InsaneJournal

RP: Hospital Shenanigans
CHARACTERS: Lavender Brown, Terry Boot
SETTING: St. Mungo's, roughly a week or so after the Battle
RATING: PG.
SUMMARY: Is Lavender supposed to be out of bed? Probably not. Is that really going to stop her? Probably not.



His mum had been by, Terry knew that much. Vaguely he had an impression of his sister and his dad, with them telling him that Nathan was all right. All of it was a bit of a blur really and the harder he tried to put it all together the worse it became. Trying to remember back to why he was here was even worse. Terry knew that Luna had been there and a man, who that man was he had no idea. He remembered running and then falling. But for some reason that did not make sense, as if there were pieces of the puzzle missing. When he first managed to wake up he had tried to get his chart, only to fall out of bed in agony, a mediwitch having to run in and put him back into bed.

Really it was bloody humiliating and Terry did not approve of it one bit. He’s not sure which he hated more, the muddied feeling in his brain or the fact that he did not seem to be able to get out of bed. Both were equally vexing. He wanted to go home or see his brother or do something that was not pass out in this damnable bed.

Unfortunately his family seemed to have the forethought to keep his wand out of reach. Of course they would, they were all far too clever. so Terry pushed himself up in his bed and glared at the end, trying to will his chart to come to him. He was so intent on this project he had no idea anyone had even come in.

Lavender’s parents hadn’t come. She’d gotten a letter from them saying that they were fairly disappointed in her actions (siding with the ‘rebels’ or some such nonsense, she’d not really read it too closely) but that they would be there to pick her up when necessary and they hoped she was recovering properly. And she’d seen some of her friends.

They’d won. That was the important part. No matter how small a part of the overall battle it was, her falling from a damn balcony and then being savaged by an evil werewolf had been worth something. That was nice. And perhaps she should be feeling more emotional about this entire thing, but if she allowed herself to get super-emotional and weepy and angry about the scars she was going to have and frustration and overwhelming sadness at the fact that people she cared for had died-- well, she would have a complete breakdown and that simply wasn’t acceptable.

Terry hadn’t died. This was also an important part. Which was why she was currently sneaking into his room and hoping with every step that the hot Healer she’d been assigned didn’t catch her.

“Hey. Pssst. You know if you’re still stuck in here you’re probably too weak for wandless magic,” she pointed out, trying for her usual half-bitchy, half-trying-to-be-funny tone.

If anyone asked later, Terry would fervently deny that he jumped slightly when he heard Lavender. It was not as if she was particularly menacing but he had just... fallen he believed, and at any rate he was in a hospital bed after fighting dark wizards. People sneaking up on him while he was trying to will his chart to him was just not called for in the slightest. In fact it might be the very definition of rudeness. But he supposed since it was Lavender of all people and the fact that she was alive and talking and here made his chest feel unbearably tight that she could be forgiven. At least for now at any rate.

“Oh good, you can walk.” he pointed out even though it was fairly obvious. “Such as walking to the end of my bed and getting my chart.”

Maybe he should not boss her around. That was probably a poor choice. What he wanted to say was more along the lines of maybe her name and then that he was happy to see she was alive, awake, or really just that he was happy to see her and hear her. But all of that just sounded ridiculous and really would get him no closer to having his chart in hand. Because finding out what was wrong with him was something that could be solved. And maybe it would explain why he felt like his heart had been ripped out and shoved back in at the sight of her alive but heart. Clearly the answer would have to be in the chart.

Hands coming up self-consciously to touch the bandages covering a large portion of her neck where it met her left shoulder, Lavender frowned at Terry.

“Yes, I can walk,” she told him a bit snippily, omitting the ‘barely’ from her sentence. “You could say ‘please’, you know.” But she slowly made her way to the end of the bed and picked up his chart before approaching his bed and taking a seat in the middle, scooting herself into the space not occupied by him and stretching her feet out in front of her.

“You can have it when you say please.” But Merlin, was she relieved that he was okay, so she was fighting a smile as she said it.

Terry rolled his eyes, trying not to focus on the bandages that covered her neck and shoulder. There were just so many and the fact that they were still there, well, it did not bode well for what damage could be underneath. At least he did not think it boded well. To be fair he had no idea how long ago the battle had been. Considering he rather liked being able to keep close tabs on time this was all rather distressing.

