He had awoken violently from the voices echoed through his head from multiple people speaking at the same time. Horrific memories he had carved himself from unwilling people over the years. Those memories that the owners had either forgotten themselves or were no longer alive to remember; he was now the one who shouldered them all. A burden he had self sacrificed like some gods forsaken idiotic self-deprecating self-made martyr no one had asked for to take on.
Ezra clamped his hands over his head, interlocking his fingers and drawing his knees up to his chin. He vaguely recognised his body rocking gently as he squeezed his eyes shut in poor attempts to block out those voices. He felt something wet drip down and hit his bare chest, realising in some self depraved horror that it was tears.
The pain pounding through his head didn't let up, even as his stomach twisted nastily when he heard his bedroom door creak open. There was only one other person in the house, no physical possible way for anyone that didn't live here to enter it. Ezra released his stiff fingers from the hold his hands had on themselves and pressed his palms against his eyes to try and somewhat hide the mortifying tears that would not stop leaking from his godsdamned eyeballs from Linden.
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Finally free from the confines of that dreaded ball, Evan sat freely. His eyes closed as his back relaxed gently against the wooden back of the chair. His hands nursed the drink he'd just purchased.
Gryffindor not Glass (aka Lee's week after the ball) Part I
Artemis set out a basket full of rolled parchment on Leeās desk. She stroked his owlās feathered head before she unlocked it's cage and opened the window."If anyone sends him something you give them one of these okay,Bridget?"
Each of the pieces of parchment had the same message:
Hello,
Lee canāt answer your owl at the moment, but heāll get back to you as soon as he can.Ā
Sincerely,Artemis Williams (P.S. I'm his cousin.)
(For length)
It had only been a few hours, but Artemis had hoped he'd be awake by now. Her Aunt Laura smiled slightly at her in greeting before returning to her crossword. Uncle Clarence was snoring in the chair next to her. Artemis sat in a chair near Lee's bed and frowned as Lee shouted in his sleep again. She'd known he'd talked in his sleep, but she wished she knew how to bring him out of it. She wondered what he was seeing and feeling and forcing him to make such dreadful noises...
The battles and moments of fear he had fought mixed and blurred in his mind in a slurry of remembered sensations: Screams and weeping, the trembling of the ground, the acrid smell of burnt cloth and charred wood, the zingy residue spells left behind in the air, fingers clinging to the thin wood of the broom handle above his head, suspending him above the flamesĀ the wind rushing past...Ā
...At the sound of crunched leaves, Lee sat up in his tent. He had thought he was utterly alone. He held his breath, flattened himself against the slightly frozen ground, crawled forward to peek out the the opening flap of his tent and hoped the strength of his own protective spells and charms were enough.His breath caught in his throat. He spied the figure in a blood red dress, her arm extended, flicking her wrist,wand aimed downward making a figure thrash and squirm on the ground. He should do something, but what?
"LET HIM GO!"Ā
Lee's gaze shifted to the source of the voice.Jennie? Wait, he didn't know her yet.How--?
And he was on the ground, the leaves crunching as another wave of pain hit him, and his screams tore upward into the skyā¦.
"When will he wake up?"
The words didn't make sense. He couldn't sleep through this.He rolled to his side and a once polished floor was beneath his cheek. He stared at dust shaken from the ceilings, rubble powdering forgotten pastries, punch bowls cracked like eggs on the floor,Ā punch and wine ran into pools of blood,broken heels and fancy shoes and ripped trains tossed aside...
They weren't Artemis' eyes.Ā These eyes were black, hard, unyielding, boring into him--never had he seen them like this.Bellatrix Lestrange had stolen them. She had called him 'Reporter Boy' again.Why was he still getting ready for the ball? And what had happened to Artemis?
āShe killed him, Lee. IāI know you have things to sort through in your own head, butā¦Come back. Please.ā
Dammit, Lee. He knew he shouldn't have gone to the door without his wand.Ā Fight this. But he didn't know...what had she done with Artemis?Ā Unable. He was unable and incapable of tearing away.Nothing moved the way it ought to. Nothing...
