Countin' flowers on the wall (Victoria)

Turns out, waking up in a hospital bed in the dark, with searing pain shooting up your leg wasn't the worst or the most terrifying thing that can happen to a person. One's parents bursting in your room, yelling frantically about how worried they were and that they had to drive for several hours with panic almost blinding them was, in fact, truly terrifying. Mary managed to calm her parents down, assuring them she was alright and that they were only keeping here there for routine observation - a lie, of course, they had to regrow the bones in her ankle. Apparently, it wasn't the best idea to carry someone with an almost shattered ankle. It did things like shatter one's ankle completely and weaken one's knee. But her parents didn't need to know that. Once they made sure their daughter wasn't actually going to die, Ann and Stephen went to check in a nearby hotel, ignoring Mary when she told them they could just take the Floo Network. Her Mom said magic has done them enough harm for one day, giving the young witch a pointed look and then hugged her and kissed her on the cheek before leaving. Mary could hear her Dad letting out a small sigh at his wife's words and she smiled, happy that at least one of her parents wasn't totally against magic.

When they left, the brunette apologized to the people in the room for the commotion, as her parents yelling was quite loud. The room was filled to the brim, as the American Magical hospital was overfilled because of the attack. It wasn't the most convenient or comfortable, but Mary didn't mind sharing the room with people who also fought for what was right. One of the people in the room was Tess and Mary hoped the witch would be okay, as her injuries seemed quite severe.

After breakfast, Mary took the Skele-Gro and a sleeping potion that knocked her right out, getting her a few uninterrupted hours of blissful sleep. It was around noon that the pain woke her up. It wasn't only pain, though, it was a strange, surreal feeling as she could feel the bones forming again and seeking their place in her leg. She managed not to cry out and only asked the Medi-Witch for some painkillers, which earned her an odd look, but the lady returned with a potion. Mary didn't really care if she got a potion or Muggle pills, the only thing that mattered was that the pain would be gone as soon as possible.

Around fifteen minutes later, there was only some dull pain in her ankle and Mary was resting comfortably. There were some magazines that the Medi-Witch brought in and the witch was listing through them, bored out of her mind. She's already read the more interesting of the articles and all that was left now were things like '10 Ways To Please Your Man', 'How To Tell If Your Children Are Dabbling In The Forbidden Arts' or horoscopes. Admittedly, Wizarding horoscopes were a bit more amusing that the Muggle ones, but they still weren't very interesting.

The witch sighed and hoped her parents would be back soon with a book or two and looked up hopefully when someone walked through the door.

It wasn't her parents walking through the door, but it was someone more cheerful and full of energy. Or, that's how the girl usually was. The bit about energy was still correct, Mary couldn't really follow the stream of words that came out of Victoria's lips. However, she seemed less happy than usual. It wasn't really that surprising, once Mary thought about it. She had just lived through a nightmare the night before and Mary knew how Victoria felt about violence.

She took the girl's hands, squeezing them gently. "Hey, it's okay. It's okay, I'm okay, I'll be out of here before you can say 'Quidditch'." Mary smiled what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "Wanna sit down?" she said and then shifted without waiting for a reply. The witch winced at a sharp pang of pain in her hip when she moved her body, and she hoped Victoria didn't see it.

"I'm just happy you came at all." she said gently and then finally looking at the things Victoria brought. "Thanks for all this!" she said, motioning to the books and candy, grinning brightly. "Wanna share the candy?"

Mary settled in as comfortably as she could and, because she couldn't wrap her arm around Victoria, she settled for taking the witch's hands in hers again. It was so relaxing, spending time with the young Wormwood and even seemingly sad and shaken, she still gave off a comforting vibe. Mary was glad there didn't seem to be any awkwardness between them because of the kiss, but she didn't know whether that was still coming. She hoped it wasn't.

When the young witch declined sweeties, Mary narrowed her eyes, deciding that something really was wrong. She just didn't know whether it was the shock of the battle or something else. Whatever it was, Mary was angry at it. It was one thing, putting her in a hospital, she was prepared for that happening, but putting Victoria in such a state was quite another thing.

"Do you want some tea instead? They brought it in earlier, but I expect there's a charm to keep it fresh." she offered in a cheerful voice, the one Victoria usually used.

"You can have them, you deserve them. Everybody said how brave you were."

The witch blinked as she processed the information. She didn't think anyone really noticed her in the battle, there were so many things going on and everyone was preoccupied by trying not to die. "I- Thank you." she said slowly, as she wasn't really sure what to say. Thankfully, Victoria was asking her a question before she had time to say anything else. Not that she would know what to say if she had any time.

"I'm going home as soon as they fix my ankle." Mary smiled, trying not to show that she was actually worried about the consequences. The Healer hasn't said anything about that yet and it was causing some concern in the back of her mind. "I don't think there will be." she said in what she hoped was a nonchalant voice. They regrew bones every day in here, right? No cause for concern. "I think they're just keeping me here for observation, to be honest." Mary was mainly trying to cheer Victoria up, but there was a small part of her that was trying to reassure herself that everything would, in fact, be okay. And if lying to herself and her friends was the way to do that, then so be it.

Victoria rejected tea as well and Mary had to suppress a sigh. Things weren't allowed to be bad for Victoria, she was like a ray of sunshine and people like that deserved only the best. They certainly didn't deserve to be in the middle of a war when they were just 15.

Mary smiled at the soft 'you're welcome' and leaned in to Victoria, closing her eyes. Things seemed simpler when she was around and Mary didn't really know why. Maybe it was the cheerful and confident manner in which the young Wormwood usually went about with. Even if Victoria was down, she still brought up those feelings in Mary and she was grateful for that. Someone needed to be optimistic in this world.

