Artemis Hexley and the Circle of Khanna

Chapter 10: A Room at the Inn

Artemis ran at full pelt through the castle, Jae falling behind her, unable to keep up with her pace. When she reached the Hospital Wing, she found Madam Pomfrey deep in discussion with Professor McGonagall, next to a bed around which the curtains were closed.

"Where is he?" she asked, her footsteps finally slowing to a stop. "Is he..."

Her words stuck in her throat, and she swallowed them back down. The feeling of nausea that had been swelling and subsiding within her for over a week swept over her again, and as she shook her head, trying to push the feeling away, she felt dizzy. Her legs barely kept her upright as she walked towards the curtain and reached out to pull it back.

"Get back, girl," said Madam Pomfrey, tapping her hand away and getting an angry glare in return. "I'm attempting to arrange an appropriate treatment plan for my patient."

"Charlie's not your patient, he's my friend."

"Miss Hexley, you have been discharged. Your friend is under my care. Now, stop making a scene and leave so that I may do my job and take care of him."

"I'm not leaving until I've seen Charlie," Artemis said, before turning to Professor McGonagall. "Please. I have to know that he's okay. He is okay, isn't he?"

"I'm alright," said a voice - Charlie's voice - from the other side of the curtain, which wriggled as if someone behind it was attempting to open it, without much success. "Just let her in."

Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips and exchanged glances with McGonagall, before giving a barely perceptible nod of the head and pulling back the curtain for Artemis to see her friend. Artemis' eyes widened as she saw the state Charlie was in.

His left leg was raised in midair, wrapped in a thick cast that made it look twice as thick as the other. His right arm was also in a cast, though most of the bandages were covered by a fabric sling tied around his neck, which also sported a brace. There was a light layer of bandages on his other arm, through which a slowly bleeding wound could be seen, and he had a nasty graze on his cheekbone.

Seeing the look on Artemis' face, Charlie shrugged, wincing in pain as he did so.

"It's not as bad as it looks," he told her. Artemis glowered at him.

"Yes, it bloody well is. What the hell happened to you?"

Charlie avoided eye contact with Artemis, and Professor McGonagall cleared her throat.

"I feel the need to repeat Miss Hexley's question, or the sentiment of it, at least," she said tersely. "Mr Weasley, what have you been up to?"

"I flew out to the forest," Charlie admitted, still not looking at Artemis. "And I, uh, managed to get into a bit of a disagreement with Kettleburn's missing Chimaera."

"You went out looking for the Chimaera tonight? With everything else that's going on?"

"I wasn't looking for the Chimaera!"

"So, exactly what were you doing in the Forbidden Forest, Mr Weasley?" asked McGonagall. Her eyebrows raised fractionally at the word 'forbidden', and Charlie swallowed.

He grimaced as he raised himself up from the pillows behind him and used the arm that wasn't in a cast to reach into his pocket. From out of it he pulled something that underneath a layer of mud looked as if it might have been silver. Artemis realised with a jolt what the item was.

"I went to find these," Charlie said. "They're muddy and need repairing, but I thought that Rowan's mum and dad should have them."

Artemis said nothing as she watched Charlie pass Rowan's glasses to Professor McGonagall, fighting the urge to either hug him or hit him, she wasn't sure which. With a wave of McGonagall's wand, the cracked lenses repaired themselves, and the mud coating the silver frames vanished.