Still he let her join him on the bed, even if the dipping cause him to his as pain shot down his left leg. Fist held tight against his hip, Terry forced himself to move over just a little to give her room. Wonderful, he could only imagine what his chart looked like if St Mungos had not been able to get rid of this pain.

“Please give me my chart.” he huffed, holding out his hand. “It’d be rather nice to know my conditions. I’m sure I’m not in St Mungos for the decor.”

Lavender rolled her eyes (beyond grateful that both of them were alive and well enough to be their usual bitchy selves) but passed him the chart, moving around so that she could settle into the portion of the pillows he wasn’t using. And so that, naturally, she could read his charts over his shoulder.

“I can’t stay too long,” she told him. “Hot Healer Hans will come looking for me, and I don’t think he’d be too happy about me being out of bed. I’m technically not supposed to be, you see,” she explained without a trace of shame. “I just wanted to make sure that you were all right. I mean, not that you’re all right or you wouldn’t be here, but then neither am I, clearly. Just, all right in a relative sense.”

Essentially she’d just wanted to see him with her own eyes.

For some reason it just seemed easier to let his arm fall around Lavender as she scooted up next to him. Really it was just about maximizing space, if his arm was not bumping into hers than they both had the most amount of room possible to look at the chart. And so his arm went around her waist lightly, hand resting on the bed because clearly he was not about to put his arm fully around her, that would just be odd and not at all natural. The fact that she felt nice against his side was something he was going to pointedly ignore.

Much like Terry ignored the fact that he felt his mood go dark for a moment at the mention of ‘handsome healer hans’, who was probably rubbish at his job anyway. The fact that he could not manage to hide his scowl might have betrayed him but he busied himself with looking at his chart, or at least pretending to look at it.

He set it down on his lap and his brow furrowed as he looked over at her. “Do you remember what happened?” he asked, sincerely. Vaguely he motioned up towards his head. “It’s all, fuzzy. I can’t rightly put anything together. I think the healers mentioned something about it maybe being shock or something.”

Curling into his side just a bit (but not enough to cause either of them any more pain than they may or may not already be in), Lavender peered down at the chart. It was like trying to read Greek (which she knew from experience because her father had tried to sneak Greek lessons into the midst of the doomed art and music lessons her mother threw at her as a child-- the Greek didn’t last any longer than the others). “I have no idea what any of this means.”

She sighed, fingers plucking at the blanket between them. “Sort of. I was fighting Greyback, and I wasn’t doing terribly, actually, but he caught me off guard and we sort of....fell. Off a balcony. I think Granger got him away from me, best I can remember.” Her nose wrinkled up at the thought of having to thank Hermione Granger for anything, but she was grateful.

Frowning slightly, his head leaned in against Lavender’s lightly. Terry’s hand found it’s way up to her side, squeezing her just slightly in what could almost be seen as a hug. He was not terribly good at hugs and the like to begin with and this was hardly the usual positioning for one to begin with. There was a sinking feeling hearing about a werewolf attacking her and if there was a second squeeze well it was all just for sympathy. That was what people did, right? People in their, whatever their situation was.

“I’m surprised you’re up.” he said honestly, looking back down at his file. It was all convoluted Healer speak but Terry had the benefit of having an extremely convoluted thought process. None of it was particularly good from what he could manage to make out and concentrating for too long just seemed to make it all swim together. “I fell... They’re theorizing I’ve had multiple head wounds at different times. I’m guessing I can thank Carrow for that. And,” his frown deepened as he turned the page. “Well it seems like my leg is shot. Explains the pain.”

Terry’s version of a hug made Lavender smile, and when she got a second one she figured it was essentially permission to lean her head to rest on his shoulder. Clearly he wasn’t concerned at their physical proximity if he was hugging her (or what counted as a hug from him, anyway).

“I’m up because I need to be up and about or I’ll go mad. It’s not exactly comfortable to be up and walking around, but they’ve healed most of the damage so I hopefully won’t be injuring myself further, and obviously I’m going to have to start walking around at some point,” she reasoned. She frowned at his analysis of his injuries as he thumbed through the chart. “That’s awful. You can still move it, though, right? I mean, if you can feel that it hurts.”

