Band-aids and Boyfriends pv Closed

The duo walked through the stone corridors passing satisfyingly satiated students. Charles leaned in near Marco and whispered, “If one of these buggers is the git who hit you; point him out." As they waded through the herd of pupils Charles kept a keen eye on Marco to see if he reacted at all with any of the students they were passing, but Charles had no such luck. The boy didn't think that the criminal would be among his peers around here, he knew that the perpetrator would be in the dungeons. There's no one slimier than a Slytherin. The excited chatter and march of footsteps echoed down the hallway as Charles and Marco walked towards the stairs that lead to the third floor.

Hogwarts was large you couldn't deny it, Charles marveled at its grandeur and elegance. The small apartment he called home was narrow and dinky, it was nothing compared to the castle of Hogwarts. The castle concealed many wonders, one of Charles' favorites (besides the grounds, Quidditch Pitch, and greenhouses) was the moving staircases. Always in motion and always revealing new secrets and rooms within the walls of the magical castle, the moving staircases never ceased to amaze Charles.

Marco and Charles stepped onto the third floor and entered the hospital wing. Two students, a little older than the pair that walked in, lay on beds opposite each other. Sleeping or unconscious Charles couldn't tell and even if he could the boy wouldn't have time to check. A scowling nurse marched toward them, she mumbled something about bloody crazy kids as she ripped Marco away from Charles. The nurse caught Charles off guard, he stood there for a moment and watched the nurse plop his friend onto the clean white linens that wrapped the bed tight. Marco looked at the nurse bewildered by her actions and attitude.

Charles shook his head a bit and brought his attention back to the present moment, Marco looked as though he might die without Charles next to him. Charles stifled a giggle, he had to admit, it was a bit funny to see Marco's reaction. The boy walked over next to his friend to give him comfort, Marco always seemed like he was outside his element here at Hogwarts. Charles wanted to make sure his fellow Hufflepuff could call this place home, even if it took a little longer than the other students to get comfortable here in the castle. The nurse looked at him, “Did you do this? Of course not, why would you bring him here if you did.”

“You boys, you never will learn. Always getting into fights, stirring up a ruckus and who's here to clean it up?” The nurse shook her head. “You lot are a bunch of troublemakers, when will you learn.” She whisked her wand from her robes and touched the tip lightly to Marco's nose. A tiny pop could be heard and Marco flinched as his nose bleed once again. The nurse turned her wand slightly and the blood ran back into the Russian's nose. The only evidence of the scuffle lay across the bridge of Marco's nose where a nasty purple bruise formed. “Maybe that will remind you to stay out of trouble hmm?”

She walked away after telling him to rest a bit and Marco obliged. Charles sat down next to him, “Hey, what's wrong Marco? You seem a little uneasy.” Could it be the torn picture still bothering him? “Next, all we have to do is find someone who knows the Mending Charm. Should be a piece of cake right?” Charles looked around the hospital wing, the other two kids were still asleep, but he did notice a couple more students reading in the cots or scribbling things down. “I betcha one of these blokes knows a thing or two.”

He offered a shaky smile. "I am not fond of nurses, yeah?" He means to stay that as a statement, but it kind of just sounded like a question. This feeling of distrust with doctors came from when he was younger. When he was born, he had a sickness similar to his older brother, who passed away from it at the age of eight(8). He spent a lot of time in the hospital because of this, and the nurses were convinced he was going to die from it as well, but he proved to still be living. Ever since he used to watch nurses look at him with this sick sense of pity for him, he hasn't trusted a nurse since.

He actually seemed to ease a bit with the other sitting next to him, his eyes lazily looking over at the other's face. He seemed to smile a bit at the other's comment about the other's in the room, assuming Charles was joking. "Want to ask them, yes?" Does he know how to ask a proper question?

He crossed his legs. "Maybe one of them know Repai... Repaairo?" He dragged out his 'a' sound a bit, trying to get the right pronunciation. He looked around at the other students. Are they trustworthy? Would any of them even know the spell? What if they ruin the picture more? With all of these thoughts, he glanced at Charles instead. Maybe if Charles trusts them, so can he? It shouldn't be that hard... Just smile and be polite like him. Yeah, maybe that would work. Maybe some students wouldn't think he's so reserved all of the time. He really does try to be friendly!! He even leaves pastries he makes out in the Hufflepuff common room for others sometimes. People seem to like them too! I don't think they know they're from him though. But it's not like he really needs the recognition.

Charles cocked his head, "Why don't you like nurses? I think they're helpful." One of the boy's on the other beds began to stir and looked up at the other on the bed. The unknown third year whipped his head over towards Charles, "Is he alright? Please tell me if he's okay." His eyes begged for an answer as the nurse marched over toward him, "Mr. Jameson will be fine William no thanks to you, the next time you think it's okay to practice the Slug Curse you look back on today, do ye hear?" The nurse gave a firm gesture to William as he lowered his head, "Yes madam." The nurse walked to Marco and gave him a glass of water and some crackers. "There isn't much I can do now, just wait for the bruise to go away." She looked at Charles and tsked and marched back to her office.

