A Friend in Need(Mimosa)

Gaspard had been going over his homework and had written a letter to his parents letting them know that he was positive that he would get at least double E's in his N.E.W.T.s. He had put his phone on vibrate whenever he studied but would always glance over at it when it would make noise as it tried to move across the desk. Most knew to leave him be and that any messages they would send wouldn't be responded to until hours later. In case something was an emergency he never turned the device off even though a 'real' emergency would be rare. Mimosa's usual emergencies were things that caused the Ravenclaw to sigh with fond exasperation most of the time before he, and their friends, would try and help her sort it. Because of this, he would usually give the device periodic glances when it did vibrate. He'd check the brief blurb the message stated or the identity of the caller before he would set it aside to respond to later.

When he got a call from Mimosa this late however, caused a frown to pull at his mouth as he caught her name flashing on the screen. Answering it, he paused as he thought he caught the word, 'help'. Body going completely still before he stood up quickly nearly knocking his chair over, he needed to know. "Mimosa? I'm coming, but can you tell me what's wrong?"

Even as he was speaking, Gaspard was in motion going towards the door to his dorm then to the common room. Being a Prefect had it's perks he supposed as he wasn't questioned for leaving. Keeping the phone line open he wasn't sure what the situation was so walked as quickly as he could to not draw attention but darted into the secret passageways he knew and would sprint down those.

Getting to the Head Boy and Girl dorm, he didn't bother knocking. His parents would say it was rude and at any other time he would have agreed. This wasn't like any other time though. Mimosa hadn't ever sounded like that on the phone. Whenever she would ask for help, it wasn't serious. There was a sinking sensation in his stomach as he pushed open the door. "Mimosa? It's Gaspard."

"G-Gaspard, help..."

It was all the managed to choke out as she clutched at her phone, pain searing between her legs and attempting to tear her fragile frame in two. Why was her moonsblood hurting so much now? It had never hurt this much before.

"Mimosa? I'm coming, but can you tell me what's wrong?"

Even through the pain, Mimosa was aware enough to note that Gaspard had taken her seriously without prompting. unlike Squid Boy, he hadn't dismissed her. Instead, he had told her he was coming over. What this difference meant though, she would not be able to understand now.

"Hurts..." she managed, the word punctuated by a quiet sob, unable to elaborate what exactly had happened. A layer of shame now accompanied the pain. Gaspard would see her like this, in her bathrobe, with blood running down one leg and smattering red on the couch. Had she been capable of moment, the young Slytherin would have at least tried to sit up. But moving was proving more difficult than it had ever before.

Whether, he heard her sob or not, Mimosa couldn't tell. But she heard panting on the other side of the phone, as if Gaspard had quickened his stride to a run. "Don't h-hang up, pl-please," she tried, tears once again glistening down her face. She didn't ant to be left alone, not even for the scant few minutes it would take the Ravenclaw to get here.

Thankfully, the boy did no such thing, not until she heard his voice both through the phone and the door, introducing himself as he entered.

Seeing his tall frame emerge from the doorway, the girl burst into fresh tears. The pain had - impossibly - gotten even worse but ehr tears were not from that alone.

No, she was also ridiculously glad that someone had listens to her. And was here.

Pathetically, Mimosa held out her arms to the boy, her face crumpled in sobs and her tiny body laid out on the sofa like a broken doll.

"G-G-Gas-pa-pard."

What Gaspard had expected, he wasn't sure. He didn't do well when someone was in tears; more so when it was Mimosa. The last time she had been distressed she had ruined one of his jackets and shirts and he'd been just as clueless then. The Ravenclaw, unsurprisingly, was more cerebral than he was emotional. He had gotten better with social situations and people thanks to the Slytherin who had latched onto him for whatever strange reason and became his first real friend. Emotions were still a struggle for him even with all the help he'd gotten over the years and he had come to believe they always would be. They would never come naturally to him and he still was figuring out what some were and had plenty he had no name for. Panic was something he knew intimately ever since he had resigned himself to the fact that he would never turn Mimosa's friendship down. Panic was what was thrumming throughout his frame as he'd made his way to the Headboy and girl dorm.

