I'm not sick but I'm not well.

It was a lovely day, was being an operative word, and Poppy was just having a splendidly quiet morning chewing on her not-all healthy meal (screw healthy meal, she'll munch down her meat for all she cared) when it came a couple of students, one of which was out cold. She had sighed, not at all surprised to see the unconscious girl who was poorly supported by her classmate.

"Thank you, Mr Macklebee," she said, pushing aside her food for later and strode towards the students. "I'll take it from here. Run along to your class now."

Poppy smiled at the boy who looked relieved to be excused and whipped her wand out to levitate the young girl's body on to a bed. The boy Macklebee scurried out without so much of a word as she laid the girl gently onto the mattress. She sighed, shaking her head, it was the third time this week the girl had ended up in the hospital wing and it was only Tuesday. She wasn't sure if it was alright to keep the girl in school with her anxiousness, not when she seemed to be scaring every other student whenever her imagination got the best of her.

"Well, better safe than sorry..." she mumbled to herself as she flicked her way again, binding the girl to the bed. The last time, well yesterday, the young girl had woken up hospital wing, she had thrown a complete fit. It was only fortunate that the other student was discharged hours earlier.

She had time, she realized that. It would be at least half an hour before the girl regained her consciousness if she knew the professor. She returned to her meal, slowly munching her food and clearing it just in time to catch the girl stir awake. She shook her head, listening the girl mumbled as she approached.

"How are you feeling, Miss Riggs?" she asked, not unkindly, assessing the girl’s condition but not unbinding her. "You gave the professor and your classmate a bit of a fright. I don't think it'd be wise for you to return to your dorm today. Perhaps a bit of rest here for the night would help calm your nerves."

No, there was no way she could discharge the girl. It would be stressful to her dormmate if she were to return the night.

"FOR THE NIGHT?" she balked, perhaps more louder than she intended. The night?? Was she insane? SPEND THE NIGHT?? She fathomed, for what other reason would she need to spend the night. Passing out was a relatively normal thing for Batty, like breathing and eating and you know passing out. And to spend the night here for all places. Around these things.. these viles... these instruments. Her lip began to quiver on its own, she was maybe seconds away from another massive meltdown. 'Oh battys just crazy... something wrong with the mind... oh perhaps a lobotomy should fix that' she imagined it going. That was certainly in the makes for the future if she did not get out right now at this precise moment.


"Sounds lovely" she replied in her most 'totally not going to freak the hell out face' that she could muster. Her eyes just happened to fall upon the meal that Poppy was eating, and also happened to scan the beds, one bed appeared to be occupied or it used to be.. until..

oh..

oh dear god.

"I need to use the bathroom. " she blurted out of the blue, in a robotic 'i'm so normal' voice. Mostly out of instinct than anything else. But her mind was going through a million things at once it was actually shocking she could even speak.

Cannibal. She ate him.. or her.. and i'm next. oh god oh god. m next.
"Would you mind.. you know, unbinding me?"
because you'll get hungry again... soon..
"Its not at all that necessary. It's not like I'm some sort of lunatic whose going to just run out of here screaming bloody murder" she laughed nervously, trying to hide back any of her intentions. Yes. yes she was going to run out of here screaming bloody murder... at least as soon as she got herself as far away from this hell hole as she could. 

Poppy decided the girl definitely in need of professional help. Unfortunately, she was not that professional help that could possibly point and help figure out what was happening inside a young mind. She sighed, yet again, as she noticed how the girl’s eyes darted towards an unmade bed. Honestly, she should’ve cleaned up after a student left. But, it was such a lovely day and she just wanted to put her feet up for a couple of hours and enjoy it. Had she known it would come back and bit her in the arse, she would’ve scourgify the bed faster than anyone can say Qudditch.



She pinched the bridge of her nose. Her patience only ran so far and Bat-shit crazy Batty (okay, she really shouldn’t know or use the student nickname for the girl, but she was at the edge of her patience) was pushing her off the ledge.



“Sweetie, are you really sure you need the bathroom?” she asked, knowing full well the girl was lying. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what could’ve possibly been running through the girl’s mind. Plus, considering who she was, Poppy could easily hazard a guess.

"I'm sure." she insisted pleadingly. Oh god. She was really trying to make this hard on her. " I'm really really sure. Im so sure that I need to get out of here" she blurted. Oh sh... She didn't just. No. No no nooooooooooooo" and into the bathroom."