"Blimey, I guess we didn't help with her mood did we?" Charles said as he flashed a cheeky grin to Marco. Charles hoped to get a laugh but he started to understand his Russian friend, who wasn't much for showing emotion. Probably not on purpose, Charles figured he was just a bit shy, so Charles decided that he wanted to help coax him out of his shell. Charles lifted the two jagged halves of his friend's picture and glanced at Marco then at the William boy.

"I'd guess that boy over there is a second or third year, probably knows the Mending Charm. Do you want to have a look?" It's best to give him the choice if I ask him he'll have to answer. Charles hoped that Marco would say yes and put a little faith in another person, and hopefully, if the third year was willing to help, Marco would start to come out of his shell. Charles had a lot of experience with hurt animals, always tried to sneak him past his mum. Kittens, birds, a mouse or two. He'd let Penelope see them of course, he always shared his secrets with his sister. She loved the kittens but didn't care much for the rats, but Charles loved them all.

The boy possessed an ability like none other, to connect and love deeply with most any living creature or plant. From the proud sunflower to the sturdy dandelion. He didn't care what it was because, in his mind, a weed was just a flower waiting to be appreciated. An injured animal, however, never wanted to be bothered but if you gave them a choice, sometimes, they put their trust in you. Marco was much more complex than any animal, as humans are, but the same basic instinct remains the same. C'mon Marc, just a bit of faith.

He understood what the other had said, but simply didn't reply, not finding the right words in his English vocabulary to explain the pain and money his family went through because of doctors. The thousands of dollars spent just to be told that his brother had died because they couldn't do anything to save him. The fear and pity in the nurses eyes that grasped Marco like a fist, like he was a lost cause. How they did next to nothing to help him in trying times because they believed he wouldn't survive. How Lyrell was forced to fly home and held him with choked sobs because she was informed Marco was on his last days. How she missed half of her 3rd year at Hogwarts to be next to his side. How she would stay past visiting hours because for her those rules didn't apply. How she tried every spell and potion she could think of to fix him. How many hours of sleep she lost. How her father would stand outside his door at yell at the nurses how useless they were. How they should be able to do better because that was HIS little boy and how dare they say to HIS face that HIS son could never recover. How his father held Lyrell while she screamed and hit him because she just couldn't deal with it. How he left perfectly healthy without their help. How he had to watch his family struggle with debt after it all ended. How they had to sell their car and his bikes and all of their family's china just to be able to pay it off. He couldn't describe it. But the memory was burned into the back of his eyelids. He will never forget the grief doctors caused he and his family.

He seemed to zone out thinking about it, only snapping back into reality when another boy in the room began to speak, and how the nurse stomped up to them and spoke too fast, he couldn't understand. But he didn't really care. He took the crackers and water, mumbling a small thank you to her with a nod.

He offered a meek laugh at the other's comment, smiling some. Thoughts of his grief slipping from his mind. Charles would be surprised at just how expressive Marco could be, at least, when he felt good enough to. Right now he's still in the awkward phase in between trust and uncertainty with Charles. But he's getting there, just give him a bit more time.

He didn't really understand Charles' question, bu he got the gist of it. He wanted to ask if that other boy knew a mending charm. He knew that much. He looked to Charles with uncertainty, but his optimistic
smile and cheerful words calmed him surprisingly quick, and he gave a gentle nod. "Would not hurt to ask, yes?" He said carefully, putting his trust in Charles. It was surprising how fast Charles seemed to win Marco over with a few nice words and that big smile. It was nice, reassuring that maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to trust others. Maybe he could trust someone other than Lyrell for once. The idea seemed a bit surreal to him, but he didn't mind. Charles was his friend, right? Friends care about each other. Charles cares about him.

While Marco wasn't one for scooping animals up off the streets, Lyrell sure was. She once came home with a whole box of kittens and cared for them like they were her own children. She became really protective of them, but she never restrained them from leaving or anything. They were allowed to roam freely through their house and outside, because she trusted they'd always come back home to her when they needed to. She also brought home this huge mop dog that she found huddled up in a box outside her school, and baited him home with strawberries from her lunch box. That one sure shocked dad to see, Lyrell cuddled up on the couch with a huge soaking wet dog in her lap, sound asleep next to the fireplace. As much as their father tried, he could never really stop Lyrell from such shenanigans, quickly becoming less and less surprised every time she brought something home. Marco's personal favorite were these eggs she found in a broken nest on the ground, she kept them warm and safe until hey hatched into beautiful little blue jays, which flew all over the house and pooped on everything. Marco always got sucked into cleaning up whatever mess they made, but he didn't really mind, it was actually quite an amazing experience watching something grow from an egg into a full fledged bird. He remembers opening the door when they were all grown up and watching them fly away, but they came back during the winters for the warmth inside the house. It was their home. He wonders what kind of creatures she had dragged into Sir Sevyn's home. The idea of Lyrell showing up one day with another large dog brought a lopsided grin to his lips. That part of her would never change. Such a sweetheart.