Mara's Magic

iii - the episode

I was walking with Oliver to Potions when it first happened. 

A splitting pain went through my head, starting at the back and working its way through. My hands flew up to the back of my head, pressing against it hard as I cried out, my knees crippling. I would've fallen if it weren't for Oliver catching me. He tried to stabilize me, calling out to me, but his words were muffled by a loud ringing in my ears. I shut my eyes tightly. It felt as though I'd been shot in the head. But, after a few moments, the pain began to fade and I could hear him again. 

"Mars? Mara, what's wrong? Love, can you hear me?" He asked frantically, searching my face for any sign that I was fully aware again. I breathed heavily and lowered my hands, analyzing them. No blood. I looked up at him with panicked eyes. He grabbed my hands and steadied me again.

"What happened?" He asked gently, his words soft in tone and volume. I winced despite the words being whispers.

"I... I don't know."

"Do you want to go to Madam Pomfrey?" He asked slowly, just as quiet as before. 

"No," I said, shaking my head lightly. "No, I'm fine. It was probably just a migraine. My dad gets them sometimes. I'll be fine," I promised him. 

He gave in, but continued to watch me carefully throughout the class period. I knew it wasn't a migraine. Arthur does get them and they last for hours at a time. He gets nauseous and can't even bear to see the light. He doesn't get them often, but when he does, he's out for a day or two, and Molly puts up blackout curtains in order to ease his pain. 

I wasn't nauseous. The light didn't hurt. It only lasted a few seconds. 

It wasn't a migraine.

It happened a few more times over the next couple of weeks, but I had always been with a friend or brother or Oliver and always told them it was a migraine or a headache and that I was okay. Each time, the symptoms changed some. The second time it happened, there was no ringing in my ears, but everything was blurry. The third time, the ringing was back and my heart burned aggressively. The fourth, I saw spots for about fifteen minutes. The fifth, I felt repeated pains in my heart and head, as though someone was hammering away at me, but my hearing and vision was completely fine. Oliver was convinced that something was wrong and begged me to see Madam Pomfrey, but I refused. Over the next couple of weeks, they became less frequent and I was fine. I thought it went away. It didn't. 

It happened again the week before the last day of school, but it was worse. 

I was walking alone to see Minnie after lunch on that Sunday and suddenly it felt as though I had been shot through the back of the head. I yelled out, instant tears filling my eyes. My knees gave out and, without Oliver there to catch me, I hit the floor hard. My head collided with the stone floors as I curled into a ball as tightly as I could. One of my hands pushed against the back of the my head and the other the front, the entrance and exit wounds of the theoretical bullet. I squeezed my eyes shut and quickly got lightheaded. I screamed again, letting out a choked sob. 

The ringing in my ears returned, but I managed to hear heavy footsteps running towards me. I opened my eyes slightly and spotted Minnie kneeling next to me hurriedly before I shut my eyes again. Another bullet flew through my head in the exact same spot and suddenly all I could see was red. Even though my eyes were closed, blotches of maroon red spilled into sight. I cried out again, squeezing my eyes shut even tighter but it wouldn't go away. I slammed my hands against my eyes, trying to see black, but there was only red. It started to fade, but my vision was getting lighter. The deep red turned into a bright red, then a pink, and suddenly everything was white.