If I Could be Anyone Else;; [[closed to Zane]]

[Ashley-Raine Wolfe]

Brutus hissed quietly, though it was less aggressive this time for he seemed to realise that Zane wasn't there to harm Ash, or he would have done already. Anyway, the Gryffindor sounded like he was worried, so the next moment the giant snake simply leant up and licked Ash's cheek again before coiling around her legs almost protectively.

The female had a feeling that she wasn't going to get Zane off her back unless she actually told him the truth, but it was upsetting to her, that her father would go as far as to completely blind her when he knew how much she already hated her poor eyesight and things going near her eyes, it also hurt her that he would think of harming her in the first place. Overall it just wasn't an easy thing to comprehend, let alone discuss with someone she barely knew, especially since she never talked about it to anyone.

"I went back, and he was there and the others ..." She started, her voice suddenly a little hysterical, like she was crying, and though she actually was at this point, it was hard to see with th einjury to her eye, and the blood. "My father told me I needed to learn, so he took a knife and he just ... Just cut right through ..." Her eyes were more important to her than those other injuries and this was obvious from the way she explained things. She sunk slightly where she sat, shaking her head.

[Zane Alexander Harlow]

Zane's eyes widened, and he seemed to realize just exactly what that cut across her eyes entailed: the loss of her eyesight. He hoped it wasn't permanent, but wouldn't be surprised if it was if Ash just sat here and did nothing about it. For a moment however, the male was stunned into silence by what she told him. It was horrible that her father would do such a thing to her, especially for such a minor offense. Horrible...

"Ash... You can't just sit here. You need to get that looked at! You could... You could loose your eyesight." He was unaware that she was already basically half-blind, but even then, he would not be any less adamant. He didn't want her to be completely blind, afterall, and she needed to be sure that she wasn't going to be. Sitting here however was not going to do her any good. She needed her eyes to be looked at, and healed. The other wounds as well, but at least her eyes.

He would talk to her about the fact that she returned home at a later time.

[Ashley-Raine Wolfe]

The female was too hysterical to really know what needed to be done or what she was doing. She didn't want to get up, didn't want to move. She wanted to stay there and disappear into nothingness, for then perhaps she would be happy. She could become a ghost, and roam the halls of Hogwarts and never see her father's face again ... It was thoughts like that which frove her to think of taking her own life, though she'd never done it because she believed Sparky and Brutus needed her. That was the only reason.

She shook her head, pulling her knees close to herself in an almost protective manner. "And what a difference that will make ... I'm already half blind. He'll just keep doing it over and over again until he thinks I've got the message. Please don't make me go through that again." She was begging the male, but it was because she knew if she got her eyes healed, her father would do the same thing again as punishment if she ever did something wrong again. She couldn't have it happen again ... It was too painful.

[Zane Alexander Harlow]

Zane hadn't expected to learn that Ash was already half-blind, but he quickly shrugged it off, not wanting to allow it to change his mind, "Ash, Ash listen to me. I don't know what it's like, but I don't imagine being even half-blind is a pleasant thing. Don't let him win, please. Just get your eyes looked at, and taken care of, so you won't loose your sight in your other one." He wouldn't be surprised that even if she didn't get them taken care of, if Derek still used Ash's eyes as a target for punishment.

"Look. One thing at a time. Come with me to the Hospital Wing, and we can get your eyes taken care of. After that we can worry about how to prevent you from having to deal with it again." He thought the simplest way was to keep her the hell away from her father, and to stop her from going the next time she's called, "Please Ash, come on." He slid off the bed, one of his hands taking her gently by the wrist, and urging her forward.

[Ashley-Raine Wolfe]

The female was too scared to think straight, too scared to think rationally. In a way she was being a little stubborn, but it was because of the fear that she was feeling that was causing her to feel this way, and act so irrationally. She was just frightened was all, and didn't want to go through such pain as she had before, it was terrible though, having to feel like that and being so afraid of one's own father. She loved him, but he kept treating her like that, and she couldn't deal with it anymore.

She shivered slightly as tthe male spoke, though as he took her by the wrist, she didn't fight him. Part of her knew that he was right and she'd be lettingh im win if she just gave up. So she would go with the male, but she couldn't think of any words to say. She grabbed his upper arm gently with her free hand and buried her head against him slightly as she came to a stand, still crying but trying to calm herself. She was just in so much pain that she wanted it to end.

[Zane Alexander Harlow]

For a moment, as they both came to stand on their feet, without thinking about what he was doing, Zane held Ash in his arms. However, though he wouldn't have minded just standing there and holding her, he pulled away a moment later, not wanting to waste much more time. He wanted her to get to the Hospital Wing and have her wounds, especially her eyes, taken care of. He placed his hands on her shoulders, as if trying to steady her, and looked her in the face.

