A night at the office (open)

Blackness, wallowing like dark waves around her, a current threatening to pull her under. There were moments, when she thought to break the surface, but outside of the blackness was only pain. Burning like a black fire, burning into her skin. But she would rise again, she was the phoenix, fire couldn't harm her, right? This fire, however, it was different. It was not purifying, it was evil. The black waves made it bearable, so slowly Fanny started to like them. They were peaceful at least, wrapping her like into a comfortable, loving embrace. Why not stay here forever?

But then there was something else... a voice, piercing the peaceful blackness and silence. It brought a discord to the dark harmony, it annoyed Fanny. She didn't want to listen... the voice only brought back the pain. But then it came again, and with it something similarly painful. Light. It drove away the black waves and they retreated slowly, leaving her body exposed to the cold burning. Fanny groaned in protest, trying to lift her hand to shield her eyes from the light, but that only brought more pain as the blistering skin chafed against the fabric of her clothes. Another groan which chased the waves even further back, until they were suddenly gone. Now the words even made sense, belatedly. Can you hear me?

"Ugh...“ she groaned again, but then realized that that wasn't exactly an answer, therefore her lips lazily formed the word she needed. „Y-yes...“
She knew that voice, didn't she? Apparently she had really made it, she was in the Hospital Wing and this was Antonia Conningford, the nurse. What did she have to tell her again? Ah yes... secrecy! Haley shouldn't know, Haley MUSTN'T know what she had done! Haley would freak out and blame her again she was risking everything with her stupid continuous solo runs. „Haley...“ she whispered, her mind still hazy, though that thought was crystal clear. „Don't tell... Haley...“

For a moment Fanny believed she had fallen unconscious again, for she felt as if she was floating, being lifted off the ground and moved through the room. But then she realized belatedly that this in fact was the case. The few seconds of hovering in mid air had been a great pain relief and even now that she was put down on soft cushions and a feather bed, it made such a difference from the hard floor before. The blisters still burned and she still felt like being inside a cold, consuming fire, but it became almost bearable. Her jaw muscles rigid with self-control, she tried to assess her situation more clearly. She hadn't been victim of this particular hex before, so she didn't know whether the effects would be instantly reversible. But there was still hope.

„I know“, that came pressed, but not without a slightly humourous undertone. Where else after all would there be a woman clad in white and dozens of unoccupied beds? „This was, in fact, my destination.“ She didn't want to sound know-it-all or aloof, but she had found before that one of her coping mechanisms with pain and trouble was sarcasm. It was one of those things greatly distinguishing her from Haley, so she had cultivated it even a bit over the last few years. People who knew her well even ignored it by now, never taking offense.

Fanny winced in advance as she saw that bottle with medicine. Paste or salve, most likely, but that also meant Matron Conniford's fingers would have to apply them. That meant more pain, before the relief would come. She braced herself, taking a few deep breaths and releasing them slowly, then gave a little sheepish, almost apologetic smile. „They're everywhere... just to warn you. My whole body--“ she took in a sharp breath as the first bits of paste were applied by the nurse's gentle and careful breath. The upflaming of pain was so strong it nearly made her sick, and she balled her fists and grit her teeth hard so she would not cry out.

„Fran—Francesca Dakota“, she panted, screwing up her eyes as she fought for control. „Gryffindor Sixth year. But please... please, don't tell anyone I was here...“

The paste, like all magical medicine, already worked wonders, though Fanny knew well enough that the worst was still ahead of her: The seperating of clothes and skin, where the blisters had opened up raw flesh. Already the cloth stuck to the wounds at some places, she could feel it. Her worst fear at the moment was the taking off of her trousers. Unbidden, a story someone once had told her rose to the forefront of her mind, about a girl having simmering hot tea spilt over her legs, so when they tried to take off her trousers, parts of her skin had simply... peeled off, leaving her scarred for life. It was not vanity that made Fanny nearly despair at these thoughts, it was the simple guess that such a thing couldn't be hid from people, least of all someone as perceptive as her sister.

„No time...“ she replied with a smile that turned into a distorted grimace as a new wave of pain hit her. „That's... an acceptable period in my eyes, – MERLIN'S BA--“ she cut off the curse belatedly, as one edge of her sleeve came free of her skin with a sickening squishing sound. „Oy..." At least the pain was slowly stopping where the blisters had disappeared, so the pain centered on a few selected spots, instead of simply being everywhere at once. Sykes, I'll kill you for this... she raged inwardly, and if it's the last thing I'll do, I'll wipe that arrogant sneer off your face! Next time it'll be YOU on the floor!

In principle, Fanny was by no means violent, but there was no reason to be gained from this moment. It just felt good to rant and rave that way, even if she didn't mean half of it. As there seemed to be a momentary pause of pain, she found a little time to gather her thoughts and think on what the nurse had just asked her. Of course she could not tell the whole truth. No one could know she had been out at this time, so there was no way to rat out Sykes and his goons anyway. They were the ones in power right now, the Carrows or even just the Headmaster would never lay a hand on their fosterlings. They were team evil, all together! But how far could she go with half truths? How deep would Matron Conniford dig?

„I know...“ she started hesitantly. „But sometimes there are things more important than... curfews. And what would be the difference, whether I told you who did this or not? They won't get punished for it, so why do you want to know?“
The nurse should be neutral, for all she knew... but was there really a neutral position in this interal school war?