All day staring at the ceiling
Making friends with shadows on my wall
All night hearing voices telling me
That I should get some sleep
Because tomorrow might be good for something
I gaze, terrified, at the apparition before me; it is a girl, but one of the likes of which I have never seen before. I vaguely realise that she may once have been beautiful, but she is no longer.
I lie here for what seems like eternity, unspeaking; but as I do so, my mind is rapidly trying to fathom what on earth the girl is. I wrack my muddled brain, remembering every last story Father told me about the other creatures of the wizarding world”ghosts, banshees, vampires, and more”but the girl looming above me is clearly none of these.
“Who are you?” I hear her ask as if from afar. “Are you alright?”
Momentarily forgetting my pain, I open my mouth and speak again. “I”my name is William.”
William Briarwood coughed weakly as he spoke, staring up at the girl with a look of fear bordering on curiosity. He was clad in the tattered, reeking rags of what had once been a set of fine robes; a short length of rope bound them about his waist, and in it was thrust a short dagger and a length of scarred, straight wood. It was the wood he reached for”the wand”as he hauled himself painfully to his feet and gazed at the girl with a would-be-threatening look on his pale, gaunt face.
“Now, I’ve answered your question”who and what are you?”
A look of hurt flashed momentarily across the girl’s hazel eyes, but Will ignored it. He had learned long ago that guilt and pity bore little worth in his world; and if something did not aid in his survival, it hurt it. Shaking his head in an attempt to clear it, he gave the girl a piercing look. “Well?”
For a moment he thought the girl was not going to respond; however, after a moment, she did. “My name is Clara, and I’m a… I’m a leper.”
Realisation hit Will immediately; a leper! He had heard tales of these people, these creatures, many a time in his former life. They were sickly beasts, monsters, sinners and demons! Eyes flashing mistrustfully, Will pawed nervously at his wand as he backed up several more steps.
“What do you want with me?”
“I”I just wanted to help you…” The girl spoke in a rather quiet voice, but her hazel eyes were already flashing with anger. “I could have left you here in the Forest all alone, and that would have been bad enough. But if you don’t want my help””
“I don’t.” Will cut her off immediately. Drawing himself up proudly, the young man gave his head a forceful shake before continuing. “Do you have any idea who I am? My father, Edward Briarwood”surely you’ve heard of him. No? Perhaps you’ve heard of my mother, Sagitta Black?”
But judging by the blank look on Clara’s face she had not. Will eyed her appraisingly, wondering what sort of person had not heard of his parents, when it dawned on him.
“You… You’re not a witch, are you?”
“A witch?” Clara gasped, but an instant later she raised an eyebrow skeptically. “Don’t tell me you actually believe in such nonsense.”
Will felt a sudden, inexplicable surge of amusement; so, this was a Muggle he was dealing with. “Yeah, I believe in witches,” he said defensively. “Is there anything wrong with that?”
The girl sniffed. “Oh, not really; everyone around here does. I just feel that it’s silly superstition. Although,” Clara added, eying the dark forest around them nervously, “if we stay here any longer, I might have to change my mind about that. Come on.”
Will remained where he stood as the girl turned and began to stride purposefully away. As if he, William Briarwood, would ever need the help of a lowly Muggle!
Reaching up to brush hair out of his eyes, Will winced as he came in contact with a spot of dark, sticky blood from the gash on his temple. All at once, a surge of pain washed through him; grabbing onto the tree for support, Will swayed slightly as his vision blurred before his eyes.
Feeling like I’m headed for a breakdown
And I don’t know why
Will blinked; suddenly, he felt very dizzy and out of place. Where am I, after all? He looked confusedly about. This was certainly not where he had expected to awaken… not at all. And what was worse, the strange leper girl was almost out of sight…
“You”Clara!” Swallowing his pride, Will thrust his wand back into his belt and took several steps forward. “I’m coming with you.”
The girl did not turn at once; for a moment, Will thought she had not heard him, but several seconds later she turned slowly and gave him an appraising look. “All right, William,” she said slowly, giving a decisive nod as she spoke. “I hope you’re not afraid of lepers, though, because where we’re going…” Clara trailed off, looking as though she had said too much. “Well, let’s just say that normal people don’t come to my village very often. I hope you don’t mind.”
Will grimaced as he fell into step behind the girl; so she lived in a leper colony. It was bad enough that he would be surrounded by Muggles… but lepers? It was despicable. But still… he needed a place to recover, a place to gather his bearings before returning to his home.
Will smiled bitterly; actually, come to think of it, lepers were not all that bad. Who was he to judge them? If only they knew the dark secret he was hiding… But they would never find out. By tomorrow morning he would be long gone, and they would never find out that he was a wizard… a werewolf.