Self-Portrait With Bandaged Ear (Max)

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It felt funny. He was floating in limbo, almost as if he was completely still underwater, letting the currents take his body where they willed. It was dark though, and he couldn't see anything. To his utmost surprise, he could hear. But only white noise. Then he thought he heard his mom. But how did that happen? Wasn't he Deaf?

Before he could figure that out, his body jerked. No air. He couldn't breathe. Try as he might, he couldn't draw oxygen into his lungs. He tried calling out, tried moving his limbs. But somehow, his voice refused to work and his body felt sluggish, as if he was trying to run through a pool full of honey. He tried again, thrashing his limbs, calling out for someone to help. Just to help him breathe.

If he could hear, he would've picked out the panicked voices of healers amidst the chaos surrounding his still body.

"...going into shock..."

"...bring that...no the other one..."

"...hold this..stay with me, Elleon, stay with me..."

"...we got you buddy, hang tight. You're alright..."

But he couldn't hear.

Tired of fighting, Elleon welcomed the darkness, slipping into the ease of unconsciousness as the healers worked on his body.

****

He was breathing again. Quite easily, in fact. Elleon tried to open his eyes but they felt heavy, like they were glued shut. Take a deep breath, he tried again, then gave up. Perhaps he could try to sit up? He wiggled his toes. Yup, they were all there. Groaning slightly, he pushed his body up. Pain lanced through his shoulder and stole the breath from his body, causing it to flop back down on...a bed?

Okay, so no sitting up.

Staying still so that he wouldn't be in any more pain, Elleon took a moment to rest, using his sense of touch to tell him where he was. He knew he was lying in a bed, shirtless, from what he could feel of the blankets against his skin. That much he could knew. But where was he? He couldn't be back in his dorm, could he? The last thing he remembered was Max helping him - bless that soul, Elleon needed to thank him profusely for that, maybe even be his slave or something. He owed the Gryffindor his life.

And to pay him back, Elleon needed to get out of this bed. Excruciatingly slowly, Elleon concentrated his efforts on opening his eyes. As his eyelids cracked opened, he saw that he was in the hospital wing. Only one thought crossed his mind.

Where's Jelena?

Well, that and:

Gotta get up and find Max.

Guest

When Professor Vasquez had arrived and made Elleon stable, he'd apparated the three of them to the gates of Hogwarts, and straight up to the Hospital Wing. Nurse Mayer had worked tirelessly with Professor Vasquez to make Elleon stable, and Max had stood out of the way, watching in horror as Elleon stopped breathing.

Nurse Mayer had managed to stabilize him eventually, though, and Max had taken up residence next to the Hufflepuff, despite Nurse Mayer's insistence Elleon should rest. Max had promised not to wake the boy, though, because he understood the need for rest. Seeing his steely resolution not to move, Nurse Mayer had gotten Max a Calming Draught and helped to clean Max's hands of Elleon's blood. His clothes still had blood on them, but that could wait.

After a fair amount of time, and a number of different sitting positions, pacing and general boredom for Max, Elleon seemed to be waking up. Max moved to the boy's side, wondering if he should get the nurse. Until Elleon's eyes opened, though, Max didn't know how to communicate with the boy. Taking up a seat, Max waited for a few moments until Elleon's eyes seemed to open enough to see where he was. Reaching out, Max gently tapped Elleon's good shoulder, hoping to get the boy to turn his head towards him.

"Hey..." Max mouthed to the boy when their eyes met. Max probably still looked a bit grubby from the attack, but he was okay. And, now, he knew his friend was too.

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Elleon attempted to sit up again. He needed to find Max, thank him for all he did. The sharp pain had lessened to a dull ache and Elleon guessed that his muscles just needed to get used to movement again. He was half successful, managing to draw his upper body into a reclined positioned instead of upright.

A tap on his shoulder alerted him to the presence of another person and Elleon turned his head to see his saviour standing there. "Max!" he exclaimed, struggling to sit up straighter. Although Elleon was proficient in signing with one hand - he'd done it many time before - he figured it was better for him to speak out loud. Max deserved that much.

"Max, thank you so much for everything," Elleon began, speaking slowly and making extra effort to pronounce his words. "You saved my life, man. I owe you." Then his eyes took him Max's appearance and his eyebrows creased in worry. "Are you hurt? Did a healer take a look at you?"

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As Elleon tried to sit up, Max put his hand on the boy's chest and enough pressure to stop him, shaking his head in the universal sign of no. He needed to rest, and Nurse Mayer would kill Max if he let Elleon get out of bed. "Stay." Max said as clearly as he could, before pointing to the Nurse's office in explanation.

The thanks Max waved away. "I couldn't leave you to die!" Max told the Hufflepuff boy with a small smile. "How do you feel?" He asked, motioning to the boy's shoulder in a manner to try and help Elleon to understand the conversation. Max didn't know any sign language, but he had worked out that if you spoke slowly the boy could understand you.

"I'm not hurt..." Max told the boy, pulling his shirt and then motioning to Elleon. "It's your blood." Max added. "I had a calming draught, for the shock, but otherwise, I'm okay."

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Elleon relaxed back on the bed as Max told him to stay where he was. He wasn't used to talking to people while half-lying in a bed but this was a special situation. He was just glad that he hadn't woken up alone. "How long have I been here?" he asked, glancing around the room in search of a clock and trying to get his bearings.

