CHAPTER THREE.
hospital is where the heart is.
( paper crane no. 775. )

TO SOME PEOPLE, the harsh and unfamiliar stench of citrus-scented bleach at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries would tingle their nostrils and water their eyes. But to Mint, it smelt like home.

From the moment she was born, the inside of a hospital ward was all she knew and remembered. Her earliest memory was her three-year-old self hysterically crying in her father's arms as healers jabbed needles into her fragile skin, poking and prodding her like she was some kind of dough, frightened and confused as to why this was happening. (It got easier to deal with over the years; the sharp pricking slowly became senseless and old. Instead, it was like greeting an old friend).

The sudden blackouts; the heart palpitations from her heart either going too fast or too slow; the dizziness; the chest pain — whatever it was, she always ended up back at St Mungo's. The same stuffy corridors; the same hideous cream wallpaper that was slowly but surely peeling off; the same menus and lumpy mash potato she had every dinner with no fail. It was home.

Well, a home between homes.

The McKinney family were soon regulars at the wizarding hospital. Mint had her own designated bed and Kale had his own seat in the visitor's tearoom upstairs, where he always sat with a book and a cuppa. Even if you'd never seen them in person, everyone at St Mungo's knew who they were. They were like ghosts in the night: heard but never seen. Kale and Mint. Mint and Kale.

She'd spent many of her birthdays there — many of Kale's too — blowing out a single candle and spending countless wishes on a miracle. A miracle that would heal her heart and save her life, allowing her to leave the same four walls she had become accustomed to. Albeit, her father became hopeless after her seventh birthday and soon enough, so did Mint. She gave up wishing on a shooting star and on a candle upon a cake. Wishes weren't strong enough.

From birth, the girl underwent operation after operation as the healers desperately tried to figure out what the hell was causing her body grief. What was possibly leaving her so weak and fragile? A lot of results came back for the symptoms she demonstrated, but unfortunately, there was always something that mismatched. It was all too complicated.

It wasn't until after the accident of Mint that healers finally realised was killing the little girl. How could they have been so blind!

"Mr McKinney?" One of the Mungo healers called from the doorway of the children's ward. "A word, if I may?"

Kale McKinney's gentle eyes peered up from behind his copy of Winogrand's Wondrous Water Plants by Selina Sapworthy he was quietly reading to a sleepy ten-year-old Mint, who lay between the thin sheets of the creaky hospital bed, trying to escape the coldness of the winter night. A soft smile had crept on his face at the sight of his daughter's tranquil state, but as he noticed the thick stack of papers in the nurse's arms, his smile faded into a familiar frown.

He set the book down on the hospital's bedside table, whispering an, "I'll be back in a minute," to the drowsy young girl and strayed in the direction of the doorway — which was conveniently right next to Mint's bed.

The nurse gave the man a sympathetic smile as he came nearer; his stomach doing somersaults at the doleful look. It was the same nurse who'd delivered years of bad results to him and every time he prepared himself for a different outlook, she'd give him the same pitied, sorrowful smile.

At this point, he almost wished she didn't.

Finally, the nurse sighed - the growing tension almost unbearable. "Mr McKinney, I hope you realise we've done everything in our power to understand just what exactly your daughter is suffering with..." The man nodded ever so slightly. He did understand. They'd been trying for the past ten years — give or take. "It's unfortunate in this time and age that we haven't discovered much about heart diseases in young children. It's always an option to use magic to heal your daughter, but not knowing the consequences, we could risk it even more..."

"I see..." Kale McKinney replied sorrowfully, casting his eyes to his daughter's motionless body. What had he expected?

"I'm afraid there is no available treatment we can give your daughter," she gently spoke, almost as if she was afraid raising her voice by the slightest would break the man.

It was always hard to give this kind of news to a parent. The gloomy thoughts that their child would never get better or at least have a chance at a healthy, normal life. The nightmare of constantly having to abide by rules to not upset the symptoms of whatever disease the world had granted them. Nevertheless, at that moment, the nurse knew she would rather have the man know now than give him false hope for the future.

