Whoever walked down the hall could hear it, the piercing, blood curling scream that echoed from the Hospital Wing. It’d been a blur between the Pitch, that fiery pain that inflamed her body so sharply, she didn’t see or think about anything else. The faint whistle blown, and then James was quickly in her face faster than she could’ve considered. That’s all Marlene remembered, if she was to be coherent about it. She didn’t realize Pomfrey had cut through the uniform she bore just to be able to see her ribs, the protruding bones pressed against bare skin. She didn’t think about the room, or if she focused she could’ve seen Mulciber walking out, grinning smugly at her. ‘We have to re-set the bones—‘ Marlene’s eyes were closed. She could hear the shuffle of footsteps, the way some sharp raps against the concrete ground of the castle floor broke, and there was her head of house. Wand pointed at Marlene, binding her wrists to stop her from moving. ‘Ms. McKinnon, this is going to hurt—‘ But that first crack, her body snapping as eyes filled with tears. Then the second—that piercing scream almost muffled by the gurgle in the back of her throat. ‘Two more, there’s two more!’ But it wasn’t like Marlene was hearing them, the film of sweat against her cheeks, skin burning as nails dug sharply into the pals of her hands. It was quick work, magic, but it wasn’t like the pain wasn’t there—lingering in the air, stenches of the sounds of her immediate pain as Madam Pomfrey tried to work as fast as possible, though it felt like ages. The last gasp fell, her hands released to stop her thrashing, as she looked up. ‘You’ll be alright, McKinnon.’ And she only nodded weakly to McGonagall, as she was readjusted into a laying position, head back, trying to catch her breath as she ignored the sound of approaching footsteps.
