Ed bobbed his head in a small nod, but didn't listen to the rest. Instead, he slid his scowl to the one he held responsible for this mess. He only caught the barest glimpse of the boy-child as he slipped behind the crowd.
He had changed into a long sleeved shirt, and grabbed another hated robe in the short break he had before dinner. His stomach growling loudly once again as he appproached the table with his knapsack in hand. Many of the Griffindors opened their eyes wide in alarm. Some abuptly got up and moved away from him as he sat at the bench, leaving only Harry, Hermione, and Ron as his willing companions at the meal that night. Ed quietly grabbed an empty plate with a gloved hand.
"Aren't you..y'know.." Harry said and glared at his fellow Griffindors.
Ed glanced at Harry as he dished his choices to his plate.
"No. I am not bothered by dhis...childish behavior." Ed managed a smile. "I find dhe stories dhey make up funny. Much better dhan seeing dhe..um..."
Ed swallowed, and forked a potato. As he chewed, he grabbed an extra muffin or two that he slipped into the bag after a quick glance to the high table.
"bah wat..?" Ron said, mouth stuffed full with food.
Ed turned back and flexed his right hand into a fist that he set beside his plate. Then continued to eat with his left.
"Ron..!"
"Wha.?" Ron said after he swallowed some juice.
"Just..nevermind." Hermione said.
Ron looked at her with suspicious, narrowed eyes.
"Honestly..! You won't get it even if I told you.."
Ron looked at Harry then.
Harry shrugged, frowned, and threw his hands up in the air in surrender.
"So..what's Umbridge got you two doing?" Ron said.
Harry frowned and looked down abruptly, as if his dinner was the most interesting thing to be examining. Ed glanced to Harry, and shrugged.
"Lines." Ed said, and grabbed another muffin.
"At least it's only lines." Hermione said. "I can only imagine what Grubbly-Plank will have you do for your detention with her. She has the entire forest to take care of. Last time we had one in that class, we had to track down an injured unicorn for Hagrid. In the middle of the night..!"
"That..wasn't fair of her. It was all Malfoy..I know he.." Harry said. "Your arm. I mean, it was such a.."
"Does not matter." Ed said. "iz.. my trouble, not yours."
"Trust me." Harry said. "You're not alone when it comes to Draco Malfoy. Time to go."
Ed turned to Ron and handed him his knapsack.
"Keep dhis for me?"
"Uh..sure. Why?"
"I vwill be needing them later." Ed said.
Ron looked at him with confusion painted over his face, but took the bag.
Ed turned and wordlessly accompanied Harry all the way to the toad woman's door.
Detention number two wasn't much different that the first, except for a few details. The toad had Ed remove both gloves and roll up both sleeves before having him sit down. And she spent much more time watching him with her beady eyes. When they were dismissed, it was again well past sunset, and this time, a wave of dizziness hit him as soon as he stepped out the door. He managed to steady himself before Harry joined him.
Together, they walked in silence down the hall. When they rounded the corner, and Ed suddenly staggered and leaned his shoulder heavily against the wall: trying to will the dizziness away once more with all his might. His eyes closed against the spinning sensation, he had his left hand rubbing small circles at his temples. When Harry grabbed and slipped his right arm across his shoulders, Ed didn't have the energy to complain or fight.
"I know it had to be you doing that...quill-tip dissolving jinx. But..why're you..?"
"..Like dhis?" Ed said, and held up his left arm where the lines had been scratched. The skin raw and red. "dhink about it...." Ed blinked in wonder at the portrait of the fat lady. "..Here alvready?"
"Took a short cut I know." Harry said with a small, tired smile. "Mimbulus Mimbletonia."
The portrait swung open and Harry held on to his arm just past the entrance, where Ed swung his arm up and away in favor of firmly grabbing a chair back with his mismatched hands. Once there, Ed blinked a slow blink, and fixed his gaze to the top of staircase that led to the dorms.
"No..don't you even."
"Vhat."
"I want to be able to talk to you, and when you do that..thing..You shut out every..Tell me..why are you like this?"
Ed looked over at Harry, and half grimmaced.
"You vreally can't figure it out for yourself?"
"Obviously..or why would I ask?"
Ed shook his head, an action he immediately regretted because it make the dizziness even worse, and rubbed his temples again with his left hand. Giving up on the stairs for now, he flopped down on the nearest chair.
"Dhink. Harry. Vhat have ve been vrighting vith for dhat toad woman for the past two days?"
"Blood..but.."
Ed nodded and leaned his head back into the chair. He closed his eyes, wanting so much to go to sleep right then and there.
"Ed..? Stay with me...come on now. Talk.."
Ed opened his eyes slowly.
"Dhese." Ed lifted his right arm, and looked at it as though he had just installed it. Flexing the metal fingers one by one. "Half my body...but dhey do not have blood..." Ed looked at Harry, and raised his eyebrows. ".. understand now?" Ed said.
"No. no I don.." Harry said, then his eyes widened. "S-she's killing you...Ed..we..!"
Ed snorted.
"Just need food." Ed said, "I vill be fine. Fact is: made it vorse by using the blood to boost vreactions. only vay to reach across vroom vith such small arrays..."
Ed heard stomping sounds as soon as he had said "food". And it wasn't until he said "arrays" that he noticed Harry was nearly to the top of the stairs. Ed sniffed in amusement.
"think..he needs sleep..for tomorrow.." he thought.. Then his eyes fluttered shut.
:::
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