Visiting Rights

[Celina Jedynak]

January 24, 2008
After the morning Quidditch games...

It’d been five days and one dose of Dragon Pox potion since Celina had freaked out in the potions classroom, enough to finally have Alfonz carry her sorry excuse for a girl to the hospital wing. What had happened during the class, and after, was a blur. Her mind had been frying slightly from her high fevers, and her delusions could hardly made remembering anything that happened possible. All Celina could remember was that she was more upset than ever at her friends, for something they’d said or done, or rather, what she believed they said or done. And Alfonz when she ran to him, didn’t help her at all…

As she lay in the hospital bed, one of the healers had come to her and said that she’d be having visitors that day that had come by earlier to speak with her when she was sleeping. Who they were, Celina didn’t know, but she hoped that it was Alfonz. Maybe it wouldn’t be, but she really wanted to see him before whatever she had said or done sunk in too deeply with him. She’d just been so angry… what had she done?

Her eyes were heavy and as she laid in her bed Celina could hear footsteps. Possibly someone for her, or possibly another just passing through, but either way, the chills and fevers were still raging slightly, throat was scratchy, and every once and a while she’d fall into a fit or two of coughs. Ugh, she felt horrible. But in a day or so, she’d be better and that would just be that. However, until then… she’d be laying in the hospital wing’s bed, until her third dosage of potion was taken…

What did it matter any ways… Celina thought to herself as she realized nothing really was worth it anymore any ways.

(OPEN)

[Isabella Huntington]

How she had managed to get from Gryffindor Tower to the Hospital Wing with no help, Izzy didn't know. The first year was so weak now that the school nurse had to practically carry her toward the first empty bed, all the while muttering about how so many of the students waited too long before getting treated. Izzy was one of those students, who had nobody to blame but herself for being as bad off as she was. She had known for almost a week now that she most definitely had dragon pox, but the stubborn red head decided against getting treatment until she absolutely needed it. That was all because of her competitive side, which was still reeling over Gryffindor's standings in the house point competition. One way a student could earn points was through classes, and she knew that she wouldn't be in classes the minute she visited the nurse for treatment.

But her health had gotten considerably worse over the last couple days, to a point where Izzy realized that she needed to go down to the Hospital Wing as soon as possible. She had gone through all of her classes yesterday as miserable as can be, promising herself that after she went to bed that night, she'd go down to the nurse as soon as she woke up that next morning.

And here she was, keeping the promise to herself, as she sat down on the bed that the nurse had led her to. She hadn't even bothered to change into her school robes after waking up, so the first year was still in her pajamas... it probably wasn't accepted at Hogwarts for students to be going around the castle in their nightwear, but the rules could kiss her bum. Besides, she was soon tucked under the covers, stuffed animal clutched to her chest, as she watched the nurse hurry away to retrieve her first dose of the Dragon Pox antidote. After the woman was out of sight, Izzy sighed and turned her head to the side, her green eyes landing on an older Ravenclaw student who looked even worse than she was. Izzy debated saying something to the girl, but then decided against it, figuring that the student would rather sleep than talk.

[Celina Jedynak]

The footsteps stopped, and beyond the doorway, she could hear someone speaking to another person. About what, she couldn't tell, for her head was too clogged to even realize or care at that moment in time. Celina's scratchy and burning throat demanded something cool and icy to be running through it, and as she opened her eyes one more time, she knew that the luke warm water that was on the nightstand next to her bed was probably the best she'd be able to come up with.

Reaching for the glass, her body ached and her head feeling heavier than it normally did, her fingers just barely could manage to reach the glass. However, as she tried to lift it, that was another story. The glass slipped from condensation that had formed, and fell, crashing as it hit the ground. The glass scattered across the floor and Celina's lower lip quivered as all she had wanted to do was have a drink. She couldn't even do that right!

Look at that... pathetic... shutting her eyes tightly, the nurse told her that the delusions would fade as her fever broke, but as of yet Celina still could hear her father's voice pounding in her ears. Whimpering, she turned her face into her pillow... "Please... stop..." she mumbled to herself in the pillow.

[Isabella Huntington]

The sound of shattering glass startled Izzy, causing her to jump in her bed. Using the very small rush of adrenaline she had just gotten from the sudden noise, the Gryffindor looked back over at the girl in the bed next to hers. Her face was stuffed into the pillow and she was muttering something... Izzy couldn't make it out. Had the noise scared her, too? Or maybe she was responsible for it. The first year looked down at the floor to get her answer - the puddle of water and glass shards between the two beds were enough to determine that it was the girl who had caused the noise.

She glanced up, expecting to see the nurse come rushing over to clean up the accident. However, the woman was nowhere in sight, probably still in the back getting Izzy's concoction ready. Wincing from the pain as she swallowed, the Gryffindor turned back to the girl whose head was still buried in the pillow. "Are... you okay?" she asked cautiously, wondering if she should've kept with her choice to leave the Ravenclaw alone.

[Devin Baines]

Devin opened her eyes slowly, wondering what had woken her. A muffled voice said something, although she could not tell what through the haze of fever. She tried to roll over away from the noises nearby, but her tired body and mind only seemed up for a slight shift. Hopefully it did not attract the attention of the other people in the Hospital Wing. She knew it was for her own good, but really, she was done with being fussed over now.

