The Healer | Part 1: The Hogwarts Years

Detention

George

'What was that all about?' Fred asked with a sly grin when I returned to the library.

'None of your concern,' I scoffed.

'Why not?' His face fell.

'Because it isn't,' I chuckled. Lee looked between us, an odd look on his face, but didn't say anything.

'Clearly you were caught doing something you shouldn't have been,' he pressed, the corners of his mouth curling up.

'I do have detention, I'll give you that,' I told him, not willing to admit quite yet that I hadn't been caught snogging.

He smirked.

'Naturally,' he told me, nodding for me to go on.

'For a week.'

'A week?' He exclaimed. 'What the hell did you do to her? You were only back there for a couple of minutes!'

'Nothing!' I answered truthfully. 'And I promised her I wouldn't tell.'

He slumped back in his seat.

'Have you landed her in detention as well?' Lee asked.

I knew they wouldn't believe me if I told them it truly wasn't my fault. Well, I suppose it sort of was for attempting to put Umbridge in her place, but it had felt good and I knew it was the right thing to do. I wanted Edith to know that I supported her and I wouldn't let anyone speak to her like that. Umbridge had no right to make comments like that about an underage witch. Just thinking about it made my fists clench involuntarily and my heart begin to race.

'Yeah, but just one night,' I told them. 'Unrelated topic,' I cleared my throat. 'You know Robert Smith, Beater for the Ravenclaw team?'

'Yeah...' Fred answered slowly.

'I have a feeling he's going to have a hard time playing in tomorrow's match against Hufflepuff,' I said with a wicked grin. He returned my grin at once, cottoning on quickly.

'Brilliant, are we to have anything to do with that?'

'Obviously.'

***

I scanned the Great Hall for her at dinner and saw no sign of her from the moment Fred and I arrived until we left. And I'd made sure to dawdle far longer than we usually did. I barely had enough time to head back up to the dormitory before I had to leave again for detention.

I still didn't know much about eating disorders, but I was beginning to learn quite a bit about Edith Falconer. I'd seen the look on her face when Umbridge informed Madam Pomfrey that she'd been putting on weight. It had shaken her, and I could tell she hadn't been expecting it. Her face had paled and I'd worried for a moment that she would pass out. But she'd straightened herself up again, drew her shoulders back and delivered such a withering speech to Umbridge, it made me want to kiss her.

But I wasn't sure if the reason she'd skipped out on supper was because Umbridge's comment had wounded her more than I realized, or because her friend actually was pregnant. If that was the case, Fred and I needed to seriously up our plan for the following morning.

The fact that she'd skipped dinner made me almost as angry as Umbridge had. Whether her friend was in trouble or not, there was no reason for her to miss a meal. I tried to calm myself down, but the longer Fred and I waited, the angrier I got. I took a few moments before seven o'clock to attempt to calm myself before detention, but it was no use.

I was selfish, I wanted her all to myself. I wanted her to get better because so long as this was a problem, I knew I would have to share her with the eating disorder.