once again began to sweat from the agony. Rue cried out softly, not bothering to hide it now. She was obviously in distress, and she knew that pretending she wasn't wouldn't to anything for her. She put a hand to her forehead, feeling lightheaded, and praying to god that nothing bad would happen to her.

 

[James Green]

James smiled calmly at the girl as she began to say the word he had forbidden. His calmness seemed to radiate around his friends, and he just hoped that it would have some effect on this girl. Whatever was wrong, he hoped with all his heart that she would confide in him so he could try and do something to help. She didn't seem to want him around, and this irked James, but keeping it to himself, he watched and listened patiently as she began to talk. His brow creased into a frown as she explained the problem and he found himself feeling worried, concern filling up his eyes. She assured him that she was fine, but as the words were uttered, he watched with dismay as she doubled up, crying out softly and crying. Putting a hand protectively on her shoulder, he rubbed it and waited for her to get up so he could continue offering advice. A spasm of panic shot through him as he watched her begin to cry, but he momentarily calmed himself, breathing in deeply and trying to think rationally. There were a few spectators gathering around now, watching the poor girl that seemed in so much pain. Biting his lip, he glared at them until they moved on, praying that she hadn't seem them see her in her moment of pain. Getting off the bench, he sat on the floor, his eyes in line with hers. "Rue, can you hear me. Its going to be alright. Is it going away? Just look up when it is and breathe calmly." Feeling utterly stupid at whispering this unhelpful advice her way, he frowned and closed his eyes for a while, trying to work out the puzzle in his head. All he could think of was panic, panic, panic, so deciding that this was no good, he opened his eyes and waited for the moment to pass, feeling helpless, stupid and like someone watching a torture taking place from the other side of the glass.

 

[Rue Undersee]

James' voice was muffled, but Rue could definately hear him. She nodded, and then slowly began to look up, not daring to look up to quickly in case the pain came back. He was sitting right in front of her, which made her jump slightly, she tried to breathe slowly, but she was shivering, taking short and shallow breaths. As the pain subsided, she tried to get her words out. 'I.. I..-', as a wave of lightheadedness took over Rue, she cut short of her sentance. All her symptoms had been getting worse recently, and she rarely had a moment when she felt alright. She couldn't remember the last time she hadn't felt sick, and it was a struggle to keep anything down. She just couldn't work out what was wrong with her, and she hoped desperately that she wasn't going to embarass herself more in front of the gathering students, which James had rounded off fairly easily, though a few still stared from a distance, whispering to their friends, giggling. Luckily Rue couldn't see them, as she had her head down again, eyes shut to attempt to stop the diziness, but she still felt as though she was spinning off the face of the earth. She put her hands on the bench to steady herself, glad she hadn't eaten much. 'I don't feel good', she said quietly, whimpering a little. She wanted James to get help, but how? She didn't even know herself, so how he could help, she didn't know. She was extremely glad he was there, though.

 

[James Green]

James carried on rubbing his hand up and down her shoulder to keep her calm as he talked to her. Rue was getting more and more unsteady and he was getting more and more unsure and nervous of what to do. Looking around for any possible sign of help, he narrowed his eyes at the kids still watching and stood up. Lifting Rue up gently so he was supporting her but not carrying her, he looped her arm around his shoulder and half-carried, half-dragged her indoors. The sun probably wasn't helping and he could see clearly that she was in pain, so trying to be as careful as possible, he silently cursed himself for not being able to do the levitating spell yet. Brushing his hair out of his eyes as he went so he could see, he cleared a way through the masses of students before arriving at the hospital wing. He didn't know what to do, and wasn't thinking so clearly with his friend nearly unconscious over his shoulder, so he carried on, breathing deeply. Arriving in the wing he was hit by the stench of cleanliness that overpowered the whole area. He hated hospitals to his gut and would rather just be suffering that have to visit one. But, in this case, it was his friend in pain and the thought of putting her through upset and agony just to stop his own upset, was disgustingly wrong. Laying her down gently on the bed nearest to him, he sprinted up the rooms length to the nurses room. She came bustling out to see him as he arrived and had a go at him for running. Rolling his eyes at her frantics, he had a whispered argument with her. "Please. She needs help. She is in pain a lot. Can't you do something for her?" Only to be replied with a simple "No, she is putting it on. Take her back to her lesson and then go to yours." Feeling a surge of anger at the nurses words, he restrained himself with a lot of pain from attacking her on the spot. This lady had no respect or care for Rue, and the thought of that made him feel sick to his stomach. Wandering back over to guard her, he waited to see if she had any ideas of what they could try next. Thinking that the hospital bed was the best place for her to stay, he kept her there and made no attempt to move her. The nurse seeing this, sighed. "Fine. Let her stay for this lesson, but i won't be responsible for the trouble. Mark my words." She made her way back into her office, oblivious to the obvious pain Rue was in. Grinding his teeth as he thought, he looked down on Rue, his eyes full of concern and worry.