“From what I’m reading it’s unlikely. At least not like it’s supposed to move anyway.” It was a strange thing to read, let alone accept. So he just stared at the page for a moment before folding the papers back, trying to block the knowledge out of his brain. That was not something that he could deal with right now. As much as he thought he had wanted to know, he really hadn’t and now it was not something that he could take away. Those were the perils of curiosity, unfortunately.

His head leaned in, resting against hers easily. It was unconscious, instinct as he tried to deal with the news that was rushing through his head try as he might to immediately forget it. “I hate this place.” he managed, not sure why he said it but it was true. He hated St Mungos, he hated Hogwarts, he hated this entire bloody country that had apparently decided to take away his leg of all things and knock his head around till nothing made sense anymore.

“Oh.” Lavender frowned. “Well that sucks.”

This was nice. Sitting here like this. “I don’t really like this place either,” she said, poking him gently in the side. “I’d leave if I could. Unfortunately I’ve already tried that and Hot Healer Hans said if I tried he’d tie me to the bed and not in the good way.” She snorted. “He’s not a very nice fellow, Hans. A bit ferocious. Apparently doesn’t suffer idiot patients very well.” She shook her head. “I vote we abandon gloomy England for a beach once we’re out of here. And, well. I’m sure there’ll be funerals and stuff. We should probably go to them.”

There was a slight thrill in Terry’s chest at the idea that Lavender didn’t actually like Healer Hans all that much. After all she was here, leaning against him and just so close instead of following instructions and being back in her own room. Terry had no idea what that was supposed to mean but he knew that it meant something. “I’d say I’d protect you from him but apparently I’m rather useless at it.” he remarked wryly. Healer Hans could likely take him apart but he was not the one that Lavender was pressed up again so really it was a tally in the Terry column.

He paused for a moment, lifting his head and looking down at her curiously for a moment. “You’d want to run away with me? Or is... was that a joke?” He had no idea how he felt about that. But for some reason it did not sound like such a bad idea.

“I bet you weren’t useless before your injury, though!” Lavender protested, shaking her head. “And you won’t be once it’s healed. Besides, your power lies in your scary scary brain,” she reminded him.

She pursed her lips, thinking for a moment. “Well, why not? It’d be fun. I like beaches. And I bet we could find somewhere nice to live, because I’d just beg my father for the money and tell him it would be a good real estate investment.” She was sure her parents wouldn’t mind getting their no-longer-perfect daughter out of their hair. Hmph. “Oooh, and I could work in a tiki bar on the beach, and swindle tourists by pretending to tell their fortunes. I’d be really convincing, too.”

“I’m thinking my combat skills are why I’m in this bed to begin with.” he sighed. While he only had a bit of his memory so far Terry knew he was not a fighter. He could plan, he could build, sure. But actual fighting? There were some people who did just not do well. Really he was lucky that he had not died as he was sure others had. No one had told him just who yet.

Terry watched her for a long moment. She actually meant it. Sure it sounded half thought out and risky but then again so had everything they had done this year. “You know... I wanted to be a cursebreaker. That or an unspeakable... cursebreakers go to exotic places though.”

Lavender patted his hand, not saying anything just yet (because she wasn’t really sure what to say and she certainly didn’t want to make him feel worse).

Was this plan crazy? Absolutely; a war had just ended and after the year they’d had, it was time for grieving and healing, not making impromptu decisions about things. But Lavender was a Gryffindor (and one of the sort who hated to dwell on things because if there was anything she’d learned this year it was that dwelling didn’t change anything) and making impromptu decisions was one of their best options. Besides, what was she going to do, go home and move back in with her parents? Right. That would go over swimmingly.

Watching her a moment longer, his grip tightened on her just a bit. It wasn’t so much a hug as it was holding her closer, an urge he was trying to put into place with the fact that his heart rate had increased and his brain seemed to be fuzzier than just the head injury could explain. Logically he should stay home. His family was here, they had all been through enough. England needed to rebuild and would need people to rebuild it.