"Can you see at all?" He asked, his voice betraying his concern, though he wasn't trying to hide it. Most of the time, he did hide his emotions, but at the moment, he wasn't thinking about that. He awaited Ash's answer, already having decided that if she couldn't see well enough to move quickly, then he would carry her back to Hogwarts.

[Ashley-Raine Wolfe]

The female felt oddly a little better when the male held her, though it didn't stop her from feeling totally and completely worthless. She was in pain and she was scared and there was only one person that she trusted to see her like this; Zane. She really didn't know him well, but it didn't matter to her anymore. He had been the nicest person to her as far as she could ever remember in her entire life, and that meant something to her. He was trying to comfort her, and it was working atleast a little bit.

She felt herself being steadied and she was almost sure that he was looking at her. "No ... Nothing." She answered truthfully, feeling no need to lie. What was the point anyway? She was a bad liar to begin with and Zane was quite stubborn in the way that he kept pressing on, so she just had to tell the truth. All she could see was blackness and the pain in her eyes threatened to make her pass out.

[Zane Alexander Harlow]

"Alright... Okay, well, I'm going to need to carry you then." Zane wasn't going to give her a chance to argue. He placed one arm behind her shoulders, and the other behind her knees, and quickly but gently picked her up into his arms. He turned immediately, and exited the room, careful not to hit her head on the doorframe as he left. He hurried out of the shack, and took off toward Hogwarts at the fastest speed he could manage, which was somewhere between a jog and a run.

As he went, he started to run ideas through his mind on what he could tell the nurse had happened to Ash. Saying she was in the forest could mean detention for her, but for him to have found her, he would have had to have been in there too, which meant the same for him, so he wasn't sure about that one. He could say that she'd been near the Whomping Willow, and one of it's thinner branches had caught her across the face. He'd seen people cut before by it. He figured that would be the better of the two, though then posed the question, what was she doing near the tree? He sighed quietly, really wishing Ash hadn't returned home.

[Ashley-Raine Wolfe]

The female would usually have argued with the male about having him carry her back, because she hated such attention and being helped. She wuld always be stubborn, and always hate feeling weak, but even she knew that it was no time to argue and that she had better just accept the fact that she needed help. Besides she was too upset to think about the fact that she was being carried across the grounds to safety, to even place a single argument upon the male at the fact that she didn't want it.

Infact what she did was quite the opposite - she placed her hands and her head against his chest, gripping his shirt between her fingers and simply trying to get closer. She felt nauseous at not being able to see yet feeling the fast movement and being held in thin air almost. It was rather unnerving to say the least but she was fine with the fact she was getting help now, and was glad that Zane had convinced her to go. She really wanted her sight back now.

[Zane Alexander Harlow]

Zane wouldn't have listened to Ash if she'd tried to argue with him. He'd come to realize she was somewhat stubborn, but wouldn't take no for an answer. He'd carry her against her will if he had to, but it turned out that she wasn't going to fight him, which he was thankful for. It was hard enough to run while carrying someone as it was anyways. He was lucky she was fairly light, although he was rather strong. It was just an awkward way to hold something and run, like carrying a big box. Even if it was light, it was hard to hold and run with at the same time.

He ignored any looks he got from people they passed by. He imagined it had to look weird, but he didn't really care. They could stare all they wanted. A few moments later, they arrived at the castle, and he immediately made his way toward the Hospital Wing. He'd settled on the lie involving the Whomping Willow, considering he didn't have much of a time to think up another one. It would have to do.

As he arrived at last at the Hospital Wing, he called out to catch the attention of the nurse, who was giving a potion to another student who looked sick. The woman's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of Ash as Zane laid her down on one of the cots, and pulled away. He could feel her blood on his shirt, but he didn't pay any attention to it. The nurse set the potion down on the nightstand by the kid's bed, and immediately hurried over, "What happened?" She demanded, already summoning a bowl of water and a cloth with a flick of her wand.

Zane backed up, allowing the nurse more room, "Um... She was near the Whomping Willow. I don't know what she was trying to do, but one of the tree's thinner branches caught her across the face."

[Ashley-Raine Wolfe]

Ash was far too out of it to really know or care what was happening around her, so she simply remained still in Zane's arms. Her head hurt from the pain and it was hard to keep her cool, because she feeling rather frantic. Rather than be afraid of her father at the moment, she was actually just scared because she could feel the stickly blood on her face and she couldn't see and it made her panic. She was suddenly afraid that she might lose all of her sight and she'd never be ablet o see again. The thought frightened her.