"Yeah, I'm sure they do it all the time." she grinned confidently, really trying hard not to sound apprehensive.

"I wish we'd stayed out in the gardens."

Mary didn't say anything for a while, just pressed her lips to the other witch's forehead and squeezed her hands. "I wish so too, then I could've gotten you to safety first." she replied quietly and truthfully. There was no question about her fighting, being a Head Girl and an aspiring Auror, but there was no need for Victoria to have witnessed all of that.

"I don't... I don't even know how you got out?" Mary asked quietly and leaned her head slightly on the side, looking at the younger witch. She figured Jake would have taken care of that and she saw him in the battle later on, but she didn't know how exactly Victoria got to safety. In the midst of battle, she couldn't have afforded to think about that, as harsh as that sounds.

"You'd... You'd still have gone back in?"

Mary blinked, surprised. "Of course, I - Professor Holmes gave us instructions." she said simply. The look in Victoria's eyes was somewhat unnerving and Mary looked away, not being able to hold her gaze. "And I couldn't have just left, with everybody else still in there." she added in a whisper. Maybe someone was still alive because she stayed and fought and the thought alone made her feel better. She did her best on the field and she didn't regret it, not even for a second. What's a broken ankle compared to saving a human life?

As Victoria explained, Mary nodded and stroked the girl's hands with her thumb in what she hoped was a calming manner. "It's okay. I'm sure they know you're thankful, honey." She felt sorry and angry that Victoria had to see the insane woman killing the child and then killing herself and she kissed her forehead again.

"You know it's okay to feel like this, right? To feel shocked and sad and... everything." Mary said gently. "It was traumatizing and you shouldn't have been there... None of you should've been there" she added, thinking about all the students. "Anyway, um. You can talk about it, if you want to." the witch offered after clearing her throat where a lump was threatening to form.

"I still need to find out to thank them." I still need to find out to thank them." 

Mary smiled and nodded. "I can help you find them. Someone must have seen you getting out." she said in a determined voice. If Victoria wanted to thank someone, then she will.

The witch listened to her friend quietly and kept stroking the younger girl's hand with her thumb. Truth be told, she had no idea what to say. No advice, mo comforting thoughts to offer, as she was just as frightened herself. She couldn't say that to Victoria, of course. The younger Wormwood needed comfort and optimism and Mary wished she would know how to give them. Instead of speaking, she withdrew one of her arms and awkwardly wrapping it around Victoria in an attempt of offering comfort.

"How do you d-deal with it, Mary?"

She took a deep breath, trying to think of something, anything. "We defeated them. We were strong, we fought back and we defeated them. And if anything like that happens again, we'll be ready again and we'll win again. What happened was horrible and I- I see those things too, when I close my eyes, but... but we're stronger than them and they won't succeed, ever." Mary closed her eyes, swallowinf the lump in her throat. There were no tears, thankfully. "That's how I deal, I suppose. By knowing we're prepared if anything like that happens again." She didn't know whether that would comfort Victoria, but it was the truth and it was some sort of optimism.

Mary took the comment of her being brave with raised eyebrows, but she thankfully managed not to scoff. She didn't think of herself as brave, more like ... following instructions. She didn't know whether that was brave or not, but she was good at doing as she was told. And taking initiative, when the time called for it.

"One day I'm going to be as brave as you."

The witch smiled down at Victoria and gave her a squeeze, wincing a bit at the pain the movement caused. "You are brave, honey. You don't have to risk your life in order to be considered brave. In fact, I don't want you risking your life." Mary said, in an attempt to make a joke. It didn't work, in her opinion.

"What are you doing over the holidays?"

Mary thought for a few seconds before answering. Before, she had alwaya made plans with Oscar and Lydia, but now... well, Oscar was dead and she had broken up with Lydia. She hasn't given summer vacation much thought over the last couple of months, because of the exams and everything going on.

"I don't know, actually. I'm moving in with Gavin and spending some time with Mom and Dad. We usually go camping, but we haven't talked about it this year..." she trailed off. "What about you?"

"That'll he so much fun! Where are you moving to? If you need any help I'm free to help!"

Mary grinned and nodded. She was very excited to be moving in with Gavin and starting a new part of her life. She knew it was going to be hard, training to be an Auror, but she was determined to succeed and she was ready to work hard. "Boston. We found a two bedroom apartment that's quite low on rent and it even has a gorgeous view." Mary said enthusiastically. The view was a must for Gavin and up until she actually saw it, it wasn't really that important to her. Now she couldn't live without it.

"I think my parents will help me move, but I'd love it if you'd help." she smiled. Having Victoria around was always pleasant and fun.

"I'm sure camping would be great! I haven't been on holiday in ages!" 

"You could go with us, if you'd like. I'm sure Mom and Dad wouldn't mind." she offered. She would, of course, understand if Victoria didn't want to go with them, but she still wanted to offer. "They're Muggles, though and they don't really like me using magic a lot. I still do when they're not looking or for some mundane things." Mary explained.

She listened to Victoria tell her about her plans and smiled. "That sounds great, very relaxing. I'll write to you too." Mary promised, the smile still playing on her lips. There was a part of her that didn't want to leave Salem, that jut wanted to stay a teenager, live at the school and not worry about things like rent, food or money in general. This part of her wanted to stay like this, cuddling Victoria and thinking about the distant future. The other part of her, the main part, told her the future wasn't really that distant any more and this was the part that couldn't wait to move in with Gavin and start the training. That was the part, Mary figured, that Victoria would consider brave. She herself considered it ambitious.