Set Me Free

[Marisol Woods]

Marisol was used to staying at Hogwarts over the winter (well, summer) break so she could safely transform in the cavern and then recover at the Hospital Wing freely, away from her Muggle family. Then, after those dreadful two weeks were up, she would normally fly home to Puerto Rico to spend Christmas with her family. Except she wouldn't be able to do that this year, because December's full moon nights fell the day before, during, and after Christmas Day. She felt it especially unfair since this year had been so unusual for her and she really wanted the familiarity of her family's Christmas traditions to make her feel right again. The more she assimilated into the magical world, the more distant she felt from her family, and her condition certainly did not help that at all. These thoughts were at the forefront of Marisol's mind as she was currently recovering from this month's full moon in the Hospital Wing so she had nothing but resentment to dwell on. Thankfully it was the last day of recovery so she was feeling nearly back to normal and could be dismissed today. As one of the healers came up to check on her today, Marisol began to try and bargain her way with them again. "Can I at least do my recovery at home after the last day of the full moon? You guys don't know about Muggle planes, they're very fast so I can nap on the plane and then take it easy at home!" she explained, not even seeing the flaw in her plan as Portkeys were much, much faster than airplanes were. But of course the Healers had already began shaking their heads before she had even finished talking and shot down her suggestions, again.​

 

[Noelle Seung]

Noelle hated sickness and did everything in her power to avoid catching things that were going around the school, but it was just her luck that she managed to catch a cold that year. Colds, specifically, were the bane of her existence as the congestion blocked her ears and the running nose kept her from playing music or even enjoying listening to music. She would usually brave such a sickness and work through the annoying symptoms, as she was taught to do so, but by the time she had been sick for a few days, Noelle had lost any and all of her patience and walked to the hospital wing with her handkerchief in one hand, hoping one of the nurses would cure the cold or at least give her something to deal with it. She sniffled, holding her handkerchief over her nose as she approached the doorway however she stopped in her tracks when she heard someone mention the words 'recovery' and 'full moon'. She wasn't sure if it was her blocked sinuses playing tricks on her, or if someone in the school was a werewolf, but she continued to listen curiously, leaning closer to the entrance enough to eventually stumble and sneeze as she did so. Alerting whoever was in the hospital wing to her presence.​

 

[Marisol Woods]

Marisol lowered her head as the nurses lectured her on her required supervision when taking the Wolfsbane Potion and then how they had to monitor her health as she recovered from the full moon. They mentioned that they would have to treat any new wounds she might give herself which is why she needed to stay in the castle for the holidays since her Muggle parents would not be able to treat her scars. She sighed and nodded her head as they walked away apologetically, when she heard someone sneeze and sort of bump into something. Marisol instantly stood up, which made her head hurt. She looked back over her shoulder to where the nurses had gone away back to their offices and then looked over at the entrance doors, seeing Noelle standing there. She couldn't quite register the look on the girl's face because she had a handkerchief over her face and looked mostly sick, so she wasn't sure what the girl had heard. "Noelle! Hey," she said in what she hoped was a casual tone. She laid back down on the hospital bed and wished she could be anywhere but here as she asked, "W-what're you doing here?" Would the girl say something if she had heard anything? ​

 

[Noelle Seung]

After recovering from her sneeze and the stumble it caused, Noelle stood to her full height, moving her handkerchief from her face as she looked to the person that spoke her name. Marisol Woods was one of the last faces Noelle expected to see in the hospital wing at christmas, and definitely not someone she expected to overhear speaking about werewolves. But the mention of a wolfs bane potion in addition to mentions of the full moon and some sort of recovery was too obvious to deny. Noelle stood momentarily dumbfounded in the doorway, wondering if Marisol was indeed a werewolf or if she managed to hear everything incorrectly before she eventually realized she was yet to respond to the other girl and quickly piped up to answer her question, but could not withhold a sniffle before doing so. "I- I'm sick. I came here to see if the nurses could give me a potion to help because I can't play guitar like this." She chewed the inside of her cheek before walking towards the bed where Marisol was. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, I'm sorry, and my ears might be playing tricks on me, but were you just talking about werewolves?" She then asked, doing her best to keep her voice hushed despite her sickness requiring her to elevate her voice in order to be understood. It was a sudden question that was rude of her to ask, but the feelings of worry that a friend of hers was a werewolf and her incessant need to know everything had got the better of her.​

 

[Marisol Woods]