 

[Rue Undersee]

When James tried to move Rue, she winced, but she knew what he was trying to do was for the best. She wouldn't get better if nobody helped her, and if helping her put her through pain, she could live with it. Her stomach churned as he helped her to the hospital wing, and she closed her eyes, biting her lip to stop herself from crying out. She stumbled as he moved her through the doors, and she collapsed gratefully on the bed, before curling up in a tiny ball. But nothing seemed to make the pain go away. Sweat gathered on every part of her body, making the bed damp before a few minutes had passed. Rue didn't let on, but she could hear the nurse from her bed, and began to cry softly. How was she ever going to get help when nobody but James believed her? It seemed he wasn't giving up on her too soon, though, and when he made his way back to her bed, having been told that Rue could stay for a while, the relief on her face was obvious. But it didn't last long, as the sickening pain made her whimper again. Rue hated seeing James' concerned face as he watched her. Why couldn't she just die? Rue made a strangeled noise, and without warning, collapsed onto the floor beside James, her face a sickly green and white shade. A mixture of tears and sweat gathered on her chin. Why couldn't the nurse see there was something wrong? Rue grabbed onto James' hand, closing her eyes and using her other hand to clutch her stomach. In pain, and now extremely embarassed, Rue lay back on the bed.

'James', Rue whispered weakly, the pain subsiding as quickly as it had appeared, but feeling weak and helpless. 'I.. I'm sorry', she wasn't even sure what she was apologizing for. For being such an embarassment, perhaps? For putting him through concern and worry for her? She didn't feel like she was worth worrying about - nobody ever had before. She looked over at the nurse with a pleading look on her face. Surely she could see she weighed half as much as someone her height should, that her bones were sticking out around her neck, her shoulders, her ribcage, and pretty much everywhere else. She hadn't been meaning to lose weight. Nothing in her diet had changed, except that over the past few days she hadn't been able to keep anything down. But she had been losing weight for weeks, and fast. Rue felt like she could black out where she was, but instead, she closed her eyes and began to dream that she was in a cloud, right up in the blue sky, with people all around her who cared. Have I died? She thought to herself dreamily, not even caring if she had, but her question was answered when the nurse came to check her temperature - Which was far too high.

 

[James Green]

Leaning closer to hear what Rue said, James pushed the apology away. His anger at the nurse was building inside him and he pursed his lips to keep him from saying something he knew he would regret. Jumping forward as Rue fell on the floor, he wiped her brow with a nearby cloth and began to talk to her. It was nonsense and made no sense, but at least she would know that he was near. Helping her back onto the bed without hurting her seemed hard to do, but finally when she was there, he turned to face the nurse who had arrived from her room to see what was going on. She was pale and looked nervous, and so she should thought James. She even deserved to lose her job after how she treated Rue. Clenching his jaw tightly, he raised his eyebrows at her. "Do you see what i mean now." He stated, the rising panic evident in his voice. Seeing Rue out of the corner of his eye wiping her own brow, he placed a gentle hand over it and took it away again immediately, giving a look to the nurse. She came over, and when she realised how high Rue's temperature was, she scurried away back to her office. Following her with one last fleeting glance of Rue, he waited until Rue couldn't hear him before he gave in to his rant. "Call an ambulance. Find some help. Get the healers. Do something." He screamed, his anger rising as he spoke, amazed at how easily it came to shout at a member of staff. His whole fear for Rue and the fear of his dad returned to him, and he hovered his way back to Rue as the nurse summoned some help.

