Jim Armstrong and the Goblet's Curse

Chapter 33: Back Again

It seemed like we had been in the air for only a second; only colours and shapes whizzed by our faces as we hurtled back to GreySlash. The air was warmer, and I realized it must be April by now; there was no snow left on the ground and buds were beginning to appear in tree branches.

Before I knew it, Pico was slowing down, and soon, Danforth Road came into focus, showing us the semi-empty streets. Pico swooped lower over the street, passing through the magical concealment barrier, revealing GreySlash to our view. The sky was lightening faster now, as Pico smoothly touched down. I slid off of Pico's back, closely followed by Noah, Cecy and Shea. We all gave grateful pats to Pico, who flew off across the courtyard. We ran up to the front doors and pushed our way in, not paying attention to any of the beautiful sunrise light filtering through the stain-glass walls. We burst through the doors into the still sleeping school. It was strangely quiet in the halls and corridors, the curtains and beads fluttering in the breeze that had drifted in along with us. We rushed past the eccentricities of the school, heading towards the infirmary, where we knew we could find the nurse.

The school was quiet but for our pounding footsteps. I clutched the bag of magical sand in my hand, as if reassuring myself that it was still there.

Up a flight of stairs, through a curtain of beads and down a sharp left that most people would miss, and we were there. The door to the infirmary was closed, the lights inside dimmed to a soft glow, just enough by which we could see inside. There were dark curtains around some beds and I knew that they were the beds of the students affected by the curse. There were still the same number of beds, which meant... that no one had died. Sitting by one of the beds, a book open in her lap, and her head lolling to one side, was Nurse Melling.

Shea pushed open the door and let us through, before following us into the room. Here, we slowed down our pace, not wanting to disturb any of the students. When we'd come in, Nurse Melling had jerked awake, and now, was hastily putting away her book and coming towards us. Before she could even say anything, I unhooked the purple bag of sand and thrust it in her hand.

"Hurry," Shea said.

She didn't have to be told twice.

***

It was hours later. The sun had fully risen, and the school was up and bustling, getting ready for a regular day.

Except that it wasn't a regular day, because the students that had been cursed were back on their feet.

As soon as she'd received the Silver Sand, Nurse Melling had gone and made a complicated concoction that had indeed cured the cursed students. And now, they were back.

Because of us.

Now, don't get me wrong. I don't think that they survived solely because of us, and our genius, because if I did, I would only be kidding myself. But I will say this: about six months ago, I thought we'd just gotten ourselves into a suicide mission, an impossible Itinere. Yet here we are, six months later, having finished our Itinere, having revived the cursed students, and ending up perfectly fine.

Sort of.

I was glad that we had completed our Itinere. I was glad that the cursed students were well again.

I was glad to be back.   

Sorry for the late, and super short, update this week, but here is chapter 33! If you liked it, make sure to comment and vote! Until next time then  :)

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