Marisol smiled weakly when Noelle said she was sick; it was nothing to be happy about but she really didn't enjoy the sight of her friend at this particular moment. "I'm sorry," she said in response to her friend's illness, but she strained to keep her composure as the girl asked about werewolves. Marisol quickly tried to think on her feet. "I - yes we were. We - uh - studied werewolves in Defense Against the Dark Arts this year so I was asking some questions for clarification," she explained hopefully. She didn't know how much of the conversation Noelle had heard so she didn't know if her lie would be believable. Though something about Noelle's expression told her that she had worked out the possible answer anyway so Marisol sighed and threw herself back on the fluffy pillows. "I don't know what you heard but...please don't say anything," she said, looking back at the girl. She still hadn't confirmed anything but a promise to keep anything a secret seemed to be a reasonable prerequisite to the looming conversation.​

 

[Noelle Seung]

What Noelle overheard sounded much more serious than a simple discussion about a topic studied in defence against the dark arts, but she wasn't about to mention this. Marisol seemed visibly uncomfortable and the Ravenclaw couldn't tell if it was due to their conversation, her sudden interruption, or the reason the other girl was in the hospital wing to begin with. But no matter the reason, Noelle didn't want to make whatever the issue was worse despite her curiosity nagging her to outright ask if the other girl was a werewolf. She instead stepped backwards and sat on one of the beds next to Marisol's, picking at her handkerchief in her lap while momentarily looking around the hospital wing for a nurse. When she realized there weren't any nearby, she looked back towards Marisol just as she asked Noelle not to say anything. Noelle tilted her head to one side as she spoke. "This sounds really suspicious, Marisol. What's happening with you?" It was unlike Noelle to be so blunt, but the other girl's words were too sudden and only made the entire interaction more concerning so she could not help but ask what was going on, even if the information she had gathered was tell tale enough in itself.​

 

[Marisol Woods]

Marisol bit her lip and looked around for a nurse just like Noelle did, but they hadn't noticed a newcomer so they were probably still in their offices. So inconvenient when she needed someone to save her from where this conversation was headed. However, as Noelle took a seat on a bed nearby Marisol softly inhaled to keep herself calm. She had a feeling Noelle had already worked out what the overheard conversation meant and the girl had not run off or looked at her in a disgusted way. Something about the Ravenclaw's calm behavior reassured her and she felt sure that she wouldn't say anything. So as Noelle asked her flat out what was going on, Marisol knew she was about to say something she had never admitted before. She took a deep breath and said, "I'm a werewolf." Marisol felt a huge weight lift off her shoulders for the first time ever. Unlike the way she spoke about it with others that knew about it, it was always referred to in subtext or related terms, like her 'condition' or 'situation' or 'affliction' making it seem taboo. It was why Marisol struggled so much to tell anyone about it; it was hard not to think of it as a bad thing when all those words had such negative connotations. Marisol waited with baited breath to see what the Ravenclaw would say and quietly asked again, "Please don't say anything."​

 

[Noelle Seung]

Noelle sucked in a breath, anticipating what Marisol's answer would be. For the most part she had figured out what was happening before she stumbled into the room, due to her conveniently timed eaves dropping. However asking the question and waiting for an answer was a different ballpark entirely that would confirm to Noelle that she was either dead wrong, or completely right. There was no backing out, even when the latter ended up being the truth as Marisol admitted she was a werewolf. Noelle simply sighed as a response, looking from Marisol and to the handkerchief in her lap. She waited a moment to take in all of the information and then eventually looked back towards the other girl with a soft expression. Lycanthropy was not a subject Noelle was familiar with, but she did know the basics of it. Enough to know it wasn't Marisol's fault and that it would keep her from enjoying a lot of things others took for granted. The fact she was in the hospital wing during he holidays being evidence of this. "It's okay. I won't tell anyone." She finally said. "Are you feeling alright now?" The question seemed appropriate given what she heard about a recovery. As she waited for an answer she moved her handkerchief over her nose and sniffled, not wanting to spread whatever she had to Marisol. The girl clearly had enough to deal with already.
​

 

[Marisol Woods]

The silence from Noelle was agony for Marisol. The latina ducked her head in shame when Noelle sighed and didn't say anything for a while, thinking she had just made a huge mistake. Although it felt somewhat liberating to finally confess a secret she had held in for two and a half years, it was not an easy pill for others to swallow right away, so she tried not to hold it against the Ravenclaw. After all, she had had more time to cope with her condition. Marisol willed herself not to cry because this was not Noelle's fault if she couldn't handle it, but she looked up again when the dark haired girl said she wouldn't say anything. Marisol smiled gratefully and said, "Thanks." Marisol bit her lip and wondered if other people would also give her pitying looks if she began telling them, because she didn't want that. She shrugged half-heartedly when Noelle asked her how she felt and said, "It's the last day of the full moon so the worst is over now," as she settled into her pillows. "You're actually the first person I've told. Ever," Marisol decided to tell her, smiling a little. Of all the people to know of Marisol's condition she had never expected it to be Noelle, but at least it was someone she liked.
​

