bludgeoned and benched || [OPEN]

Outfit

Lucy wasn't in any sort of particular mood that morning. Usually she knew how her day was going to go merely by how she felt when she woke up. It was a sort of apathy that occasionally haunted her. She dressed for her day and wished that she had a way of knowing the weather outside. However, considering it was February she knew it was no doubt cold enough to freeze hell over. Just after Lucy pulled on her shoes, she stood up and immediately fell to the ground. The world around her felt like it was spinning and she had to close her eyes for a moment. She knew it had to do with her blood pressure. It was a familiar feeling, but yet she pulled herself onto her bed and took a moment before a stabbing pain hit her right in the abdomen. She gasped out lout and clutched her stomach. Lucy decided to crawl back into bed for a bit. She was so disoriented that she did so even with her boots still on. 

As time went on, the pain in Lucy's abdomen only intensified. It was probably the worst pain she had experienced in her sixteen years of life and she almost felt tears prick her eyes. Lucy was not one for crying - she couldn't remember the last time she cried. Unfortunately, there was no one to help her so she knew she'd have to go to the Hospital Wing on her own. She tried to avoid that particular part of the school but it had been hours and she was just getting worse.

She stood up and straightened her back. She strode out with her bag and walked tall like nothing was wrong. She waved to a couple of people in the common room but made sure not to say anything that would prompt conversation.

Lucy wasn't the healthiest person in the world, and usually the Hospital Wing was empty when she entered. Therefore she was surprised when her light eyes fall upon Vaisey. They were both in the same year and therefore she knew the other girl by last name, although she couldn't recall ever interacting with the Hufflepuff girl. She could feel a sneer come over her face as she walked in casually and took a seat on the bed next to Vaisey's. Lucy tried to sit up straight, but it was difficult with the stabbing pains. 

"So what the hell is wrong with you?" Lucy demanded as if it were her right to know. If she was going to be stuck in the Hospital Wing, she may as well make conversation even with someone of the other girl's calibre. She snapped her fingers for Pomfrey's attention, something that Lucy didn't even notice that Pomfrey cringed at angrily. "It's funny how the help in the school is always slow to attend, even those ghastly house elves. Never really there when you need them to. You think Dumbledore would do something about it, but apparently that sort of work is below him. You'd think with how expensive it is to attend this school that we'd at least get decent service." 

Lucy couldn't help but notice the small similarities between both girls' appearances, although Vaisey was undoubtedly plainer. "You know, a little make-up could work wonders. Just because you're a Quidditch player doesn't mean that you can't put any on," she continued as if she were complimenting the other girl. "You have so much potential."

She almost said that Vaisey could almost look like Lucy with a little work, but she avoided saying it out loud. She didn't know anything about Vaisey and if it turned out the girl was a Mudblood, Lucy didn't want to have admitted that the two looked anything alike. Lucy was willing to talk to anyone, including Mudbloods, but it didn't mean that she liked them any.

Lucy couldn't help but cringe by what had injured Atlanta. "Quidditch is such a brutal sport. I'm surprised they allow it,"  she admitted. Lucy had never been tempted to join the Quidditch team, nor learn how to play at all whatsoever. All she needed was to know how to ride a broom, which she had in her first year with everyone else. When all of her housemates were out on the pitch, desperately trying to learn, Lucy had skulked off and did other more useful things with her time. She was also one of few people who didn't go to the games. It was a waste of time and she didn't care who won. Well, she only did because of the house points that came along with winning. 

Lucy smiled sarcastically at Vaisey's words. "No, I feel like I'm dying from the inside out. Not metaphorically, either." Her face crumpled as a stabbing pain struck her again. "Must be nice for you to be injured by something you choose to do instead of a -"  she held her hands over her abdomen for a moment as another wave of pain washed over it. "Biological reason that you can't control." This was one of the reasons Lucy occasionally disliked Quidditch players: because they intentionally put themselves in rather serious harm's way and they seemed to like it. No one had sympathy for those who were just sick. It was only for the 'heroic' Quidditch players. 

Lucy grinned as if the other girl had said something amusing. "Yes, they help around the school. It's their job. Hence, they're the help. What is with everyone and being so politically correct? Call them what they are and they won't be so useless at their jobs. By reminding them that they're supposed to help students at Hogwarts might make them a lot less entitled." 

It appeared as if Lucy had struck a nerve. "Oh Merlin, you puffies are so damned sensitive,"  she laid back on the bed and closed her eyes casually. "Mascara is not enough. Even natural beauties need make-up, it shows that they have pride in themselves." Lucy wasn't sure what to say otherwise. She wasn't about to give her actual make up tips. The last thing she needed was a doubt of herself walking around Hogwarts. Lucy prided herself in her looks and didn't want to make it seem easy.  