But something in the nurses choice of wording made Kale McKinney's head spin. 'No available treatment'? What was that supposed to mean? Had they figured out what was wrong with his little girl? If they knew there was no treatment for her, then surely they had figured out a diagnosis? And why so many papers?

Oh, what did they say? Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back? He gingerly pointed to the papers with his hand shaking ever so faintly. "So, do you know?" He asked, a hopeful glint now swimming in his eyes.

"Miss McKinney!"

The nurse hesitated for a quarter of a second. She contemplated whether to keep her lips tightly shut... or to let the cat out of the bag after so many years. Would he take it well? Would it be what he was expecting? Would it not? Making a quick decision on the spot, she swept all the documents from her aching arms and handed them to the waiting man. "Well," she started, warily watching his blue eyes scan through the papers, "it's more of a suspicion of the healers than an actual confirmation."

"Miss McKinney!"

At the top of the first paper was a name. A diagnosis. Scribbled in black marker and underlined. That was it. Kale furrowed his eyebrows, "What the hell is B-"

"Earth to Miss McKinney! Are you there?"

Mint blinked harshly as she was snapped out of her stupor, glancing up at the waiting and unimpressed Professor McGonagall. "Y-yes, professor?"

"Are you currently with us, Miss McKinney?"

"Taking a second to look around, she realised the lesson had ended. The Transfiguration classroom was almost empty, only her and a few other students still scribbling notes from the blackboard remained. Since when had there been notes? Had she really been out of it for that long? She couldn't even remember McGonagall starting!

McGonagall cleared her throat, bringing Mint's attention back to her. She was waiting for an answer — one that Mint had absolutely no idea of.

"I think so..." She mumbled, still trying to wrap her brain around the fact she'd been up in the clouds for an entire lesson. Her head felt light and woozy. "I mean, I am now..."

"Good," she chastised, "then I'm sure you could also tell me what today's lesson was on?"

Mint's eyes flickered to the blackboard behind the woman's head. She always wrote the title there. "Metamorphmagus," she read. "Right?"

"And what do Metamorphmagi have the ability to do?" McGonagall challenged, crossing her arms.

Oh! She knew this! "To change their appearance without the use of Polyjuice Potion or any magical spell, but purely by sheer will."

"And what's the difference between an Animagi and a Metamorphmagi?"

"While a Metamorphmagi can change into a wide variety of forms, an Animagi can only change into one animal determined by their inner traits." Easy. Was this a test?

Professor McGonagall hummed in approval.

"Next time, at least try and look like you're actually paying attention, instead of staring at the back of Mr Longbottom's head all lesson, yes?" Mint gulped and guiltily nodded. She lifted herself from her seat and grabbed her bag before heading to the door. "Oh, and Miss McKinney? Thank you for my crane." The blonde let a small smile grace her features as she waved the woman off and wandered into the hallways, the flashback slowly coursing its way to the front of her mind.

She didn't know what had triggered it or why it had been that memory that'd sprung to mind.

She remembered that day vividly. She remembered being in the uncomfortable hospital bed, making sure to keep her eyes tightly shut to fake the expression that she was soundly sleeping. When in fact, she was secretly listening in to the conversation between her father in the nurse, finally hearing the name of the disease she was cursed with from birth. She remembered sneaking into her father's study that very next week, to where the papers sat and reading them through, page by page. To her ten-year-old mind, they were just words on parchment and she never understood what "fatality" meant. But as time went on and she got to the medical section of the Hogwarts library, Mint Rosé knew she had already lost the battle.

The world had decided her fate and she had to accept it. Even if she didn't want to.

As Mint strolled through the hallways on the lookout for her friends, she couldn't help but notice how light her head felt; like it wasn't even attached to her body, but was floating above. Every step felt dragged and heavy as though her feet were shackled and dragging cannonballs. And since when had the courtyard started spinning?

"Why the long face, McKinns?" A deep voice spoke suddenly and Mint resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Of course he would be the one to catch her at a time like this. Damn it, Black...

"Probably from being in your presence," Mint harshly retorted, soothing her temples. Great, now a headache. What next?

"Yikes," Sirius cringed at her tone, raising an eyebrow. "Who pissed in your cornflakes this morning?"

