Disclaimer: If you can still remember, Marti and friends are mine, the rest is not. Okay?
“Clay! Clay, wait up!”
I dashed after him and the strange acting Marti, with Zinny at my heels. It was no use, though; Clay wasn’t slowing down at all. Panting, Zinny and I stopped and looked at each other.
“Where do you think he’s going?” she asked between breaths.
I shrugged, “I don’t know. What’s in this direction? And why would he be carrying… oh, never mind, it’s the hospital wing. Let’s go,”
Zinny choked a laugh, “I don’t know why they bother to keep a bed for her in her own dorm “ she’s always in the hospital wing!”
When Zinny and I reached the hospital wing, we entered to find an interesting sight. I wasn’t sure whether to be horrified or to laugh. Marti was lying on a bed, seemingly unconscious, but her arms were wiggling everywhere. Madam Pomfrey was trying to administer a potion to her while Clay was trying to hold her still.
“Um,” Zinny said, awkwardly, “Andy, I’ll think I’ll, um, head out…”
“Sure Zin,” I said quietly. Zinny, having sent Marti to the hospital wing a time or two, was bound to feel awkward about staying. And, well, perhaps Clay being there had something to do with it, also. I wasn’t too sure on which was more likely.
When Zinny closed the door behind her, Clay looked up and spotted me. “Andran!” he called, out of breath, “Come here and grab her other hand! I can’t hold them both!”
Madam Pomfrey turned and spotted me, too. “Yes,” she said with only a moment of hesitation, “Yes, Mr. Audierus, please, a hand would be appreciated,”
Then I hesitated. Okay, just try and understand that I didn’t understand what the heck was going on. I saw Marti there, acting all weird, and I’d just had a duel “ well, sort of “ with her that morning… I was feeling very guilty.
“Andran!” Clay shouted, just to startle me out of my guilt, I think.
“Oh, fine,” I muttered. I dashed over to the side of the bed opposite Clay and tried to grab Marti’s hand. Ha, it wasn’t as easy as it sounds. I’d take hold of it, and it would wiggle out of my grip, or a fingernail would pinch me, and then it would be free again. Clay had finally managed to wrestle her left hand into stillness “ I noticed he was bracing it across his chest and holding her wrist and her elbow with his own arms. I did my best to imitate him, though while I wasn’t as successful, it gave Madam Pomfrey the chance to force the odd potion down Marti’s throat.
Marti gagged, but almost instantly her arms shuddered and went limp. I watched Clay put her arm down gently at her side while Madam Pomfrey worked on reviving her, all the while muttering about magical allergies.
“Is that what happened, Madam Pomfrey?” I asked. “Was she allergic to something?”
The elderly woman shrugged, “It would seem. Never in all my days have I seen such a bad allergic reaction to sugar. Mr. McAfee, are you sure it was only one butterbeer?”
Clay nodded, “Yes, not even a whole one. Half at the most, then she got a short spell of the hiccups, and then she was just drunk and saying everything and anything about anyone. When she started getting sleepy, I began to worry that something was really wrong, and I hurried her here.”
“And good thing you did, too, dear boy,” Madam Pomfrey said solemnly, “I would assume that it wasn’t necessarily the sugar, but the type of sugar that was used. I won’t presume to guess why it happened, or why she didn’t just faint on the spot from it, at least until I double check my book on magical allergies. You don’t see them every day, you know…”
“Aegrota verita,” groaned Marti as she stirred slightly.
The three of us looked at one another, and down at her. She was stirring and blinking her eyes. She coughed a few times, took in her surroundings and started to sit up.
“Lie down,” the old nurse ordered.
“I gotta sit up,” Marti snapped, “Just let me sit… oh, what are you doing here?” she gave me an evil glare.
I met her stare head on, “I was worried about you,”
She rolled her eyes, “Whatever. And, by the way, can I have my hand back?”
“Huh?” I just then noticed that I was still holding her hand in my own. Before I could release it, she jerked it from me. Then she turned her attention to Madam Pomfrey.
“It’s called Aegrota verita, Madam Pomfrey,” she said, rubbing her neck and closing her eyes, “A rare wizard condition. In my case, it’s triggered by stress and high doses of certain sugars.”
A light seemed to click on in the older woman’s head. “Oh, that’s right… that is very rare indeed. I haven’t seen that in many, many years. Now that we calmed your system, you can have some Pepper-up Potion, and be on your way,”
Clay’s mouth dropped, “That’s it? Shouldn’t she stay here, I don’t know, say overnight? To be safe?”
The older Nurse ignored Clay and bustled off to get her potion.
Clay turned on Marti, “Marti, are you sure that’s wise?”
She rubbed her eyes, “Yup, it’s fine.”
“But you were drunk! You were blowing kisses at most everyone we passed, you… you…”
“I made an idiot of myself!” she threw her legs over the edge of bed, towards Clay, her face going red. “I know that, alright? Trust me, it’s nothing new.”
A moment of silence passed through the room. Clay frowned, “Is there something you want to tell me, Marti?” He gently put a hand on her shoulder.
I stared at his hand as though it were an evil creature I wanted to swat away.
“Not really Clay,” she said quietly. “Just… look, I’ve suffered with this for a few years now, and I’m used to it. I treat it like an allergy to sugar “ which is basically what it is, though… not exactly since I can eat sugar… but, anyways, the point is,” she sighed with a small shudder, “Thanks for getting me here before things got worse. I… I can’t even remember a dang thing after you asked me if I was listening to you.”