The nurse had found that Devin had Dragon Pox a few days ago (she wasn’t sure when that was exactly), and judging by the symptoms she had, she had probably had it for a while. Now that she knew what it was, she felt worse than ever, itchy and achy and very tired.

One of her Muggle-born friends had once described something similar; something she had called...Chicky Pox, maybe? She couldn’t remember anymore. All she knew was that this was probably worse. She hoped the girl didn’t get this too. It would be awful if she got both.

Another voice—a girl’s, she thought—asked, “Are...you okay?” Devin grunted and made another shift in her bed. This one was more successful, and she felt her body turn a little. Settling into a new position, she pulled her pillow down toward her neck a bit and hoped to get back to sleep soon.

[Celina Jedynak]

Celina turned her head, her eyes wide as she hoped the voice that she then heard was real and not in her head. It was from another though, and Celina sighed in relief. "I...I..." she looked at the floor and saw the glass and the water she had spilled. Celina could see a shadow and out of the corner of her eyes, another movement. There was another in another bed... they all seemed to have the same thing. Celina could hardly talk but she sighed again and shrugged her shoulders. "Are any of us really ok?" Celina asked, though she shouldn't have...

They were young kids... they didn't understand anymore than she probably did.

[Isabella Huntington]

For some reason, the only thing that Izzy could do in response to Celina's question was laugh. It was entirely appropriate for their situation, but the Gryffindor still found it amusing. The older girl was right - none of the poor students in the Hospital Wing were ok. These Dragon Pox were terrible, with symptoms ranging from dizziness, to sore throats, to hallucinations, and even - or so she heard - fire breathing. While Izzy was lucky enough not to have experienced the last two, she was still pretty bad off, with her sore throat and itchy scabs that she couldn't resist scratching off - surely she'd have some scars later. That was the least on her mind though. All she could focus on was getting better. She wanted to stop feeling like crap, and she wanted to get well enough so she wouldn't have to stay too long confined to a bed - the first year hated to stay still.

"True," Izzy finally answered, to what was probably a rhetorical question. And with that, the Gryffindor laid back down, looking up at the tall ceiling. This was the first time that she had ever been in the Hospital Wing, so her green eyes were constantly moving around, scanning over everything she could see. During one of her exploring adventures, she had tried to come in, but she had gotten yelled at by the nurse... only those who needed medical assistance were allowed in. So the Hospital Wing as well as the staff offices were the only rooms Izzy had yet to check out... Well... there could possibly be another room, the one she had been told about six months ago.

The first year bit her lip, debating whether she should ask the Ravenclaw about this room. Would she sound stupid? Was it actually just an ongoing joke with the older kids, its only use to see how gullible the first years were? Regardless, Izzy was getting frustrated that she had yet to find this room. Was she just wasting her time, or was it actually real and hidden somewhere? "Hey..." she started, after finally deciding that she'd just ask. "Do you know anything about some kind of secret room? It has a title... 'The Room of'... something."

[Celina Jedynak]

Oh yes, Celina knew exactly the room that they young girl was speaking of. As she layed on her bed, her pillow in her face, she turned slowly to the side to face where the girl was laying, a small smirk gracing her sick features. Nodding her head, Celina giggled as much as her sore throat and body would allow. Did she know of the Room of Requirement? She wanted to say that the girl should ask Felicity Hjort... maybe about the time Celina had first taken her friend their, in preparation to put her to sleep with a spell that would break when her true love kissed her. Or the times that there were parties in the room that Celina was invited to....

True, there hadn't been many... but even the story of how her harp had drawn so many into a concert she'd never announced... the magic of that room, blended with the magic of the harp she had, only made that night even more spectacular. And even when Arianna joined her with the piano, Celina knew that no one would have been there if it hadn't been for the rooms abilities to eventually draw everyone to it.

"Oh, yes," again she nodded. "I know of the room. It's officially called the room of requirement..." Celina said no more, her throat hurting so. She cleared it, hoping the coughing fit would scratch it slightly. After a few minutes she sighed and looked back at the girl. "Why do you ask?" she questioned curiously.

[Isabella Huntington]

To hear that there actually was a room, that she hadn't been told that just because she was a firstie and the older years wanted to see how gullible she was, made Izzy forget about her current physical state. "Really?!" she asked as she sat up quickly, her face filled with excitement. Almost immediately she collapsed back on the bed as her sudden movement caused the dizzy symptom to attack her full force. She let out a moan as her stomach flipped, ready to expel her non-existent breakfast. This really, really sucked. Why did Dragon Pox have to be so bad? She'd had the Chicken Pox when she was younger, and the only thing that made her miserable with that was the itching. And where was the nurse? Did it take that long to get the antidote?

At that moment, the woman came hurrying over to the Gryffindor with a cup of what Izzy assumed was the medicine used to cure the illness that plagued a good portion of the school. The red head gratefully took it and did her best to get it all down, despite it's undesirable flavor and her nausea. She barely paid attention to the nurse as the older woman explained the side effects of the medication and that those with Dragon Pox needed to take more than just one dose, blah, blah, blah. Soon enough the woman was gone again, giving Izzy a chance to talk to the Ravenclaw next to her about the room.

"One of the Ravenclaw prefects told me about it after she helped me load my luggage onto the train," she explained as she slowly turned her head to face the girl. "I didn't know whether to believe her or not. I spent so much time searching the castle for it because it sounded cool, but I never found it." She paused for a second, realizing that if this girl knew about it... maybe she knew where it was. "Do you know where it is?"