"Nobody. I just want to be left alone." She hoped he'd take the hint and pack it up, however, Sirius Black was not one to give in easily. Especially when it came to something he wanted.

And neither was James Potter - hence the reason they were friends - as his irritatingly hot voice interrupted them, causing Mint to curse angrily under her breath. Did they not know how to leave people be? "You hear that, Pads? She wants to be left alone," James mocked as he caught up to them from behind.

"Why are you here?"

James looked offended. "Can a boy not come to see his favourite herb?"

"I- I mean, no. But- what?" She stuttered. A herb? She wasn't a herb. She was a human, just with a stupid plant name. She didn't grow out of soil or photosynthesise! She was very much just like everybody else — except she also... wasn't.

"You know, Prongs, I could tell a joke about herbs," Sirius grinned wickedly, throwing his arm around James. "But unfortunately, I don't have thyme."

The pair boomed with laughter, throwing themselves at each other, while Mint pinched the bridge of her nose. Albeit, Mint couldn't help but internally swoon at the sound. James Potter's voice was easily one of the best sounds known to man, in Mint's opinion. It was deep and gravelly, and in the mornings, it had a slight croaky undertone. It reminded the blonde of the fatty chocolate cake they sometimes served at Christmas.

"Oh come on, McKinney! That was funny!" James teased, trying to suppress his laughter as much as he could. "Live a little!" Trust me, she thought, right now I'm trying my best to.

Mint sighed. Her head was gradually becoming more and more floaty. She knew what was happening. If she got to the dormitory quick enough, perhaps she'd be fine. She decided to waste no more time before it was too late. "What do you want?"

"Alright... you caught us!" James surrendered, throwing his arms up. "I- we,"  he gestured to himself and Sirius, "want our cranes."

"Like... this week," Sirius added as the boys shared a confident, mischievous grin. They knew nobody could refuse them. They were the hottest boys in the school! No girl ever had the guts to deny Sirius Black and James Potter if they knew what was best for them. Surely, some blonde Ravenclaw would eventually give in to their charms and-

"No." With that, she spun on her heels, not even glancing back once. She needed to get as far away from the boys as possible. They could only follow her so far.

"Oh come on, McKinney! Why not?"

"Because I said so."

"I've waited six years for Lily!" James whined. "I can't wait any longer!"

"Do you ever wonder why?" Mint snapped. All the patience she had harvested for them had run out. She wanted out and she wanted out now. "Maybe it's because she doesn't like you!"

James moved in front of the girl, pulling her to a halt. He was close, perhaps too close. "Which is why I need the crane! To show her I'm the only one who's worthy enough!" She gave him her best glare, pushing past him. "Look, your cranes bring luck to people, don't they? I mean look at Moony- I mean, Remus! His wounds are almost completely healed! It would've taken a lot longer if you hadn't given him one the other week!"

By now, Mint's forehead had gotten warm, with beads of sweat forming and rolling down the side of her face. She harshly blinked every few seconds, the world spinning around her.

She'd completed forgotten to take it.

James, once again, moved in front of her. "Please!"

She, once again, pushed past him. "No!"

Sirius blocked her path. "We're not asking for much!"

Her heart started to faintly burn, followed by her harsh inhales as her body lacked oxygen. Everything was going so fast. Everything ached. She needed someone — anyone — to help her. Irene wasn't here. Nor was Lily. Or Madam Pomfrey. She was completely alone and everything burned throughout her body. And-

"For fucks sake!" Mint bellowed, squeezing her eyes shut. "Can you guys stop moving? You're giving me a headache!"

James awkwardly laughed while he exchanged glances with Sirius. "We're not moving, McKinney..."

She paled. "H-huh? You're not?"

"No..." James confessed with concern etched upon his face. What was going on?

"Oh..." she barely whispered before her body gave out.

And Mint hit the floor.

END OF CHAPTER !!
to be continued.

nini speaks !

james and sirius rn: 👁👄👁
hahaha naughty naughty you didn't really think i was going to tell you what her disease was straight away??? lmao !!! but poor mint's heart really hates her rn like damnn give her a break 😳 anyways i hope you
enjoyed and stick around!! <3

( rewritten; 20/10/21 )