It was an absentminded gesture that had Gaspard shove his phone into the pocket of his trousers without even seeing if he'd turned it off or not. The sight that had greeted him had his eyes taking in everything as his mind quickly worked not wanting to jump to any conclusions until he'd gotten all the facts. However, he found himself moving without though towards the girl and enveloped her in his arms as he dropped to his knees before her. While still not used to much touch, he had become accustomed to Mimosa's hugs and he would much prefer her spontaneous ones to these times when she was in tears. It caused him to feel useless, but he would do all that he could so that Mimosa could get what comfort she deserved and craved. "I'm here," he murmured.

Resting his chin on the top of her head he didn't relax his hold as his heart began to resume its normal rhythm. He wondered where Nikolai was and if it was possible that he was the cause of his friend's distress. "Do you want me to take you to the hospital wing?" While he had been interested in healing because it some of it was quite fascinating, he was in over his head and he knew that. If she was really hurt, they would need an adult's help. He would carry her if he had to.

Remembering the last instance they were in a sort of similar situation he offered softly, "Or would you prefer to come back to my dorm with me?" At least there he could manage who came and went.

Once again, the difference between Squid Boy and Gaspard was crystal clear as the Ravenclaw knelt before her, folding her into his arms without any hesitation. Her small frame melted into his as she cried, being supported by the male entirely since she couldn't do it herself. To Gaspard's credit, he didn't immediately bombard her with questions, instead taking the time to comfort her until her tears had slowed down somewhat.

"Do you want me to take you to the hospital wing?"

Did she want to go to the hospital wing? Mimosa had seen enough doctors over the summer to last her a lifetime. But she had also been told in no uncertain terms to report when something hurt. And something in her was hurting very badly right now.

"Or would you prefer to come back to my dorm with me?"

That sounded like a much better option, being alone and safe in Gaspard's dorm room. Nothing bad had ever happened to her there. But she had to see the healer first.

"In-infirmary first," she managed to gasp out, still refusing to let go of the tall boy as he hugged her. "But... I can't walk," she admitted feebly. She wished she could. She wanted to change, to clean up, not leave a mess behind for him to see. But right now all she wanted was for someone to hold her and tell it everything would be okay.

"It's my... monthly thing. It's hurting too much... I don't know why," she shook her head, semi dried brown hair spilling over her shoulder, dwarfing her features and making them appear smaller than they actually were. "just want the pain to stop."

When he heard she wanted the hospital wing, Gaspard nodded relieved that he wouldn't have to leave her in his dorm while he tried to get a professor that both he and Mimosa would trust to keep this to themselves. It would help that they wouldn't immediately come to the conclusion that the girl's condition was his fault. His worry and panic spiked when she stated she couldn't walk. "I'll carry you." He didn't think she would weight much especially just wearing her bathrobe.

"Monthly thing?" It took a moment for Gaspard to realize what she was saying and blinked as he took a glance at the couch again with a frown. His mother would sometimes have pain when she was ovulating, but it didn't seem to ever be this bad. His father would cast charms that would soothe it but sometimes would have Gaspard run hot water bottles and chocolate to his mother. "We'll get to the infirmary and the professor will get it to stop."

Letting go of Mimosa with one arm, but keeping the other around her, he took his wand out and cast a transfiguration spell at one of the cushions to turn it into a sheet. After replacing his wand, he leaned a bit to grab the sheet and started to wrap it around the Slytherin. "Let's get this tucked around you, alright?" Once secured he stated, "You're going to have to wrap your arms around my neck, Mimosa so I can pick you up."

At her confession of not being able to walk, Gaspard was quick to provide a solution. He didn't once flinch away from her or offer to get someone else to help, instead making a sheet appear from somewhere and wrapping it all around her. The girl had no idea she needed such coverage until he made the sensible decision.

"You're going to have to wrap your arms around my neck, Mimosa so I can pick you up."

The brunette nodded, readily reaching out to him and clinging to his tall frame as he easily lifted her off the couch and into his arms. He didn't seem to struggle with her weight, but then again Gaspard had been gaining some muscle since his induction into the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. At least, he felt stronger than before.

