A Different Sort of Illness

[Mallory Starr]

She was really quite a nerd at heart, that was what Mallory decided as she finished of her last bit of homework. When Nurse Starr had asked her to watch the Infirmary for a few hours she had been sure that she'd never get her work done. The only reason she'd agreed was that she wanted an escape from snogging couples in the common room.

Not one patient had come in the whole time, she'd got done her work in record time. What was she to do now? She refused to wash bed pans and the place was pretty well stocked. Running a hand through her strawberry blonde curls she sighed, at least the couples had given her something to get upset about.

She now understood why Nurse Starr hoped for broken bones to heal.

"Dear Mallory Starr, you are a bore. And a sucker."

[Thom Seivert]

Thom wasn't aware that Nurse Starr took off and like a dutiful assistant (or he was petrified that she was going to do something to him if he didn't come in on time) he arrived a few minutes early to start his shift as her assistant.

'Hey Anna. I figured out that one potion. Apparently it doesn't go on their foot..' Thom called as he walked into the room and came face to face with Mallory. He looked at her dumbfounded for a few moments, puzzled to why she was there.

Well, she was her niece and Mallory had potential to be a really good healer. He hadn't really spoken to her since that fateful day that his mohawk was shaved and Morgs caught them in bed together.

He still had no idea if they did anything.

'Hey Mall.' Thom threw the awkwardness out the window as he approached her. 'Where is Anna?'

[Mallory Starr]

Mallory's look of confusion over Thom's appearance quickly disappeared when he questioned where Anna was. Her aunt was going to get hell for this. She was certain that Anna Starr hadn't forgotten to mention Thom's volunteering during the day.

Mallory wouldn't have agreed to be there if she had known...at least she told herself she wouldn't. God what was that pull that he had on her? Damn those Seiverts, the Starr women were weak to them.

"She quit. Ran off with Rye, decided to start a family..." She jested, though it really wouldn't surprise her if Anna did that. It was odd, Anna hadn't stayed in one place for this long ever. Either Hogwarts had caught her with it's charm, or maybe it was Thom's charm.

"Actually she's out with some old friends from school, not the most responsible thing but I guess she deserves a life. Hence I am here..." Mallory said, making a sweeping motion with her hands. "Long time no see, Seivert."

[Thom Seivert]

Thom didn't like the Herbology teacher hence why he didn't take Herbology. He raised his eyebrow when Mallory mentioned Rye but didn't say anything when she stated that she was joking and Anna was really out with some friends.

'Well, she's gotta do what she's gotta do.' He moved behind the counter and dropped his school books on the desk next to where Mallory was sitting. 'Yeah. Long time no see.'

Ever since that morning where he woke up and his head was shaved. He wore a beanie but slowly but surely a buzz cut was coming in.

[Mallory Starr]

"Don't be forlorn though, she will be back tomorrow I'm sure. Wouldn't want you losing your bonding time with her..." She said with a small smile.

Mallory knew of the 'relationship' that Thom had with her 'aunt' and some details that she'd prefer to forget. It didn't upset her any more than any of Thom's other flings, in fact she found it amusing. In fact Anna had been the original common link between the two, she knew stuff that Anna would never tell Thom.

"I can understand you've been a busy boy, I mean avoiding me much be quite a hard job. Should have expected it...I mean we have sex and you never talk to me again..."

[Thom Seivert]

'I'm not avoiding you.' Thom added then gave Mallory a sharp look and furrowed his brow. Fear shot through his eyes as he wrapped his mind around what Mallory said to him.

'We didn't have sex, did we?' Thom asked quietly as he stood still, thinking up the horror consequences of what would happen if other people knew, not to mention his relationship with Morgs.

[Mallory Starr]

"You forgot that we had sex? That explains why you aren't avoiding me. I mean I thought the deal was you take my virginity and you never talk to me again." Mallory told him, a hurt expression appearing on her face.

Apparently she could act a lot better than she thought she could. After all Mallory had always found acting a foolish talent. Now she was using it to get back at Thom for being absent for so long.

They never had sex, and if they had Mallory would have made damn sure he'd remembered it.

"But you shouldn't worry about anything, I don't have any diseases and I already took a potion to end the pregnancy."

Now she was going to far and she had to let Thom know the truth. This trick had gone on a little too long, just the look on Thom's face had made her continue on. Though it worried her on another level, did he always forget nights?