Before she knew it she was placed upon one of the beds and she instantly scooted back slightly, leaning against the wall behind it, her hands going to her face. She knew what was coming - things going near her eyes basically, and she happened to have a fear of such things. Part of her just wanted Zane, the person who had come to her rescue, in a way, to stay close, though she was too hysterical to actually ask such a thing, and remained huddled up slightly, her hands shaking.

She had agreed to go and get her eyes checked, but that didn't mean that she wanted to have her eyes touched.

[Zane Alexander Harlow]

The nurse waved her wand again, and a bottle of liquid was summoned to her hand. She handed it to Zane, "Here, have her drink this." She said, before turning and bustling off in the opposite direction to collect a few things. The potion she'd given Zane was called the Draught of Peace, and literally calmed agitation and anxiety. She could tell Ash was not doing so well emotionally and wanted her to take a breath.

The male made his way toward the top of the bed, remaining on the bedside, "Ash?" He called, reaching out and placing a hand on her shoulder, "You need to drink this. Here." He brought the bottle close to her lips, and pressed it against them, hoping she'd get the message and down it.

[Ashley-Raine Wolfe]

Ash was in the sort of mood that didn't allow her to take in anything, or understand fully what was happening around her. She was focused solely on her eyes, and how much they hurt, and how it was possible that her own father would want to being so much pain to her. It was unbelievable what he had done to her. Unforgiveable. And yet it was likely that she'd still return to him anyways, if not to see him, then to go to her own home. She lived thre to afterall, and he was not going to keep her away from it.

Before she knew what was happening, Zane was at her side and he placed a hand upon her shoulder, which was oddly comforting. She tried to hear him, but couldn't and yet the bottle was at her lips, and thankfully she got the message. She placed a shaky hand around it and downed the whole thing, still shaking quite violently, still sobbing. She had no idea what that potion was going to do, but as long as it helped with the pain then she would be happy with it. If not, then she'd have to deal with it.

It was a few moments later that she slowly began to calm down, and a few full minutes before she was the calmest she could be. Obviously she was still crying, because her eyes hurt more than ever now that she'd waited all that time to go and have them sorted out. But she was doing better now, and breathing heavily, before that too began to sort itself out.

[Zane Alexander Harlow]

((So I totally have no idea how magic and healing works, and I can't find information on it anywhere, so I'm just going to wing it and kind of skip at the same time, lol.))

Zane was glad to see that Ash had calmed down, and attributed that to the potion, though he was unaware as to what exactly it had been. He let his hand slide down her arm to find her own hand, at which point he placed his on top of hers, and laced his fingers in-between her own, taking her hand. He didn't know if she wanted comfort, or if he could provide it, but he figured it was worth a try if it might make her feel better.

The Nurse returned the next moment, a tray hovering behind her. Using the washcloth she'd summoned earlier, and dipping a corner of it in water, she began to was the blood away from Ash's eyes. Her touch was light and gentle, so not to provoke pain, and she worked quickly so not to linger. When at last she was finished, she laid the now red towel aside, and picked up a bottle off the tray that had a sort of tube like top, resembling eye drops.

"I don't know if you can see it Hunny, but this should take care of the repairing of whatever damage the inside of your eyes sustained. It's going to be a bit like putting in eye drops, okay?" She reached forward, and gently touched Ash's face, holding her eyelids open. She allowed a couple of drops to fall into Ash's first eye, and then did the same with the second, before pulling back, "Blink a couple of times if you can."

[Ashley-Raine Wolfe]

((It's all fine with me It's magic anyway ... It could happen any way! lolz))

Ash was actually glad for the comfort, strangely enough, and she tightened her fingers somewhat around Zane's, taking in a deep breath. It was nice to have somewhere there with her - she'd never had anyone to comfort her before, so it was a strange and yet nice feeling. And new. Part of her was also glad that it was Zane who was there for her - what girl wouldn't give for him to be holding her hand, and rescueing her eyes and all that. Well, that was how the female felt right now.

The nurse came back and Ash, ofcourse, couldn't see a thing. She nodded, slightly to the woman's words and fliched when the eyedrops were dropped into her eyes. She still hated them being touched, by anything. It was a phobia of hers, all thanks to her uncle, really, and it was one that she would never get over. She'd be blind for the rest of her life in her right eye, so it was only natural to not want things going in her good eye, or even the bad one, for it brought back bad memories.

However, she'd not blinked with her right eye in a very long time, and so while she was successful with blinking her left, though it hurt, the other one didn't budge. She supposed she would just have to practise with using her eyelid again. "Thanks." She said quietly.