"You're going home today, son. And that girl you're seeing? She's gorgeous. Well done."
He was hurting her. No. Not Jennie. No.No. No. "Don't hurt her. No.Don't...STOP."
"Lee...Please wake up, Lee."
He opened his eyes.She was crying. He didn't...No. "I don't want to hurt you."
"You're not hurting me, Lee."
"I am, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..." It wasn't enough. He couldn't think of words that would convey just how much he wished he could stop.He could almost feel her hand on his cheek, but he didn't deserve to be comforted after not fighting hard enough.And he wanted to fight, but he was exhausted...He was weak.
"Lee, you're not. Please wake up."
He opened his eyes. She was okay.He wasn't...he'd stopped? But..."Then why are you still crying?"
She stared at him for a moment in alarm, then touched her forehead to his, "Lee. You're awake."
"Hm.Hi.Yeah...I'm so tired."
"Iām not sure what the nurse wantsā¦. But I think you can rest."
"Iām in a bed, arenāt I? I am resting..."he protested sleepily before closing his eyes.
The next time he woke, the Healer hesitantly told him he had to leave the bed--they needed it for other patients. He didn't understand the hesitation. He wanted out of the bloody bed. "Yeah, sure."
His mother rolled in the wheelchair. He glared at her,āIāll walk.ā He threw the bed covers aside and stood intending to walk out of the room. He made it halfway. He leaned on a chair panting.He left it, tripped over his own feet, and crashed to the floor. His mother squeaked in alarm. He didnāt look at her."Iām notā¦ made of glassā¦"He said.He pushed himself up into a seated position, his back leaning against the wall."Iām fine.Iāll just apparate home."
"That wouldn't be the best idea,"said the Healer. "Two more days. Then you can apparate. But you should rest for at least a week. No work.Nothing stressful."
"This isn't stressful? Not knowing what the hell is going on?"
"You just need time. The Cruciatus Curse and Imperius Curse are mental and physical attacks. And with someone like Lestrange pulling the strings you never know if--" The Healer stopped herself,"You're still recovering, but there's nothing more we can do for you here. And we need the bed."
"I told you. You can have the bed...Stop harping on the bloody bed."
"What about Side-Along Apparation?"said Lee's father.
The Healer nodded, "That's fine.He may be queasier than usual."
Lee's father held out a hand. Lee sighed. He grabbed it and pulled himself to his feet. His father patted him on the back reassuringly before wrapping an arm around his shoulders,"Ready?"
He was suppose to be resting, but resting was boring. He had laid on his bed, on his couch, on the table he ate meals upon, and out on the dinky balcony he didn't really use because it barely fit a deck chair. Now, he was on the floor next to his couch and vaguely thinking he didn't know where else he ought to try resting. There was a tap on the window near his writing desk. He climbed to his feet and let the owl in. He took the letter,smiled, and thanked the owl before it zoomed back out. He sat at his desk and opened the letter. Huh. Malfoy. He wondered what it could possibly be about this time.
He read.He was relieved Malfoy had told him not to breathe a word. He didn't see how he'd explain it to anyone. He had already thanked him whether it had been sincere or because he had felt obligated to in a letter after the Harry and Malfoy duel.This and the offer of allowing him to use a safe house was completely unnecessary. Lee folded the letter back up and slipped it into a drawer.
It seemed there were quite a few unexpected things happening of late...
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He did not understand.He could barely think. Electricity crackled cruelly under his skin,Ā hitting every nerve ending andĀ ricochetingĀ through his veins,Ā zapping and sparking and scorching. He could Ā hear Jennie's pleas and he wished he could cease thrashing and shrieking. He wanted to stop frightening her. He wanted this to stop. He was scared of what would happen when it did. If it stopped, what would that mean? Would he be forced to fling more curses at people he cared about? Or worse? Would she focus on Jennie instead? He didn't know if he'd be able to help.He couldn't...He should've said no...