Still laughter came out of her mouth, the look on his face was very funny.

"Seivert, I'm kidding. We never had sex, if we had sex you'd remember it. Maybe you should work on remembering your nights out perhaps?"

[Thom Seivert]

'You bitch.' Thom spat as she carried on like they slept together and then he had gotten her pregnant but then terminated it. Thom was having a heart attack right in the infirmary when she acted like they did slept together and Thom unknowingly took Mallory's virginity.

'I can't believe you just did that. That was an awful thing to do, and you know its bad coming from me. I was on the verge of having a panic attack, Mall. I don't think I could live with myself if we did sleep together, you being your first time and me not remembering one ioda of it.'

He was ranting now, pacing back and forth. 'If I wanted too, I wouldn't want to be drunk and high and dating another girl. Jesus...' He looked at the ground shaking his head and looked at Mallory again. 'Don't go around saying that we slept together. You will get me killed.'

[Mallory Starr]

"Thom...I'm happy to know you care about me that much. Still do you really expect less of me? This is the Mallory Jo Starr you love and adore, who is a total bitch." She questioned him when she finally was able to get a word in edgewise.

It didn't upset her that he'd called her a bitch. While Thom might be one of the few people that she cared what they thought of her she knew what she had done was bitchy. In fact it was more bitchy than he even knew, she almost wished Morganna would find out and dump him. Then things could return to normal.

What was he thinking being the one woman type of man? She was impressed he made it that far but she wouldn't expect it to last much longer.

"I doubt she'd kill you, she'd just cut it off. Plus I'm not going to tell someone else that we slept together, especially when we didn't. I'm an innocent bystander, not my fault you find me hott." She said was mock sultry smile. "And don't go assuming I'm a virgin."

[Thom Seivert]

Thom stopped and glared at her but then started to calm down. He was still upset at her but then raised an eyebrow at her when she mentioned that he shouldn't assume that she was a virgin.

'Oh really now? I find that hard to believe.' Thom smirked in spite of himself. He was still upset, honest he was, but Thom found it amusing that Mallory proclaimed herself to not be a virgin. She was 15, his sister's age. Though Eva spent many nights with Marcus in their shared dorm...

'If you aren't a virgin, I'm pretty sure you haven't slept with anyone at this school.'

[Mallory Starr]

"My sexual history isn't any of your business." She told him with a grin, childishly spinning around in Anna's chair.

Mallory had never had sex, and nor did she plan to any time soon. The truth was before Thom she'd never really felt the real urge to, the idea had never really entered her mind. The arrival of Thom Seivert in her life had changed a lot of things.

Still she didn't want Thom to know she was that inexperienced. That would be almost as bad as him finding out how many hours of day she spent thinking about jumping him.

"I think you only want to know about my sex life because being tied down is really sexually boring. At least that is my theory, and why I shall never be tied down."

[Thom Seivert]

'Well, I guess not considering we never slept together.' Thom commented as he jumped up on the counter across from where Mallory sat. He was pretty sure that Mallory was a virgin because if she wasn't, how come she never was the one to initiate sex when he was single? Usually girls that have slept with people weren't shy to ask Thom of the same thing- Mallory was shy even if she didn't want to admit it.

He furrowed his brow when she mentioned that being tied down was sexually boring. He never thought of it that way. He slept around because he wanted to get laid and subconsciously, Thom wanted what he couldn't have. Recently he stopped sleeping around on Morgs and she was always up to it when he wanted too. It was the first time he ever thought of their relationship as boring. Morgs wasn't boring, was she? And if it didn't occur to him that she was boring, did that mean he was getting boring as well?

'I don't know.... It hasn't been too bad.' Thom commented rather lamely but then nervousness set in. What if he was losing his edginess that he fought so hard for? Was his reputation failing because his mohawk was gone and he was now a one woman kind of man?

Thom laid back on his hands and dangled his legs back and forth underneath the counter where he sat. He looked at Mallory.

'We should sneak out and do something one of these days. See a music concert or something.'

[Mallory Starr]

At the suggestion they sneak out together Mallory stopped spinning the chair and faced him. He had been so careful lately to not upset Morganna that she had started to feel like their friendship was being neglected. If she really that relationship to work she should have suggested they not see each other anymore because no matter what Morganna would never be happy with what they had.

