Elemental

Michael Corner

I gently wake the Fat Lady, although she's still annoyed. "Let me sleep, you shouldn't be out now anyw—Good Lord, honey, what happened to you?" she exclaims.

"Not now," I beg. "I'm tired. Um, the password...Fried chicken?"

"I can't let you in like that, you ought to see Madam Pomfrey!"

"He already said it wouldn't help."

"He? Who's he?"

"A friend."

"A boyfriend?"

"A friend," I repeat firmly. For an old portrait, she can be quite the romantic.

"Well, fine then." She swings her portrait to the side. I crawl through the passageway and climb up the stairs by the dying firelight of the Common Room.

Someone is sitting up in the bed next to me—Juliana. "Mia!" she whisper-shouts as I bump into the headrest. "Oh, here. Lumos!" A small light, like a flashlight, erupts from her wand. She takes in a breath, seeing my face. "God, Mia, what happened to you? You look like a mess. You ought to see Madam Pomfrey."

"Yeah, the Fat Lady told me the same thing."

"Don't ever compare me to her!" Juli jokes.

"Hey, she has feelings, you know!" I reply.

"She's a portrait!"

"Portraits have feelings!"

"Not Muggle portraits."

"Well, is she a Muggle portrait?" I smirk. "I thought not."

"Fine, you must be exhausted. It's, what, midnight?"

"Probably. Good night."

"I suppose."

I toss and turn all night, still in a fair—but manageable—amount of pain. Finally, morning comes, sunlight streaming through the boarded-up windows.

"Are you awake?" Juli whispers.

"No," I tease.

"Good. Now, tell me everything! I'm worried about you," she tells me.

"Yeah, me too." I resist the urge to touch the unhealed wounds on my face. Stay strong, Mia, stay strong.

"You okay?"

"Not really," I admit.

"I can't believe she did that to you!"

"I can," I reply darkly. "Madison Clark, but it seemed like it was Crabbe's idea. She was the helper. Gods, it was like a movie..." The superhero, in chains, waiting for someone to save them. The thought is reassuring, in a way. Even the greatest heroes need to be saved sometimes.

"But what happened?" she presses.

"It was a spell. Sectumsempra." I look warily at my wand, as if saying the word would make it happen.

"Looks like she hit you with a sword or something! Did she just get your face?"

"Yeah, and that's the general idea."

"God," she mutters. "Was it bad? Never mind, of course it was! But how did you break free? She must have tied you up or something."

"She didn't have to, but yeah."

"What do you mean, she didn't—oh." Oh meaning, the threat of harming Juli was enough. It seemed an awkward topic for her. You know, being kidnapped as bait...