She laughed nervously and repeated herself for the sake of clarity,

"i'm really really sure that I need to get out of here and into the bathroom..." she shook her head violently, as it was the only part of her body that was free of the reigns that bound her. Nurse Paxton had only just started this term, the previous nurse had mysteriously vanished although Batty knew better and didn't miss the nurse one bit. As much as she feared the headmaster she was okay with his quick and easy disposal of the previous nurse from hell. She only prayed now each and every visit that he should do the same with this nurse. Though the more she learned of the now-carnivorous nurse, the more she began to realize that maybe just maybe she might not be disposed of at all. She appeared in complete and total alliance with the headmasters sinister plot to take over the world. And why wouldn't she? As he gave her a steady access to healthy young children to feast upon.

Gulp.

Not paranoid.. totally not paranoid. Batty had almost gone unaware of the silence that followed her last sentence, for she had let her imagination wild, and nodded mechanically for the next several minutes, absolutely nothing about her looked sane. From the way her head nodded non stop, to the blankness of her eyes. It was as if she was seeing through poppy, lost in another world where her eyes saw nothing but destruction and death, and food platters.

Must.... escape...

The girl Riggs was just as bad at lying as Poppy was at responsibility. She quirked an eyebrow at the girl when clearly her lie was falling apart. She definitely can’t read minds, but the few scenarios that she could guess ran through the girl’s head included cannibalism and from the way the girl she reacted, Poppy feared that it was the worst-case scenario.

“Mhmmm…sure,” she drawled. “You see, I don’t think you do.” For a second, just a split second, she entertained the idea the scare the pants off of the girl. But, she wasn’t that evil, or was she?

No, she can’t play with a student’s mental health and if she did, she could very well be responsible for the girl’s permanent stay at St Mungo’s. That would be bad, very, very bad for her résumé. After all, she can’t possibly want to stay and look over the younglings forever. Definitely not, she was not the former nurse (well, the nurse before the previous nurse. The previous nurse was a mad old woman who yells at everyone, Poppy can’t say she remembered the old hag fondly) who devoted her life to the young. She was loved, truly, having served the school up until Poppy’s first year at Hogwarts. The woman went quietly in her sleep over the summer and since then, the school was subjected to the crazy Carrington (she was not sorry for starting the nickname) until she vacated the position for an unknown reason.

Well, Hogwarts was nothing if not colourful.

Definitely colourful, Poppy thought as she watched the girl. She wondered how far the girl had gone off in her mind.

"........"

Batty kept nodding until something registered.. something not right.. why were the binds not loose.. why was she still there...

something. not..

"what?" she blinked a few times. "no? But I need to .... freshen up. You know. im parched I need some water. Ill be back in five minutes... or seconds... " or never... She felt like she was losing herself, spiraling until she lost it. Thats what they wanted wasnt it??? For poor little batty to lose it like always.

Batty closed her eyes, inhaling slow and steady breaths she had to focus... She was going to be as sanely sane as possible because thats what normal people did. And then it occured to her. She had another way out.. perhaps. maybe. if he was you know, notfuriously upset but more like soso upset, like on a scale of 1-10 somewhere around seven it was possible. But she had to act on it. And quick... before dark fell.... or else all was doomed and she would either be barbequed, roasted, or broiled.

"Then I request an owl. Im allowed one of those aren't I?" she added almost a bit too snappy. it is prison afterall..."You see... My brother" yes.. "my brother. he well... gets deathly worried about me when he hasnt seen me for long. You know, like how I worry.. its in the genes. " she looked at Poppy as if to suggest that the nurse would soon face another nutcase if she didn't allow just this single request.

Well, if Poppy had prayed for luck to be on her side, her prayers were definitely not heard. She shook her head, watching the girl yank at the bindings. It was more to keep the girl safe than herself safe. She could only fear the worse, realizing if she hadn’t fastened the girl earlier, she could’ve been dealing with something far worse. Honestly, Poppy was not the kind to resort to violence, but she knew some nasty spells product of having to deal with idiots throughout her high school career. Now, being nice was one thing, being well-prepared was another.

“If it’s water that you need…” Poppy said softly, flicking her wand, summoning an enchanted goblet into her hand. She placed it carefully on the table by the bed, knowing full well the girl was just making excuses. “…you only need ask.”

She made no move, however, to loosen the bindings. From what she knew of unstable mind during her rotation as St Mungo’s, they are very capable of hurting themselves most. The last thing Poppy needed was to have one of the student injured because of their own wandering mind.

The girl was clearly not deterred in her quest to break free, from whatever her imagination had concocted and fear was rising fast.