Lucy raised an eyebrow at Vaisey, for the first time since their conversation began she was intrigued. "Why do you play, then? Death wish?"  Lucy's ADHD didn't allow her much of a filter when it came to talking to others. Sometimes she wondered if it was her neurological condition that had put her into Slytherin, but then she remembered that she also embodied all of the characteristics of a Slytherin. It didn't seem like there were many other students who seemed to speak their mind as quickly and even brutally as Lucy. Lucy believed the only reason people played Quidditch was for the fame they may receive after a winning match. She couldn't imagine how any other aspect of it was appealing. 

She narrowed her eyes at the other girl bossing her around, but when she could come up with no retort she merely shrugged her shoulders and complied. More than anything she wanted to curl up into the foetal position, but she was hardly going to do that in front of Vaisey. "Ta,"  she said as she accepted the beverage and took a good long swig of it. It was actually quite reassuring. "You must be in here a lot if you're the one who hands out the complimentary gifts." 

Even Lucy, who was in there on a regular basis, didn't know that the beverages were there, nor had she ever been offered by Pomfrey. It was a classic example of favouritism that drew Lucy mad. If Vaisey knew where it even came from and felt comfortable enough to fetch it, it really showed how often she had it. 

"Not as far as I'm aware," Lucy replied. "Although I sure wouldn't come all the way to the hospital wing over cramps. Who even does that?"  she hated people who took up beds at the hospital wing when they had nothing to truly complain about. A slight headache or the sniffles didn't warrant going to see Pomfrey. 

Lucy made a sneering-like face at her hospital companion. "You sure are a funny little thing, aren't you?"  she didn't understand why Vaisey was being such a bitch. The entire time Lucy was just making conversation and this Hufflepuff was acting as if she was being maliciously attacked. She didn't understand the lot of them - not just Hufflepuffs but everyone but Slytherins for the most part. It wasn't like they could have any sort of conversation littered with compliments. They all seemed to be completely unable to gossip - what sort of rubbish were they always laughing about if not at each other? 

"Ah, Atlanta,"  she said, consciously putting the face to the name. "Lucy Lantieri, although I'm sure you knew that as well. We're both in the same year after all, even if I hadn't known your first name." 

Lucy could easily tell that she touched a nerve, but the long and short of it was that she honestly did not care. "You can get all of that from a good sex session,"  Lucy replied, simply. She eyed Atlanta for a moment. She couldn't be a virgin, could she? She was a good looking girl, Lucy had to admit. Maybe it was some weird religious reason or something if she were a virgin. "I guess we all find different ways to get our kicks,"  she said. Lucy got her exercise in different ways, but she wasn't terribly active. She was one of those people who if she didn't do something, she didn't understand how anyone else did it. However, since Atlanta seemed so incredibly thrilled by the sport, Lucy decided to add, "The only position of any interest I see is being a Beater."  She realized that a Beater was probably the reason why Atlanta was in the Hospital Wing, but it didn't matter. All Lucy was thinking about was how satisfying the position would be. However, her arms were weak and she tended to zone out at times. She probably wouldn't be best for the Team. 

The hot chocolate was just about perfect. It felt good going down, and the heat of it seemed to help against her stomach pains. "Hmm,"  Lucy said as she emerged from her beverage. "Awfully trusting of her. Then again, what are you going to do, steal all of it?  Then again, it's good enough to steal,"  she admitted as she took another drink. Pomfrey came over with a warm blanket and placed it on Lucy without saying a word and tried to tuck it around Lucy's abdomen. However, it was difficult with the girl sitting up unsupported, so they made the bed almost like a chair so she could lean back with her legs up on the bed and the warm blanket around her. Pomfrey was quite used to Lucy's problems. She knew Pomfrey was busy, but this seemed to take forever. "There's only two students, what's the hold up?"  she asked irritably. Pomfrey mumbled about having to put some potions together in the back for the girls, and Lucy rolled her eyes, "You never asked what was wrong with me."  Pomfrey decided to ignore the comment and headed back away from them. 

Lucy was never really sure how to react when people said things like that. She could sense sarcasm in Atlanta's words, but still Lucy replied with, "You as well."  She wasn't a complete uncultured swine, after all.

Lucy noticed the blush in Atlanta's cheeks and smirked. So many girls their age were so shy about the subject. Lucy herself had never been able. Apparently Hogwarts wasn't the best place to meet lesbian witches, but she let the comment stand nonetheless. Lucy chuckled. "Then you're not doing it right,"  she commented casually enough to support her earlier statement. Sports scared the hell out of Lucy. It was too much, and besides, she could only imagine herself cursing everyone when they began to lose. "Then you merely have good Beaters. I've seen many idiotic Beaters go down from Bludgers,"  she admitted before she realized what she had done, which was admitting to watching at least a few Quidditch games. "I'm not even sure how they allow Bludgers. You know they can bloody kill people? You're willing to die for your sport?"  the concept of dying for anything seemed beyond Lucy, especially when Atlanta wasn't playing professionally. At least professionally they were getting paid well for doing such ridiculous things. In school it was all volunteering. It almost seemed like something students would have to do when they were in trouble. A sort of detention other good-doers could watch to remind themselves to be good. 