But Terry had done his part. Right now he did not think he was going to be able to help rebuild. The rest of them could rebuild it, be here were people were dead and nothing made sense. It would be so easy to just run away. Really it would not even be running away. He could make cursebreaker easy, he had the talent for it. “You know, I don’t think I’d mind terribly running away with you.” he said simply, the dawning realization coming over him.

“I can’t I’d mind too much either. And it’s not like leaving means we can never come back or anything,” she pointed out. “But I don’t think there’s anything wrong with getting a bit of distance after....all this.”

Inside, she was bouncing up and down, because-- well, that was probably as close to any sort of declaration of feelings as she was going to get from Terry. Reaching for the hand of the arm he had around her, Lavender laced their fingers together. “Obviously it’ll have to wait till we’re allowed out of here and whatnot....but I vote let’s do it.”

His cheeks were going a bit red and he had no idea why. But she looked almost happy right now and for some reason that made him feel the same way. They were not leaving forever. Well maybe they were. But it did not have to be forever, it was just for now, just to get away. And that felt so incredibly right, better than just about any decision he had made all year. It would take money, training, but they could figure that out. After all he had been told on occasion that he could be pretty smart.

“I feel like I should probably kiss you right now.” Terry pointed out, frowning just slightly in thought. It seemed like the sort of thing that ended with a kiss in his mother’s novels, not that he ever read them.

Lavender lifted an eyebrow at him, her expression unimpressed. “Well, aren’t you romantic. Excuse me while I go and swoon.” Boys. Honestly. Sometimes she thought maybe Terry was worse than Ron (of course, this wasn’t true, but when used metaphorically it felt accurate).

“I certainly don’t want you kissing me if you’re doing it because you feel like it’s something you ‘should do’. That’s no fun.”

“So... I shouldn’t want to kiss you?” Terry asked, obviously confused. Really did she have to be so confusing? It was not as if he knew how to go about these things. They were all full of emotion and really he preferred not to deal with those at all. But it seemed like Lavender was forever forcing him to deal with them even if it was obviously the worst thing possible.

Lavender rolled her eyes.

“Of course you should want to kiss me. But because you want to, not because you feel like you should,” she explained. Boys knew nothing. She should really try harder to remember this in the future, she decided. Especially if the boy in question in the future was going to be Terry (and if they ran away to some random beach together, this seemed fairly likely).

“Aren’t they the same thing?” Terry’s frown deepened as he tried to figure out this quagmire of human emotion. It was not as if he felt the need to kiss people often, or really ever. In fact it was about as far from his natural instincts as one could get really. And here she was just trying to confuse the entire matter with whatever logic it was that worked in her head. Logic that was not at all like normal logic, but in fact Lavender logic.

“Terry.” Lavender waited until he was looking at her and gave him a stern look. “Do you ever do anything just because you have the impulse to do it? Instead of sitting and trying to reason through it forever and in the process somehow managing to talk yourself out of it? Because that sounds like that’s what you’re doing right now.”

And if he was going to talk himself out of kissing her she was going to beat him with his own chart.

“I did, in the Room of Requirement.” Terry pointed out. “And that went spectacularly well. And by spectacularly well I mean you got mad at me.” At least he thought she had gotten mad at him. It seemed like Lavender got mad at him rather often really. For some reason this was not as discouraging as it should have been.

“Because you were being a stupid boy and overthinking things! As usual!”

Lavender threw her hands up in the air. “Can you just....try to stop thinking about stuff too much? Just for one day?” That chart was looking quite appealing. But the Healers might not like it if she hit him, considering he’d apparently already had quite a few knocks to the head. Hmm.

His eyebrows knitting together, Terry tried to figure out just what on earth she was on about. Was that really what she wanted? Because that was about as unlike himself as he could possibly think of. “If I wanted to stop thinking I’d go ginger and start calling myself Ron.” Terry pointed out sullenly.

But if she wanted him to actually do something then fine, he would. So he leaned in, kissing her lightly. Hopefully she would not decide to become cross with him again so soon.

She was halfway to “screw the Healers”, reaching for the chart to hit him anyway for the Ron comment (because that just was not on) but then Terry was kissing her, so perhaps he had gotten the idea after all. Or maybe he hadn’t. Whatever, she was going to enjoy this while it lasted.

Clearly, though, she had her work cut out for her with this one.