“Do you even have a brother, Ms Riggs?” Poppy asked, hands on her hips, daring the girl to lie again. Sure, she wasn’t aware of everything about a student, but for some reason, the girl’s excuse of a brother felt like a lie. That and the fact the girl was definitely not of sound mind. Poppy couldn’t help but wonder if it was just another made up character in the young mind.

“And if your brother is a student here.” She was skeptical at the idea of there being another student with the name Riggs that she was unaware of if he was related to someone like the girl, “your professor would’ve had informed him of you being in the hospital wing. I doubt he’d worry too much.”

Of course, all her arguments were sound, but she doubted the girl would see it as she did.

Batty found herself heaving, her breaths felt like they were getting more restricted despite the deeper breaths she took, she felt herself begining to hyperventilate and being bound down was certainly not helping a thing, nor was the devilish look in the nurse's eyes as she continuously denied her her very given rights of a human being. No peeing (not that she really had to), no contacting her brother (not that she had one), but it didnt matter because all she knew at this point was that death was immininent if she didn't do something and quick.

"for the love of god let me SEND A LETTER ----- MY BROTHER! HE'LL KILL HIMSELF--I DONT TEL L ------ OKAY. DO YOU WANT ------- DO YOU WANT ------ DIE BECAUSE -------- WOULDNT ------ SEND ---- LETTER. YOU ----- WRITE ------YOURSELF THERES NOTHIGN WRONG ------ WHAT I ------SAY. JUST LET ME ------ WHAT I WANT WRITTEN.

Batty barked through heaving breaths, but it was hard to understand anything sensible from her broken up shouts. She felt very wet tears spill down her cheeks as she wriggled and wrestled with the invisible binds.

"Am I asking for so much? Am I? I just want my brother to know... please... please" she whimpered, seeming more and more like a very sad puppy than a lunatic.

Nurse paxtons arguments were not sound. they weren't even human. shew as a cannibal afterall. what did she know of a thing called empathy and human emotions.

There was insane and there was the girl Riggs. She had clearly transcended all levels of acceptable normal and off to her own plane. Poppy sighed deeply, cursing her luck internally. She knew what she was getting into when she took the job, well, at least she thought she knew what she was getting into. The girl Riggs clearly had not been what crossed Poppy’s mind back then. She had imagined the worse like a serious case of bone loss (quite literally) as it had happened before or anything even resembling a basilisk attack. A psychopathic nervous-wrecked of a girl? No, Poppy definitely did not think of what.

“Ms Riggs,” Poppy kept her voice calm. There was no reason for her to panic, yet. “I’m sure as you are well aware of the school rules in the event of any student falling ill, their immediate family members who attend the school at the same time would be informed.” Okay, have the new batch of students not read the handbook? Poppy was sure there was a handbook, at least there was during her year. “If you do have a brother,” she said, scepticism, was heavy in her tone. “He would’ve made aware of your presence in the hospital wing.”

In all honesty, Poppy was very doubtful of the fact that the girl Riggs even have a sibling in school.

"yes but boyfriends don't get contacted and its actually my boyfriend i'm worried about. Maybe im silly maybe im delusional but if my dear.." she hesitated.. already she felt like this was going to get really wrong really fast. Noel wasn't even her friend anymore let alone some sort of imaginary boyfriend. But how else could she get the psychotic nurse to break and allow her this one plea. There was no one else she trusted more to get out of this wreck than she did Noel even if he could care less if she lived or died. He was the first person that came to mind when she was facing death and right now quite literally was one more time.

"my dear... Noel. If he doesn't hear from him he'll practically kill himself okay. so please let me contact him and then we'll be good and you can cut up my kidneys and eat it for dinner like you planned" she smiled nervously and laughed humorlessly "i'm joking. I don't actually think that." after all, its my heart you want

"just one teensie innocent owl. That's it." she smiled weakly but already she could feel very body getting dissected. focus batty focus.... 

If the event that had unfolded for the past hour had happened to somebody else and Poppy was listening to their tale, she was absolutely sure she would be laughing her arse off. It was ridiculous, downright insane of she was to be honest with herself. Poppy wasn’t even sure how she could even tell the story herself now that she thought about it. It was the next level of…of whatever it was. She sighed, again, feeling like she had dispelled all the air from her lungs by now with the increasingly tall tales the girl Riggs was spinning.

“So, your boyfriend is a recluse?” Poppy said pointedly. It was a tall tale on the girl Riggs’ part. Anyone who had been at Hogwarts long enough knew that even rumours spread faster than light within the castle walls. Nothing ever remained a secret, even secrets are whispered from one person to another and the only ones who wouldn’t be privy to those would be someone outside the safety of the school.

