The Dark Lord's Daughter [FW - Book One]

A Trip to the Hospital Wing

October comes all too quickly, and on the first day of the month, our foreign guests arrive during breakfast.

Ron stares at the Durmstrang students in disbelief, a forgotten piece of sausage halfway to his mouth. "That's Viktor Krum" he says, pointing to the last student to enter the great hall.

"Aww, is Ickle Ronniekinz in love?" George asks, making everyone laugh.

"Shut up George." Ron mutters, blushing.

The students from Beuxxbatons and Durmstrang are now scattered around the great hall, sitting at random tables. I hear a sigh and look to my left. Lani and McKenna are watching a Durmstrang boy as he sits at the Hufflepuff table.

"Woah." McKenna mutters, mouth open. Lani nods speechlessly. I roll my eyes at them.

After breakfast, I have Divination by myself, and Lani and McKenna have Astronomy. I say goodbye to my friends and silently start climbing up the ladder. When I reach Professor Trelawny's stuffy mist-filled classroom, I sit at a table in the back and pull my dream journal out of my bag.

"Hello class. Let's get started shall we?" Trelawny says when the classroom is full, "I want everyone to hand in their dream journals. You will get them back at the end of class."

I stand and walk to the front of the room, and place my journal on her desk.

"Now I have an assignment for you to work on while I grade your journals." Trelawny says after everyone's journals are on her desk. She starts handing out pamphlets of paper to all of the students.

When she places one on my desk, I pick it up to see that it's a packet of multiple worksheets. I look up at the professor.

"If you do not finish by the time class is over, it becomes homework. These are due tomorrow." She says as she puts the last packet on a student's desk.

I sigh and start on the first worksheet, it's labeled 'The five steps to interpreting dreams'.

At the end of class, I still have two worksheets left to do. Professor Trelawny hands back our journals. I pick mine up to see that I got full marks on every dream except one, the only real dream that I had recorded. I giggle to myself as I exit the classroom.

I meet Lani and McKenna in McGonagall's room for transfiguration. We spend all hour trying to turn a rabbit into a brick. Lani, again, is the only one who succeeds. Professor McGonagall is very impressed with Lani's work, but she only gives McKenna and I a disapproving frown when she inspects McKenna's rabbit that has not changed one bit and the rabbit-shaped brick that sits on my desk.

After Transfiguration, the three of us go back to the Gryffindor common room for our free hour. When we reach the common room, we find the boys waiting for us there, I guess they have a free hour too, or they're ditching class... it's probably the latter.

"Hello ladies" Fred says

I nod, saying nothing as I walk past him. I've just opened the door to the girl's stairs when arms snake around my waist and turn me around to face none other than Fred. He raises one hand to cup my face, and we are so close that our noses are almost touching.

"Hey, it's rude to ignore people." Fred says quietly with a grin, pulling me closer to him.

"What's this about, Fred?" I ask just as quietly. The room is silent and I realize that everyone must be staring at us.

"I just want a proper hello." Fred smirks cheekily at me.

"Well then, hello, and goodbye." I say, stepping back a bit and loosening Fred's grip on me. "I'm exhausted."

"All right." Fred answers, but there is something about his crooked grin that makes me think that he won't let me get far.

Fred releases me. I turn and start up the stairs to the girls dorm. I'm halfway there when the stairs turn into a slide and I fall, hitting my head on the stone wall, and slide all the way back down to the common room where Fred, George, and Lee are laughing. Fred must have gone up a few steps, making the stairs transform.

I don't say anything. Instead, I gingerly touch a finger to the spot where I hit my head, and it comes away bloody. I hear Lani gasp and within seconds, she and McKenna are by my side, examining my head. The boys stop laughing.

"You're bleeding." Lani says

"Yeah I gathered that, Lani. Thanks." I say sarcastically.

"Oh, Ness... I didn't mean for you to get hurt." Fred says, giving me an apologetic look.

"I'm fine." I say quietly

"No, you're not fine. You need to go to the hospital wing." McKenna says, pushing me towards the portrait hole. I nod.

"I'll take you." Fred offers, walking over to me. He scoops me up and carries me bridal style out of the portrait hole and through the halls without so much as a glance back at the common room.

"I don't think this is really necessary. It's my head that's hurt, not my feet." I say as Fred starts walking down a flight of stairs.

"I think the words you are looking for are thank you." Fred says, I laugh.

"Oh yes, that's what I meant. Thank you for drawing attention to us. People probably think we're a couple." I say sarcastically. Fred opens his mouth to reply, but thinks better of it.

Once we have reached the hospital wing, he sets me down and opens the door for me.

*

Madam Pomfrey says it's just a small cut, but she says I'll need to stay in the hospital wing until tomorrow morning. Fred stays until my head is fixed and the blood has been cleaned up, then he says goodbye and leaves the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey gives me a green potion in a tiny vial.

"Drink this." She says.

I pop the cap off the vial and smell the potion. It smells like strawberries, so I decide that it can't be too bad, and take a sip, nearly choking when the taste of mold hits my tongue. I manage to swallow the disgusting liquid, but cough for several minutes after.

Madam Pomfrey waves her wand and a tray of food appears on my lap. I eat quickly, enjoying the food, and the fact that I can no longer taste the putrid potion, before letting out a yawn.

"Just get some rest now." Madam Pomfrey instructs.

I let out a sigh and lay down on a poofy hospital pillow. Considering I was fairly tired before falling down the stairs, it doesn't take long for me to fall asleep.