Or maybe he had just become stronger because he knew one day he might have to carry Mimosa. That seemed just as likely as the Quidditch thing, she reasoned as she tucked her face into Gapard's shirt, the walking notion making her slightly queasy. The Head Girl keeps her eyes closed and her head buried in Gaspard's chest all the way tot eh hospital wing, having no clue which route he was taking and if anyone could see them. She only opened her eyes when they arrived at their destination.

"Mr. Kyler," she heard the matron gasp. "Who is... Miss Clement? What's happened to her?"

While he wasn't one to go around lifting people up, Gaspard was sure that he'd carried heavier textbooks and even some of the tomes his father worked on were heavier than the witch in his arms. She had always been petite and one of the reasons she triggered most people's protective instincts. That was what he believed. It was the only logical conclusion that he could come to when he would try and think on the mystery that was Mimosa. He had given up on trying to figure out how her thought processes worked.

"I'm sorry if it hurts. I know it can't be comfortable being carried." Gaspard wasn't sure what was wrong with the witch nor had he been carried since he was a small child, but he couldn't imagine it was relaxing in the slightest. He tried to keep his strides even despite the urge to walk as quickly as he could. Even trying not to jostle her too much as he carried her, he knew that there were still small movements and vibrations that she would still feel. While a part of him knew it was inevitable that he cause her unintentional brief pain in order to get her the help she needed, that part that he was still trying to figure out with the strange feelings wanted to do anything he could to minimize her hurt.

Mind focused, Gaspard swallowed when his name was called by the matron. "I don't know," he confessed just as confused as he'd been when he'd responded to Mimosa's phone call. Uncertainty prominent in both expression and voice, he stated, "She said it was her menses?"

The contradictory feelings of relief and reluctance warred as he was told to place the Slytherin down upon a bed so the matron could give the girl an exam and find out exactly what was wrong. Gaspard stayed by the bed so that he would be within reach of Mimosa just in case, so she would know that he wasn't leaving her. There was the fact he wanted to know what was wrong with her.

I don't know, she said it was her menses?"

Mimosa didn't know what menses was, but she trusted the Ravenclaw to get her condition right, even if she wasn't a hundred percent aware of what it was. All she knew was bleeding down there meant the moonsblood, and so that must be what it was.

Even if it hurt a lot more than usual.

"Oh dear, oh dear," the matron clucked. "Those can be nasty, here set her down on the bed please." Mimosa tried to protest, she didn't want to be away from Gaspard right now. But the nurse seemed to understand her predicament. "It's okay dear, Mr. Kyler can stay."

Upon hearing those words, Mimosa relaxed slightly, feeling herself lowered to a bed. Her instinct was to immediately curl up but the nurse kept her straight on her back, examining her beneath the sheet as she motioned for the boy who had carried Mimosa all the way here to look away."Just relax, we're going to get you cleaned up first alright?"

The Head Girl closed her dark brown eyes, not wanting to see what the nurse was doing but she felt damp cloth on her skin and then she felt much cleaner.

"Now, can you tell me where it hurts?"

Mimosa shook her head.

"It's alright Miss Clement, it happens to every witch now and then. If you tell me, I can heal it."

Hesitantly, Mimosa pointed between her legs. The pain had dulled now but it was still there, still persistent. It still hurt to move the lower half of her body. The nurse frowned.

"Are you sure? Or is it more over here?" she asked, gesturing to her own abdominal area. Mimosa thought for a second, than shook her head again. It was definitely not in her stomach.

"Or maybe it's in a lot of places so you can't pinpoint it?" the nurse suggested kindly, making Mimosa think again. Slowly, uncertainly, she nodded.

"Now we have it," the older witch smiled confidently. "It's nothing a little bit of my medicated chocolate won't fix. Mr. Kyler, be a dear and fetch me a chocolate bar from the supply cupboard. There should be plenty on the top shelf."