"You could have gotten seriously hurt, though," Elleon muttered, He hated being the cause of someone else's hurt or pain. He'd be forever grateful to Max for saving his life, but he would've never forgiven himself if Max had gotten hurt in the process. Elleon's lips lifted in a half-smile at the question. "I'm alright," he answered. "Just a bit sore, that's all. Nothing a potion can't fix. Nurse Mayer did a good job."

Reassured from Max's words, Elleon smiled. "That's good. It would have sucked if you had gotten hurt too." He paused a while, a thought entering his mind. "How did you get me here?" he asked. Max couldn't have possibly carried him all the way. The only other option was to apparate but to Elleon's knowledge, that was rather difficult to do solo, much less with someone else.

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At the question of how long they'd been here. Max looked thoughtful, and back up to the clock before turning back to Elleon. "Umm... well, we got back to the castle just before four, yesterday afternoon. So... just over twenty four hours..?" Max guessed. Timings were not something he'd been worried about, in truth. Only getting Elleon safe and well, but it had been long enough.

"I could." Max said with a laugh, shaking his head at the idea. "But, I didn't, so don't worry!" He told the Hufflepuff boy, hoping to reassure him, because Max was fine. Shaken, yes, but fine. "I'll get Nurse Mayer for you, in a minute." Max added, because he didn't want Elleon to be in pain, but not Elleon was awake, and Max had seen his friend was okay, he doubted the witch would let him stay any longer.

Being questioned on how they'd arrived here. Or, specifically how Max had got here with Elleon, the Gryffindor smiled softly. "It wasn't me. Professor Vasquez found us in the alleyway that I'd gotten you in to safely." Max explained, pausing to swallow because that had been a very distressing time. "He patched you up, and got us back to the castle. I... just followed you here. I had to make sure..." Max couldn't say the next words, but he had had to make sure Elleon didn't die.

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Elleon's mouth widened in surprise, his lips forming an 'o' shape as his eyebrows lifted a little. "Wow. I've been out quite long," he commented but was interrupted by the churning of his stomach. His cheeks reddened the slightest bit as he wondered if it had been loud enough for Max to hear. That would be embarrassing. Elleon himself couldn't hear it, but he knew his hunger pains sometimes made themselves known. His sister told him as much. "No wonder I'm hungry," he said, voicing his thoughts.

"I'm glad you didn't," Elleon responded with a grin. Elleon didn't know what he would've done if Max had gotten seriously injured. He was actually quite impressed with his friend for managing to keep a cool head in such a chaotic situation. Elleon probabaly would've done a lot worse if he had to save someone else.

"That would be good, thanks," he replied with a smile. "I think she should have something for the soreness." It didn't hurt a whole lot and it almost felt as if he'd slept for a long time in the wrong position and had a knot somewhere. It was just irritating and uncomfortable.

Elleon watched carefully as Max explained. He missed a few words but managed to fill in the blanks easily enough. Professor Vasquez? Elleon recalled his charms professor. He didn't really know him well or was very close to him, but he made a mental note to thank him when he got the first opportunity to do so.

Seeing Max stumble over his words, Elleon's eyebrows creased. He could tell that he'd somehow upset Max with his question - which was completely unintended. Although he couldn't hear his friend speak, his eyes made up for what he lacked, and because touch was another one of the senses that made up for his hearing, reached out his good hand and patted Max's shoulder. "Hey Max, I'm okay. You saved me and you should be proud of that. Things could have gotten a lot worse if you hadn't done what you did."

Guest

At the comment of being hungry, Max mentally slapped himself, quickly turning to the side where he had a bar of chocolate. Nurse Mayer had given it to him and told him to eat it, but Max knew sugar and him was not an overly good mix. He'd had a couple of squares, but not enough to be bouncing on the spot. Taking it from the side, Max handed it to Elleon with a smile. "Have some chocolate, it's good!" The boy insisted with a warm smile, that much was totally true.

When Elleon touched his shoulder, Max met the younger boy's eyes, and his words brought a small smile to his lips. He knew he was being a bit silly about it, Elleon was okay, but so many times he'd thought he might lose the Hufflepuff, it was very difficult to actually accept that he was okay. "Yeah... you're okay." Max repeated with a nod, before remembering that Elleon was in pain.

"I'll get Nurse Mayer. She said I couldn't stay when you woke, though, because you have to rest." Max explained, which was quite clear from his features that he wasn't too happy about this arrangement, but he understood. "I'll come and see you later, though, okay?" Max insisted, getting up and giving Elleon a small wave. He hesitated for a moment, before going to get Nurse Mayer, who - as Max expected - shooed him away because Elleon needed medication, and then sleep.

Max hadn't argued, because he understood that he was not going to win this one.

Guest

As Max turned to get the chocolate, Elleon wanted to stop him but wasn't fast enough and swallowed his words back. It hadn't been his intention to make Max get him food - he'd just been commenting on what he was feeling. But Elleon couldn't say no to chocolate so the took the offered bar with a bright smile, voicing his thanks before taking a bite.

"I'm glad you stayed anyway," Elleon replied. Although he'd never admit it, he would've hated waking up alone. Seeing a friendly face after going through an ordeal was a godsend and he thanked Merlin Max had been there with him. Even if the boy couldn't sign and Elleon had to be vocal - which he didn't like very much - he was grateful for the company and concern of his friend.

"Okay. I'll be here until Nurse tells me I can leave," Elleon said, responding with a wave of his own and grinning as the nurse shooed Max away. He informed her about how he was feeling and drank the potion she gave before promptly falling back to sleep.