Still it had been Thom's suggestion and who was Mallory to offer up her doubts. She wanted to spend time with Thom and the last person she cared about was Morgs.

"Sneak out you say? I'm up for it, Hogwarts is too boring these days." She was sure that had something to do with Thom being good for Morgs.

Mallory didn't have anything against the girl, but when she wanted something it wasn't often she concerned herself with others feelings. People needed to look out for their selves and who the hell did Morganna think she was to be able to control Thom.

"I could use a night out and Seivert I'm sure you need it too."

[Thom Seivert]

Thom raised a pierced eyebrow at Mallory. She was poison for him and they both knew it. Where as other girls kept away from Thom because he was dating Morganna, Mallory did the exact opposite.

'yeah, Hogwarts has gotten boring. I'll look around and see whats playing. Maybe I'll take you to a place I usually go to instead of something watered down.' He grinned at her deviously. Maybe Thom wasn't getting boring after all. Though maybe he wasn't getting boring because he just asked the girl who he didn't consider just a friend to go out with him instead of his girlfriend.

[Mallory Starr]

"I might have grown up pretty sheltered but I handle anything you can." Mallory told him with a challenging look.

He excited her in a way nothing else came close to. Thom Seivert certainly wasn't a good influence on her, he brought out a rebellious side she had buried years ago. He made her feel alive, and that was why she was so unwilling to give up what part she did have of him.

"I'm up for anything. But if my hair ends up shaved off, I will come after you and torture you in ways you've never imagined." She told him, a syrupy sweet look on her face.

[Thom Seivert]

'Well, you look good either way so I shouldn't hear any complaints.' Thom smiled sweetly back at her and jumped off the counter top to get himself moving again.

'Did Anna leave me anything to do?' He asked Mallory with a sideways look as he continued to move around.

[Mallory Starr]

"I didn't see any note but I'll check again." Mallory told him as she cleared her stuff off of Anna's desk.

Picking up her History of Magic book she noticed a note stuck on the back, pulling it off she recognized it as Anna's stationary. She hadn't been left with any real directions, just been told to not somehow manage to burn down the infirmary. With the rush that Anna had been in it really surprised Mallory that a note was written.

"Ah-ha! Here we go, a list of things to do. For you I suppose, since I didn't agree to anything more than making sure no one died."

Getting up she handed Thom the note listing some simple chores to get the place more organized. One of the tasks included organizing the medical supplies, a task that could take at least an hour.

"I'll help you I guess but only because I'm so nice."

[Thom Seivert]

'Hah. Don't burn down the infirmary. I'm not irresponsible.' Thom looked at Mallory deviously and grinned at her, knowing full well that no one bought it. He nodded to her.

'Cool. You can help me with that then.' Thom winked at her and went to get the key for the medicine cabinet. He wasn't sure why Anna trusted him with the key but nevertheless Thom knew where it was. He opened the door and proceeded to start taking everything out.

[Mallory Starr]

"Sure Seivert, and I'm just going to pretend that the reason Anna doesn't want you making any potions is because you suck at it. Not at all because she doesn't want the Infirmary burnt down..."

She was sure Thom didn't do well in Potions, considering he didn't really seem to care about school, unlike Mallory who felt the need to succeed academically. No matter how much she rebelled she couldn't help caring about school, very nerdy of her. Still she had helped Thom with his homework before and he seemed intelligent, she could only wonder how well he'd do if he tried.

Grabbing a few things out the cabinet she helped Thom clear it out, every once in a while her hand would brush his. Butterflies, that's what Angel called those feelings. Mallory found that term very sappy and stupid, but at the moment that was the only way she could describe it.

"I am a virgin...embarrassing enough, eh?" She admitted.

[Thom Seivert]

Thom knew that he didn't do very well in school. He was smart, he's been told by countless teachers before and would succeed if he actually showed up to class and did the homework that was assigned to him. Crazily enough, he would get Average grades, like Loki. However, Thom didn't have Quidditch as an excuse for his mediocre grades. He only had drugs.

As he started to rearranged the medicine cabinet, Mallory spilled that she was a virgin. Thom didn't know for sure, but he was pretty positive that she was.

'OK.' Was all Thom said for a few moments as he reached up over Mallory's head to put something back. 'Its not embarrassing.' He contradicted Mallory but was unsure of what to say to her confession.

'To each their own.' He turned and knelt down to rearrange a box on the floor.