 

[Noelle Seung]

Noelle bit her lower lip and nodded when Marisol explained that it was the last day of the full moon, meaning the worst was over. She didn't know what else she could do besides listen and attempt to understand because this was the first time she had ever learned a friend was plagued with something irreversible that had such a stigma behind it. As she continued to listen she could not help but think that Marisol deserved better; that she deserved to be with her family during the holidays instead of holed up in the hospital wing to recover from something she had no control over. That thought alone made her want to tear up but she instead stood up from the bed she was sitting and smiled while stepping closer to Marisol. "Thanks for telling me. I'm sorry to have interrupted, but it means so much. I'll keep your secret for as long as you need, okay?" Noelle said, moving her free hand to cover Marisol's in what would hopefully be interpreted as a comforting gesture. She was at a loss of what to do, but she did care about Marisol and wanted to help her. If this meant keeping her secret for her, regardless of who needed to know, she was willing to. She was well aware she could be giving her sickness to the gryffindor but believed that letting Marisol know her secret was safe, and that she was supported was worth having blocked sinues.​

 

[Marisol Woods]

Marisol breathed a sigh of relief as Noelle assured her she'd keep this information secret and nodded while smiling appreciatively. Marisol beamed as the Ravenclaw took her hand; she knew how some of the wizarding community could view werewolves as disease ridden so she appreciated the small gesture even more. It showed that Noelle wasn't disgusted with her. "Thank you," Marisol said again, feeling an overwhelming sense of affection for the Ravenclaw. Marisol made space for Noelle to take a seat on her hospital bed while they waited for a nurse to come, patting the space beside her. Then she felt the need to add, "I'm perfectly safe by the way, it's not contagious or anything and I'm locked away during my transi - during full moons so there's nothing to worry about." Judging by Noelle's comfort she knew that probably wasn't a major issue for her in regards to their friendship but the latina still felt the need to disclose this information to her, just to reassure her that she was not making a huge mistake in trusting her. "I'm sorry you're sick though," Marisol added, hoping to change the subject now that they had addressed the elephant in the room. She remembered that the Ravenclaw had mentioned not being able to play the guitar in this condition. "Have you learned any new songs since we last talked?" she asked pleasantly.​

 

[Noelle Seung]

Noelle continued to smile as Marisol thanked her, but hesitated when the girl moved to make space for her on the hospital wing bed. Sure, the Gryffindor's Lycanthropy wasn't contagious but Noelle's cold definitely was and risking sharing her sickness with more than a comforting gesture in the form of holding the girl's hand wasn't something Noelle wanted to do. It wasn't polite nor ladylike to share a sickness even if her intentions were nothing but good. She pursed her lips together in thought, wondering if Marisol would mind catching such an annoying cold but then dismissing that thought when she realized Marisol had made room for her with that knowledge. She moved her hand from Marisol's and sat on the empty space next to her while placing her handkerchief in the pocket of her cardigan. "It's just a cold, I'll get over it." She said after making herself comfortable, smiling as she sniffled. "I've learnt a couple of songs, but recently I've been more focused on perfecting the blues scale." She answered. "How have you been with school and everything?" It only seemed polite to turn the conversation back to Marisol and ask about something that wasn't the fact she was a werewolf.​

 

[Marisol Woods]

Marisol hadn't missed the hint of hesitation in Noelle's face when she invited her to sit on her hospital bed with her. But before she could question it, the Ravenclaw was sitting down beside her so Marisol thought perhaps she had just imagined it, forcing herself to see things that weren't actually there because she was so sure people would be turned off by her condition. Marisol considered perhaps it was because of the cold that the dark haired girl had, not wanting to spread it, but considering what she usually went through each month, a cold wouldn't be the worst thing she had. Marisol settled into the pillows and smiled as Noelle told her about what she played on the guitar. The Gryffindor didn't really know what she was talking about but she saw the way Noelle's eyes lit up when she talked about music so she was glad she had asked anyway. "I'd like to hear you play something again," Marisol said encouragingly. At the girl's next question, Marisol shrugged modestly. "School is fine, I think I'm improving in my classes," she said positively; she felt herself feeling cheered up and she attributed it to Noelle's presence and the entire liberating conversation. She was going to ask how Noelle's year had gone so far, but just then a nurse finally showed up, apologizing for not having attending to Noelle sooner.​