Heart of Stone: HPHM Year 6

Hospital Wing

"I said I'll be fine, Ben!" Sarah all but screeched, as she trotted toward the Hospital wing. "If I get cursed while I'm in there, Madam Pomfrey will fix me right up, okay?"

She pulled open the large, wooden door and slammed it behind her, leaning against the door and taking a deep breath. Ben had been tailing her for days now. He escorted her to all her classes, watched her go to her dormitory at night, and waited for her in the common room first thing in the morning. She finally shook him off when she convinced him she needed to see Madam Pomfrey on account of "lady issues."

"Can I help you?"

Sarah locked eyes with a first year Hufflepuff. He wore a yellow and black striped sweater and had stylish brown hair. Sarah recognized him as Cedric Diggory, the first year who had been quite the buzz around school for a while, due to his talent and charming personality.

"Oh, um..." She didn't actually need anything. 

"Ah, Miss Spellman, just the witch," Madam Pomfrey called, as she led a Ravenclaw quidditch player to an empty bed. "Please tell me you're here as a volunteer again." 

"Yes, that's it!" she said, glad for an excuse to be away from Ben for a while. 

"I'm grateful," she said. "We're a bit busy at the moment. These quidditch players," she glared at the boy in the bed, "thought it would be a good idea to practice flying blindfolded."

Sarah looked in the other beds and recognized several other bruised and bandaged members or the Ravenclaw team. Andre was lying back in his bed, covered in grass and dirt from the pitch. 

"Of course," said Sarah, "how can I help?"

"Would you and Mr. Diggory pass out the bandages? They'll tie themselves. Also, I haven't had time to tend to the petrified students today."

"Tend to them?"

Madam Pomfrey frowned. "We're not sure if they can hear us or not. I try to talk to them each day, just in case, to give them some comfort." 

"Uh, right then."

She and Cedric handed out bandages to the sheepish quidditch players, then pulled up a couple of chairs and sat in front of the two statues. 

"You're Sarah Spellman, right?" Cedric asked. She nodded and he offered his hand. "I'm Cedric Diggory."

"Oh yeah, I know. I've heard plenty about you." 

He smiled, embarrassed. "Don't believe everything you hear. I really don't deserve all the attention."

"We don't get to choose whether or not we're on the front page of Hogwarts Gossip," she said. "I've found it best just to ignore it all. People will move on to something else eventually."

"Like you," said Cedric. "I've heard all about you, too. I've wanted to meet you for ages."

"Me? Why?"

"Why wouldn't I? You're like the most famous witch at Hogwarts. I mean, you've broken what...three curses over the school? Not to mention you're a wiz at quidditch. I can't believe you've mastered three positions in three years! And you're a prefect!" 

Sarah chuckled. "It's not that impressive, really. I've had loads of help from my friends. And I had a lot I felt like I needed to prove. Most people thought I was going to be a big disappointment or even a dark witch, like my brother."

Cedric nodded. "I get it. My whole family have done really well at Hogwarts. Everyone expects me to meet certain expectations, and I'm not sure what to do about it." He glanced up at her. "What would you do?"