Lucy couldn't help but think that Atlanta's comment was a little funny, but she managed to suppress her smile a bit, especially since Pomfrey was tending to her. "Ovarian cyst eruptions,"  Lucy stated simply, since Atlanta seemed so fascinated to ask. "Well, that's what she keeps telling me. My uterus is probably useless. It's a good thing I find children to be parasites as one of them will probably never get in there anyway,"  she went on, humour in her voice. "Then again, there are other reasons why children won't get in there,"  Lucy finished as if her sexuality was well-known. Lucy never wanted kids anyway. She didn't know why she felt that way and she was sure her parents would be disappointed, but they didn't even yet know that their daughter preferred other girls to boys, so she supposed she had two bombshells to lay on them at once at some point in the future. Lucy wasn't even sure that she wanted to get married. It was so much commitment, and the only one she knew she could commit to was herself. 

Lucy raised an eyebrow at the other girl. It sounded like she was trying to make conversation, which wasn't something most people seemed to do towards Lucy if they could help it. "I just woke up,"  she explained as if it were overwhelmingly obvious. "I suppose you were at the Pitch. I doubt you were wandering around the corridors when a Bludger randomly got you. I don't even understand why practise always has to be so early in the morning."  It was something she never understood, except during weekdays. On weekends, there was the full day to participate. 

Lucy grinned at Atlanta's shyness on the subject. It was always fun to embarrass others, and the particular shade of pink that she was turning was admittedly quite cute - not that Lucy was looking at the other girl that way. The chances of Atlanta being a lesbian were slim to none anyway, but it wasn't like Lucy couldn't look. Looking wasn't illegal. Besides, she doubted that the other girl was particularly enjoying their conversation anyway. 

The way the other girl changed subjects so quickly only made the point of how embarrassed she was. "It's not that I like Quidditch, it's just so hard to ignore with all the damned fanatics around here,"  Lucy explained casually. Pomfrey returned with a potion for Lucy to drink, and when she did she almost vomited. "No matter how often I have that shit, I never get used to it,"  she said as she closed her eyes and leaned back on the bed. Lucy wiped her mouth even though there was nothing there. She tried to ignore the stabbing pains but it was hard. It was like her insides were trying to claw their way out. "Hmmm," Lucy said as she went back to the Quidditch talk. She was always willing to talk - it was either a gift or a curse, but most of the time it was a curse as she said things people didn't want to hear. She had the worst time saying whatever came to her mind. "Okay, so you probably won't die, but what about injured? You don't think brain damage can happen from those Bludgers to the head? Or perhaps permanent paralysis?"  she had lost interest in the conversation itself, but she had no problem playing devil's advocate. She was beginning to think it was fun to wind Atlanta up. 

Lucy knew what Atlanta was eluding to as she had a Muggle grandparent who liked to read her Muggle stories, but Lucy didn't like to admit to that side of her family. She liked to pretend that she was pureblood even if she wasn't, so she didn't respond to the comment. She did respond to the one about Pomfrey doing something about it. "All she can really do is give me painkillers for it. Luckily wizarding painkillers seem to work better. The only reason why there's pain is because there's fluid on the organs, which makes them inflamed."  Lucy didn't mind educating others on health issues. She absolutely hated ignorance, and it was probably why her second favourite House was Ravenclaw, even if she wasn't so good at memorizing things. She was more of a do magic sort of girl, not study magic. 

It was then Lucy's turn to almost blush. She looked away for a moment as she had thought that her comment had said all it needed to say. She was glad that Atlanta believed her to be a pureblood, but the other part... "I'm sure they do, but they're not exactly aware that I'm a lesbian,"  she explained as quickly as she could. Lucy was very open about it at school, but she never really talked about how her parents didn't know. She figured Atlanta would ask more questions about it. Most people did. Being a lesbian around Hogwarts seemed to be like being a unicorn. She actually let out a small laugh. "And there's no way in hell I'm adopting."

She actually did not care about children waiting to be adopted. It was a selfish thing, but Lucy was the type of person that if it didn't affect her, then she didn't care. She figured most people were that way, they just refused to admit it. She didn't even know why she was talking about having children with this other girl in the first place.

Lucy cringed at that idea. It was probably why Atlanta hadn't bothered with her appearance before now. What was the point if you were going to play Quidditch? She let the comment slip over the both of them. "So what House are you in? I don't think you've said,"  Lucy wondered. She wasn't sure why she cared. "Ravenclaw?"