Silver Lining

Chapter 8

Remus' horrified expression perfectly mimicked mine. I gave another tug at my hand - it still didn't budge. Thankfully, Remus took control of the situation.

"Professor, Violet isn't feeling too well. Could we go up to the hospital wing?" Our professor's attention turned towards us. His wisened eyes flicked down to our joined hands.

"I'm sure Miss Andrews could go on her own-"

"She's really feeling ill, sir. I think I should go with her." I coughed slightly for effect. The wiry old man sighed, waving his hand dismissively.

"Alright, Mr Lupin. Make sure to catch up on the work!" Remus gave a quick nod and strolled out of the classroom, pulling me along with him. As soon as I saw the professor turn back to his paperwork, I grabbed James by the collar and dragged him out as well, ignoring his protests. We walked out into the corridor, and I exploded as soon as we were out of earshot.

"You did this!" I accused James, shoving his shoulder with my free hand.

"It was an accident," he explained, still laughing, "but I have absolutely no regrets." I punched him again, but he only continued to laugh.

"Yeah, yeah, good one, Prongs. How do we fix this?" Remus sighed, holding up our hands to show him. This only made him laugh more.

"It's a Permanent Sticking Charm," James choked out, clutching his stomach. "How am I supposed to know?"

"You are such a-"

"Let's just go up to Madam Pomfrey for now, we'll see what she has to say about it," Remus cut me off. I closed my mouth and nodded, following him up the stairs and shooting James a deathly glare over my shoulder. That boy would never see the light of day again, if I got the chance.

Remus hardly spoke as we headed towards the Hospital Wing - I suppose there wasn't much to say over all of my grumbling and annoyance at James. I couldn't blame him. My complaining wasn't very helpful to the situation, but neither was Madam Pomfrey.

"Don't worry, Mr Potter's spell wasn't a particularly good one." I tried not to laugh at that as she bustled around us. "It should last for a day or so. Come back and see me in twenty-four hours if it hasn't worn off." She gave us a reassuring smile, but I felt anything but reassured.

"Madam Pomfrey, what about-"

"Miss Andrews, I'm sure you will manage one day. Off you go, now. I have patients to attend to." She shooed us out of the hospital wing, leaving us standing outside feeling just as helpless as before.

"What do we do now?" I sighed, running my free hand through my hair.

"Now, we wait." Remus shrugged, tugging on my hand to get us moving towards the Gryffindor Common Room. I muttered a few curse words under my breath, following him.

---

It was after dinner by the time I saw Lily again. She strolled into the Common Room and found  Remus and I sitting on the couch, doing homework for all the classes we'd decided to skip through the rest of the day. A few friendly house elves had brought us lunch and dinner (and an unnecessary amount of snacks).

"Where have you been all day, Vi?" she asked, walking over to stand in front of us. Her eyes travelled down to where my hand was in Remus', and her expression went blank. "Oh, Potter wasn't kidding." I was about to explain when Sirius strolled in, realised the situation and burst out laughing. James and Peter weren't far behind, and both struggled to contain their own laughter.

"See, I told you," James laughed. "They're as stuck as anything!"

"This is all your fault, Potter, and I promise you will regret it," I snapped, getting up out of my seat but immediately pulled back down by Remus.