A bit of tension left Gaspard's body once he heard that he would be allowed to stay and not have to argue to do so. It seemed that Mimosa felt the same from what he could tell with her own body language. When gestured to look away, he immediately did so to give the illusion of privacy. While he had turned his head away, he kept his body angled towards the two witches. He might have been brought up to be polite, but his concern as well as curiosity was overwhelming; he'd also learned to never turn his back completely on someone either unless you had someone covering it. His paranoia and the nervous energy that came with waiting for news didn't abate in the slightest as he continued to wait to hear the sounds of a spell or catch the movements of one being performed from his peripheral vision.

Logically, he could understand that you didn't need to cast a diagnostic spell on something superficial like a cut, or if someone could tell you exactly what was wrong. He could even consider that it did something mentally to be actually clean with a rag and water versus a spell sometimes. However, there were times when someone couldn't articulate what was wrong with them or even knew themselves what was wrong. Mimosa, in his opinion, fell into that latter category. She had been distraught and didn't seem as if she was quite sure if she was telling the truth when it came to why she was bleeding. That didn't explain why she was crying because he was sure that she had already had her first bleed before now.

Listening intently to the conversation, or the one sided discussion as Mimosa kept silent, a frown began to etch itself onto Gaspard's face. Catching the motions being made, his thoughts went many places as he tried to figure out what was wrong. His mother whenever she complained during her monthlies were always about her stomach area. When he'd asked her about it once, she had said that she could sometimes feel when her eggs would release. That had confused him to no end. He'd asked how something that was tinier than the end of a needle could be felt or hurt. In reply, she had conjured a needle and stabbed his hand with it, which of course hurt! She asked if he still thought something that small couldn't hurt or be felt. Gaspard had had to readjust his thinking after that.

His frown deepened when it appeared as if the matron was leading Mimosa on as if she wanted the girl to agree. Watching his friend's expression, his eyes gained a bit of a steely edge. He was beginning to question the woman's credentials much like he'd questioned the sanity of the staff when he'd first arrived at Hogwarts. He could understand traditions and the importance of some, but he maintained his stance that some had to die and be left in the past. Tradition would have had Gaspard raised the typical spoiled way, yet he had not been so had understood sometimes you didn't need to do things with magic, and when raised without it like the mundanes, those that were first in their family tended to forget their magic in times of stress. He'd seen it a few times during DADA in Professor Newbury's tests. Was the matron one of those that had grown up without magic?

"No." Gaspard knew that he would likely end up having to write his parents to explain his actions and lack of respect and manners towards an adult figure. It wasn't anything new and wouldn't cause anything more than curiosity and exasperation. They would trust he had good reasons for his behavior. His parents would at least know he was driven by his need to know and understand coupled with the deep concern for his friend. "You're not even going to cast a diagnostic charm to find out if it really is just menstrual cramps? My mother bled like that once, and it wasn't from being on her menses."

Something sour had settled in his stomach at his thoughts about what his mother's bleed had been and the thought it could imply what was wrong with the Slytherin.

Another thought occurred to him that she might just want to speak with Mimosa without him there. If she did, she should state so outright without the deception. He wouldn't have been offended and could understand in part and had expected that.

"You're not even going to cast a diagnostic charm to find out if it really is just menstrual cramps? My mother bled like that once, and it wasn't from being on her menses."

The matron, usually quite calm and motherly, turned around at the objection to her treatment plan. She narrowed her eyes at Gaspard, trying to keep in mind that the insolence was probably due to worry for Mimosa. "I've been treating young girls and women for over twenty years Mr. Kyler, i can assure you I know what menstrual pain is without performing a diagnostic spell." Pointing her wand to the supply cupboard, she added "Accio chocolate." A bar of chocolate flew into her hand.

Her tone softened slight as she handed Mimosa the treat.

"I understand it must be scary to see your girlfriend like this, young man. Especially as someone who can't understand menstruation. But I assure you she will be better soon. She just needs rest and some wholesome foods. She doesn't even have to stay here overnight now that I've cleaned her up. Not unless she wants to of course."

At this, Mimosa finally raised her head slightly, mumbling something to the affect of. "Wanna go with Gaspard." The matron turned to Mimsoa once again.

"Are you sure dear? Will Mr. Kyler ensure you eat all your chocolate?"