The Taming of The Viper

Chapter 20: Cold, Cruel, Calculating People

In the quiet corridor of the infirmary wing, Amicia sat on a window ledge overlooking the fountain courtyard. Falling leaves caught in the breeze and swirled to the ground in little whirlpools of autumnal hues. It's nearly Halloween, she realized. With everything that's been going on, the Triwizard Tournament was hardly an afterthought. The delegates from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang would be arriving in the next coming days and Amicia wondered how that would change things. Maybe with all the attention on the newcomers, she could slip away to see her friends more often. I wonder how Ron is doing? There was no point in wondering about Harry, not when she already knew he was beating himself up right now. That was the best he's played all year and I didn't even get to cheer him on...

Bursts of laughter rose from a group of Hufflepuffs playing in the leaves down below. Amicia recognized Cedric Diggory amongst them, his laugh being the loudest and brightest of them all. With deft wand movements, Cedric swept up the leaves that littered the cobblestone and sent them in a torrent at his friend, knocking him off his feet. In retaliation, his friend sent a tornado of leaves chasing after Cedric around the courtyard. Watching the friendly exchange filled Amicia with a warmth she'd been long starved of and she basked in it for only a mere second before a strangled cry coming from the infirmary left her shivering.

She pulled her arms deeper into the itchy sweater sleeves. This wasn't the first scream she had heard. It was perhaps the third or fourth. Each one amplified the throbbing pain at her temples that had plagued her on and off all day but her own pain was of little concern to her now.

The sound of footsteps carried down the corridor coupled with off-key humming and Amicia poked her head out of the alcove to investigate. Adrian Pucey walked towards the infirmary, eyes cast down while he rubbed his wrist.

"Hi, Adrian."

He jumped, bright green eyes going wide as saucers from the sudden start. It took him a moment, but upon recognizing her face, Adrian's usual friendly grin resurfaced. "Oh, Amicia, hey. You gave me quite the scare there. I thought everyone would've gone straight to the party."

"I'm sorry, I'll try to harmonize next time." Even with all the anxious bubbling happening in her stomach, Amicia couldn't help but share Adrian's infectious smile. Though their conversations rarely went beyond classroom formalities, she'd always considered him to be a kind and genuine person, an exception amongst most Slytherins.

Swinging her legs around, Amicia hopped down from the ledge and leaned against it to face Adrian. "It seems congratulations are in order."

"Thanks," the dimples in his cheeks deepened the broader he grinned, "but it's not as if I helped much. It's Malfoy you should be congratulating."

"Don't remind me." She tried to sound light and unbothered, but Amicia's gaze drifted and locked onto the infirmary door.

Adrian picked up on her faraway stare.

"He's still in there, huh?" he asked softly, smile fading. "Must be bad then."

Amicia gave a somber nod and glanced down at her watch. Twenty or so minutes had passed since she, hidden in the alcove window, watched Madam Pomfrey escort Draco into the wing. She saw him give up on pretending to look unharmed when he thought there was no one around to see him, letting his proud shoulders drop and his feet drag against the stone floor while he relied on Madam Pomfrey to remain upright.

"Don't worry about him too much, Amicia," Adrian told her with what sounded like forced cheeriness. "Madam Pomfrey has mended more of my bones than I could count. Sure, it's painful-" his thin lips formed a frown "-really painful actually, but she gets it over with quickly and then you're as good as new! He'll be done any minute now, I reckon."