About 10 minutes later, a wizarding ambulance arrived and escorted Rue into it. Hovering at her side and trying to interfere everytime the wizards nearly hurt her, he finally found her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. He knew that she wouldn't like this when she finally came around, but it was for the best and he knew that. Students flocked around to see what the commotion was but he kept his eyes on Rue, trying to shield her from the stares of classmates. He knew she would be embarrassed, because he kind of was by just being in the commotion, let alone being the centre of attention such as she was. When the finally got inside the ambulance, he shrunk back against the wall, trying to calm his mad thoughts as he waited for the healers to do a small check on her. The announced that she would need to go to St Mungos and holding her hand to comfort her, he swallowed the small lump that appeared in his throat. It was Rue now that he had to focus on, but the main part of him wanted to scream, jump out of the place and hide and never ever return to that place. The place where his dad died. The place where his world decided to close in on him.

(OOC: Sorry, this is rubbish. I had no idea how the wizarding 'ambulance system' would work, so i made it up... but thankfully its fanfiction, so no one should mind. I think we should get the healer in now. )

 

[Rue Undersee]

Whilst Rue wasn't completely concious, she could still sense her surroundings, and she knew what James was doing. She feebly attempted to shake her head, and failed to do so. How could they do this to her? Hospital? Were they trying to scare her. Rue's heart thumped loudly in her chest, tears welling in her eyes. She looked at James with a pitiful look, but she knew there was nothing else they could do. As she was lifted into the ambulance, her weak, fragile body hung limp in their arms. She was crying tears of helplessness, though the pain had subsided, she was frightened, and felt trapped inside an unwell body. Surprising everybody, as she travelled in the ambulance with James and some paramedics, she let herself drift off, and started humming softly. The paramedics were rushing around her, checking things, but Rue felt far away from it all, as though she was contently looking down on it all. And she couldn't stop the tears falling. No noise came from Rue's parted lips, and suddenly she realized the ambulance had stopped.

Rue closed her eyes as she was wheeled on the ambulance bed into the hospital, trying to forget where she was, trying to block out the world and pretend it wasn't there. Life's so short.. Rue thought, opening her eyes to find herself being moved onto a bed in her own ward. People were still hurrying around her, talking, but it was so distant, it felt like they were talking miles away. Suddenly, she snapped back into the world, and inhaled quickly and sharply, gasping for breath as where she had been taken was just sinking in. 'JAMES', Rue yelled, and without turning her head, felt with her hand for his and gripped it tightly. She moved her eyes to look at him, not daring to move in case the pain came back. 'James, what are they doing to me?', Her voice wobbled, as things were clipped to her toe and finger. She tried to wiggle them off, but the nurse simply clipped them on tighter. Rue winced, waiting for the next bout of pain to arrive and wondering if she was ever going to get better.

(S'ok, me neither )

 

[Alyssa Chevalier]

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Work this week hadn't been a very eventful one for the young healer. Since Alyssa had taken less hours due to her pregnancy she ended up missing a lot of the more severe emergencies. The ones where wizards and witches came in with terrible injuries or sicknesses that needed to be dealt with immediately. This wasn't a huge bother to Alyssa though because she wasn't a fan of those in critical condition anyways, it was scary to have someone come in and put their lives in the hand of a Healer. She didn't like feeling responsible for another person's life. If they died or didn't make it because she was unable to heal them properly she would feel so torn apart and useless. This was her dream job and yet it was easily tearing her apart. When did she become so caring towards people she barely knew? It wasn't too late in the day when Alyssa had just finished up going around and checking up on her patients, most of which were recovering quite nicely. She was getting ready to go back to her office to fill some things out when another one of the Healer's came at her with fear written all over their face. They told her that a young girl had come in and they needed her immediately. "Any idea what's wrong?" Alyssa asked them worriedly, her crystal blue eyes widened immensely. But the Healer said nothing which led Alyssa to assume that no one really knew what was wrong with her yet. This was really bad because it could be anything too. Alyssa's specialties were mostly in-tune with magical creature injuries and general healing. She was also studying to help with babies and such but it was a longer training process than she thought it would be. Without another word to the Healer Alyssa told the receptionist to hold off on making any appointments while she went on to check up with this girl. Her heels made a swift turn and she followed down the hallway to where the Healer said the girl had been taken. Alyssa's heart beat wildly in her chest and she felt the adrenalin pumping through her system. It always got like this when she went out onto the floor and someone was in need of serious medical attention. Oh this would be an interesting story to tell her husband later on. A few nurses entered the room that the Healer pointed her to and she thanked him quickly before she hurried in after them. Hopefully this girl was a fighter. It would be easier to help her if she wanted to be help and if she was cooperative with everything that needed to be done to help her as well. Immediately her heart sank when she got a look at what she was going to be dealing with.

