Mara's Magic

iii - all wrapped up

I woke up, confused as to where I was. A tan curtain was drawn around my bed. I looked down at the sheets, seeing that they were a slightly discolored white, and spotted a light brown compression bandaged wrapped securely around my wrist. As I sat up, I felt my shoulder rubbing against a strip of gauze and as I continued to try to stand, I noticed that my ribs were also wrapped in it. I propped myself up against the bed as I scooted towards the side stand that had about a million different vials sitting on it. I pulled the drawer open and found the mirror that Madam Pomfrey had gotten out for me when I was in here only a few weeks prior, raising it to see what damage I had to my head and face.

I expected bandages and blood and scratches. I didn't get that.

I looked normal.

There was nothing other than the scars from my werewolf attack.

Suddenly, the curtain ripped open and I found Minnie standing there with a worried expression.

"Mara, what are you doing?" She asked.

"Standing up," I replied, furrowing my eyebrows in annoyance. "How long have I been out?"

She watched me suspiciously. "Two hours."

"Two hours?" I repeated, my mouth falling open in shock. She nodded. "What happened?"

She didn't answer me directly, instead shooting a question in return. "Wood said that this has been happening for the last few weeks. What do you remember from those?"

"Each time was different," I admitted timidly, sitting on the edge of my bed once more. "But, they all got progressively until what happened today. It felt like I'd been shot, Minnie. Through the head. Multiple times."

"I'm sorry?" She asked, her brows knitting together. "Like you'd been shot?"

"Yes." I explained to her everything that I felt and each time I would add something new, the wrinkles in her forehead would crease more. After I finished, she brought Albus to me and had me explain it again, a suspecting look resting on her face. Albus had the same response, though his looked more calm, as though this was an every day cold.

"It's your Obscurus," he decided once I finished. "This is a good thing."

"A good thing?" I asked. "How is me going through the worst pain I've ever experienced a good thing?"

"You went through a great deal of trauma during your incident with Professor Lupin, and so did your Obscurus. You see, Obscuruses are very angry beings and seek to let that anger out with a sort of magical phenomenon. Given that the school isn't damaged and no one is hurt, you didn't let that happen," he explained.

"Well, that's not exactly true. I was hurt," I retorted.

"Not actually, Mara," Minnie said softly. "Everything that you explained to us didn't happen. The only injuries that you have are as a result of you hitting yourself against the floor, in what you described as gaining a normal sense of pain. All the other pains, the blood, the bullet, the heart attack... it wasn't real."

"It was all in my head? But, how is that possible? I felt it, it was real, it hurt so badly," I said, looking between the two professors frantically.

"Our minds have such control over our lives, Mara... and I believe you just found the sudden truth of that," Albus replied gently, his eyes clouded in thought as he glanced back at me.

"So, it's a good thing that this happened?" I asked. "My lessons with Snape have gone well?"

"I believe that this has proven them successful, yes. You've done well," he answered with a soft smile and a nod.

My heart swelled with the praise, but my mind still spun. Was this going to be a continual occurrence? Was I always going to have to watch out for my Obscurus?

"Can I go home, then? Is this like a one time thing?" I asked. 

"Doubtful," Madam Pomfrey said, walking up to my bed and grabbing my arm. She rested two of her fingers on my pulse line before accio'ing a stethoscope and listening to my heart. She pulled away. "It can happen anytime your Obscurus becomes unsettled. So, if you have those warning signs like you've been having over the last few weeks, you need to tell someone. Though there is very little known about Obscuruses, there are medical procedures in practice to help someone cope and even prevent attacks. Given that there are few, few Obscurials in the world, these are highly experimental, but I'd be willing to try if you are."

"Yeah, for sure," I nodded. "I'd rather not have this happen again."

"Perfect. I will send some information to your parents, but for now I need to know exactly what happened."

And so we went over the whole story once more and Pomfrey continued to do some tests with me. Eventually, I was allowed to leave as I had no lasting injuries.

What a way to end my Sixth Year.