Say Something

Chapter 5

The morning passed relatively routinely. My mind wandered uncontrollably as my morning lessons continued. Not only was I trying to process my own thoughts but given my ability I had to process all the thoughts around me. Most thoughts were menial and a nuisance.

"Earth to Mel?" Hermione teased. "You should probably get going now."

I looked up from my lunch plate to see three pairs of eyes staring at me. The entire lunch hour had passed in a distracted blur. They never thought much of my dazing, they had become accustomed to it over our years of friendship. I usually felt guilty for sometimes not giving them my full attention. They remained still as I stood up from the table.

"Wish me luck." I sighed.

"You'll be great Mel." Hermione insisted sincerely.

I smiled to my three best friends, the nerves finally setting in. I nodded thankfully to them and took a deep breath before heading to the Hospital Wing.

I had spent the entire summer obsessing over this special Healing course I would be taking this term. As excited as I was about it, I had absolutely no idea what to expect, and that was not typical for me.

The Hospital Wing was empty as I walked through it. Madame Pomfrey, the head Healer, was standing in her office overlooking some paperwork. She smiled brightly when she looked up and saw me in the doorway.

"Melody, come in come in." She said warmly.

The nerves settled as I approached Madame Pomfrey. She looked me over once as I stood in front of her, she sensed my nerves immediately and wasn't surprised by them.

"I'm so happy you're here Melody, it will be nice to have an extra pair of hands in the afternoon. The hospital is sometimes quiet but can become very intense in very few moments. You'll need to be able to think quickly and sometimes have an iron stomach, do you think you're ready? Because we can always try this next semester or next year if you aren't prepared?"

"No, no, no. I have been looking forward to this all summer. I'm ready."

"Perfect. Your responsibilities here will be to shadow me as much as you can and absorb as much knowledge as possible. I'll have you learn every item in my stores and how to use them. You'll quickly be able to treat minor injuries and illnesses since I know you are very knowledgeable as it is. I want you to learn as much as you can in your time here to give you a solid foundation for when you begin your formal education after you graduate."

I nearly had tears in my eyes as Madame Pomfrey finished speaking. I didn't realize how much faith my educators had in me, it gave me the strongest feeling of pride.

"I have a more practical uniform for you in my office, you can change there. And if you feel ready your first patient just walked through the door."

I nodded eagerly and turned to face the entryway of the hospital. My eyes widened and my jaw dropped when I saw Draco Malfoy entering the hospital. He had a large gash on the side of his forehead that was bleeding slowly. I held up my finger to him and quickly trotted to Madame Pomfrey's office to change clothes.

Of all the students at this school, Draco Malfoy was my first patient. What did this mean? I wasn't one that really believed in coincidences. It seemed like all the interactions I was having with Draco seemed purposeful and I would find out why.

I straightened my shoulders as I walked towards Draco. He was sitting on one of the beds now, holding a blood soaked cloth to his forehead. He didn't look surprised to see me as I stood in front of him. How would he have known about my position here? It wasn't technically a secret but I didn't think anyone but my own circle of friends and Gryffindor housemates would care to know about it.