The nurses were already at work, hooking things onto her and Alyssa felt bad because she was so small. One of the nurses handed Alyssa something telling her the basic facts. Goodness she was only fifteen? That was a few years younger than Alyssa. "Rue?" Alyssa asked, her French accent laced with softness and worry. She learned the young girls name from what the nurses and paramedics had gathered and hoped that she had pronounced the name right. Her tall legs allowed her to approach the girl who was lying on the bed. She looked so scared right now, it was heartbreaking to see. "If you are able to, I need you to tell me what happened." Was she feeling sick? Nausea, headache, any sort of pain anywhere on her body. Was she paralyzed or something? Only she was able to give an exact explanation of what she was doing at the time and what happened, where the pain was and all of the vital information Alyssa needed to help her. Alyssa glanced to the boy that was with her and wondered if he would be able to tell her what was wrong if Rue was unable. Alyssa brushed back a strand of her platinum blonde hair and bit her ruby red lips. It was easy to see that she was worried. this girl looked small so she could guess that she either had Part-Goblin blood or there was something else. But it didn't matter to Alyssa what she was like, she just wanted to help. It made her think of her own baby, she would want to protect him or her too. Luckily she was not showing due to it being too early or feeling nauseous. Alyssa needed to be here.​

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Out of Character:

I hope this post was alright. I haven't done much with Alyssa in action as a Healer.

 

[Rue Undersee]

Rue swallowed back the fear, and the lump in her throat as somebody started speaking to her. How do you know my name? She thought stupidly, not quite understanding that she was a healer - She looked far too young. Then she spotted a clipboard and she suddenly got it. Rue didn't know where to start, should she tell her about the pain when it first arose, months back, and she thought nothing of it? Or did she only care about now, and what she was feeling this instant? Because either way, Rue simply couldn't word how she felt, no matter how hard she tried to form the words in her mouth. Her heart rate began to increase a little as she struggled to talk, and began to panic. Even lying down, she was dizzy. And then she realized she had something to tell the healer. 'I.. I'm dizzy..' Rue gulped, begging herself not to be sick infront of everyone, wincing as the pain momentarily shot through her and then subsided. She put her hand where the pain was coming from, trying to indicate exactly where on her stomach, but it was vague, and the pain spread right through to her back, so how was she supposed to explain? Her stomach churned and her pale forehead was damp with sweat, and the nausea was unbearable. The pain was drifting through her as though it had not a care in the world, but Rue obvious did, and her face showed distress and nausea. 'Please, please', she begged the healer, putting her hand shakily on her stomach again, 'It hurts here-', she cried out harshly at that moment, because a stabbing pain had appeared once more, and Rue couldn't carry on talking for pain, and Rue suddenly noticed the chronic thirst which had been creeping up on her slowly, yet she hadn't noticed it till now. But she knew that she wouldn't be able to keep any drink down, not even water, so she stayed quiet. It felt strange to Rue - She'd never imagined herself in a hospital before, because she'd always been healthy. Which was why it was so bizarre, and her family were healthy too, they had no medical problems throughout their life, and she hadn't expected anything different from herself. Life could spring up with annoyances at the most inconvenient moments, she thought to herself as the pain dissapeared as quickly as it had come along. Rue thought she had something life threatening wrong, which she would have, except that this was the Wizarding World, and almost no problem was life threatening when there was magic around.

Unfortunately, Rue didn't believe this, even knowing the obvious facts, she felt as though she was dying. This had been going on for months, and Rue teared up again at the thought that she hadn't told anybody about the lingering pain she'd been having for months. But that was a lie, she had gone to the school nurse about it, and she'd sent her away. Did that make it ok? Had she done everything she could do? Rue could drift away in peace that way, to a better place where there was no pain, and nobody would judge her for being 'weird' or 'different'. That place seemed very appealing right now, but she wasn't going there any time soon, because what she had could be cured. Rue tried to sit up a little, but her head was spinning violently. The world was moving around her, and she could vaguely see james and the healer, as well as a few other people as she tried to focus properly. The world felt like it was floating away from her, and she only noticed that the pain had come back a few minutes after it actually had. And then suddenly, Rue was back, and the world slowly stopped spinning, but it had left Rue feeling pretty rough. She clutched her stomach, tightening her face muscles as she shifted a little, but it felt like shards of glass had been sliced through her, and it was difficult to move at all. The nausea came back at that moment. 'I feel sick', Rue mumbled quietly.