Poppy was getting tired of the girl Riggs. She considered feeding the girl a sleeping draught, maybe it would calm the girl for the night, but she decided it was probably better if she just gave the girl the owl. If anything, she might end up dead on the floor of the hospital wing and her misery of dealing with a crackpot would be over.

She narrowed her eyes onto the girl. “Alright, Miss Riggs,” she said boringly, waving her wand to undo the bindings of the girl’s hand. The ones on the girl’s leg and waist remained enchanted in case the girl decided to hurt herself. The wand which belonged to the girl rested safely in her drawer desk, having relieved it off the girl earlier. “You may write your boyfriend.”

Without another word, Poppy waved her wand, parchments, a quill and a bottle of ink stopped, hovering just over the girl’s body. She pushed the cart to the bed and easily rested the writing materials on top of it. There was hardly anything she could do short of knocking the girl unconscious anyway.

Gesturing towards the writing equipment, Poppy smiled and said. “I’ll leave you to it.”

She should’ve walked away and leave it at that, of course. But, that tiny bit of a sarcastic gene in her won out. She stopped midway between the bed and her desk, looking back at the girl.

“Anyway, between you and me, the liver always tasted better.”

Screw it, she thought as she settled in her seat. She couldn’t care less if she would one day be held accountable for the decline of the girl’s mental health. Not when her parents clearly haven’t been getting the girl help she desperately needed.

The moment she felt her arm release she tried instinctively to leap out of the bed, to no avail, given that the only thing the nurse loosened was the restraint on her arm. I can work with that... that's fine.. As long as she wrote to Noel everything would be peachy. Wouldn't it? He did save her once before. and how did that go?. Erm... But this was different. This was a hospital--- wing. And Noel knew of her fear of Hospitals.. even if it was more a nurses office than anything else but still HOSPITAL was literally in its name and she'd be damned if she spent the night here locked up and left alone with the likes of... her.

She caught a grip on her shaking hand and carefully picked up the quill, dipping it into the inkwell she glanced at the she-devil sitting across from her. prefers the liver she shivered. But I need my liver she whimpered to herself.

What started as a very neatly written letter began to get more and more messier as her fears increased , she emphasized the words she needed to and prayed that Noel would get the hint and come to her rescue.

"I'm done. Please have this mailed for me" she passed it to poppy matter o'fact because there was nothing particularly strange about the letter aside from the fact that her script got a bit more sloppy at the end.

My dearest boyfriend Noel Beckett , 

You might be surprised that I, your dear dear girlfriend, was not there after class as you might have expected. That was because I have been HOSPITALIZED by the very kind and gentle under takings of Nurse Paxton. I'm okay. She has put me in bed and tucked me in quite tightly that I feel like im bundled in the warmest of the summer days. Please don't be worried, I will return shortly.  

Nurse Paxton looks like she might be having dinner soon, she said she liked liver. Isn't that your favorite organ too?  

I'll see you tomorrow. Maybe.  

Don't bother coming to look for me. 

xoxo 

BATTY THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE WHO MISSES YOU GREATLY

Children and their imagination can be amusing. Can being the operative word, seeing that some children, especially the likes of the girl Riggs, can have too wild of an imagination for public consumption. Poppy sighed, fighting the urge to put her legs up on the table because she was at work and not tucked away in her quarters. She kept her forward, looking out the window, but not missing any movement of Riggs might’ve made from the corner of her eyes. Under any other circumstances – well, the circumstances where she was not accused of being a cannibal – she would’ve pitied the young girl. Now, she wasn’t so sure.

A minute, two or was it fifteen minutes? It didn’t matter, one minute ticked away into the next and just as Poppy was enjoy the silence that was scarcely scared by the sound of a quill dancing on a parchment, her bliss was cut short. She heard the girl stopped writing before the declaration, but she waited nonetheless for that word of acknowledgement before she walked back towards the bed.

She fought back a grin when she caught the girl’s face. The more the girl tried to act nonchalant, the funnier it felt to Poppy. Maybe it was her dark sense of humour, maybe she was just done with the insanity – it didn’t matter. She took the letter, flipping it uncaringly, noting the changing of handwriting.

“Very well, Miss Riggs,” she said folding the letter. “I’m sure your boyfriend would be pleased to hear that you’re safe, only a little under the weather.”

Poppy didn’t want to know who the poor sod the letter was address too. But if she were to judge from how the girl was acting, she would say probably someone who was just unstable as she was. Perhaps she could loosen up the girl’s restrain later, let them escape or so to speak. Merlin knows she doesn’t need to deal with this many unhinged characters.