Madam Pomfrey bustled back in with a glass of potion, and handed it to her. “Drink this, dear, and you’re allowed to go on the stipulation that you abstain from stressful activities for the next day or so.”
Marti nodded, waited for Madam Pomfrey to get out of earshot, and then quickly drank the potion as though it were a shot of fire whiskey.
She rounded on me, her temper rising again, “Just leave me alone. Please, just go away. I’ll tolerate you in class, I’ll be nice when I have to, but stop following me, stop torturing me. Why are you even here? I mean, it doesn’t surprise me that you are, but still you have no right to be here.”
I gave her an indignant look, “You were the one who was blowing kisses at me while Clay raced you down the hallway. I was concerned that something was wrong, so I came to find out. It’s lucky I did too, as Clay couldn’t keep you still-”
“So what, you thought you’d kiss me again and shut me up, is that it?”
“Hey!” my own temper began to rise (how was it that she could always get me going? I still don’t get it), “That was uncalled for!”
Clay suddenly looked really uncomfortable, “I’ll be going now, I suppose…”
“No, Clay, stay,” she said without looking away from me, “Uncalled for, huh Audierus? And what would you call kissing me this morning? Requested?”
“I don’t know!” I threw my hands in the air and started heading toward the door, beginning to feel sorry for coming in the first place, “I don’t know why I did it, okay? I don’t know why I kissed you! I don’t know why I followed you! I don’t know why I came here! I don’t know why I even think about you! I… urgh, I wish I knew something!”
And I slammed the door.
*** *** ***
I blinked at the now closed door. I was frustrated, yes, but something about that argument just didn’t seem complete.
“What was that about?” I asked Clay.
But Clay wasn’t listening, “He kissed you and ran off this morning, didn’t he?”
My face grew hot, “Yeah. And the whole duel with him stressed me out, triggering the sugar allergy. Please, Clay, don’t tell anyone it was anything else.”
“I won’t,” he said absently, “Why didn’t you say anything about that earlier?”
I plodded over and sat down on an empty bed, “I didn’t want anyone to know. It only causes trouble. There were these Salem girls that would stress me out, sneak sugar into my food, and then take me around like a radio. After all that, I decided not to tell anyone about it.”
Clay laughed, “That wasn’t what I was asking, Marti. Why didn’t you say that Andran had kissed you?”
Oh. He meant that.
“And make myself look like an even bigger buffoon? I don’t think so. In case you don’t remember, there were a lot of people there when I explained about the duel, and if they knew, there would be a lot of questions and then a lot of rumors. I don’t know what I’d do if they found out… especially Marcia. I like Alice, but “ and I’m sorry, I’m not trying to be mean “ but she just looks like she’d spread rumors… and what are you laughing at?”
Clay had sat down on the bed opposite of me, red faced and trying not to laugh, “She knows already, Marti.”
I jumped to my feet, “What! He “ Andran “ he told her, didn’t he?”
Clay went even more red, “Well… actually, it was you, when you were drunk…”
“Ah, crap!”
*** *** ***
“Mr. Audierus! Are you paying attention?”
“Huh?”
Professor Lovegood frowned at me “ something she rarely did “ and motioned to the stiff, square piece of parchment in front of me. “Are you or are you not trying to, wordlessly, attach that parchment to your forehead with a sticking charm?”
“I’m trying,” I lied.
She gave a small smile, “Well, the best way to test the sticking charm is to put the paper on your forehead. You haven’t been doing that.”
“Uh, sorry, Professor,” I said, “I was… really trying.”
She smiled at me as Zinny snorted beside me, “I’m glad to hear it… I was worried that you’d come down with a case of the Foggles for a moment there…” she turned back to the class, her usual dreamy facial expression back in place. What was it with her and her odd sayings? And what the heck was a case of Foggles? I didn’t think I wanted to know…
I elbowed Zinny and went back to trying to cast a sticking charm without speaking. She’d only been mildly upset when I refused to tell her the happenings of the Hospital wing that Saturday night. Aside from that, things had (amazingly) mended fairly well between us by Monday.
Yet, despite the fact that I hadn’t said a thing to her, she seemed to have an idea of what happened. When I lost focus, she knew why. I was thinking about… well, I was thinking about Saturday night, over and over. Blast that Zinny, she kept giving me this LOOK! It was the I-know-what-your-thinking-about-even-though-you-didn’t-tell-me look.
As I sat there trying to cast the Charm and then trying to stick the parchment to my forehead, like the rest of the class, I could feel Zinny’s eyes on me.
“Zinny, please stop giving me that bloody look!” I whispered, turning to her.
She smiled “ yes, there was that look again.
Lovegood had charmed the parchment squares to say a message once they had been successfully stuck to our heads. It was hard to take the serious-acting, Zilpha Pearson seriously, when a square of parchment stuck to her forehead read: DROOBLES RULE!
*** *** ***
So, I had royally messed up almost everything that was possible to mess up. I took my time walking back from the hospital wing that night, because I had a feeling that Dee would just hate me. I took my time walking down the empty corridors, a note from Madam Pomfrey in my pocket, ready to be shown to any teacher that might question me for being out or loitering or whatever. I even stopped and took my shoes and socks off, carrying them in my hand, to distract my self with the cold and slightly uneven stones under my feet. It also took me long to get there barefooted. The school was fairly quiet, and no one questioned me.
And, when I made it back, I found that I’d been right. Deanne wouldn’t talk to me at all. After some discussion with Alice, I learned that I had basically said, in front of Sam, the Hufflepuff boy she liked, that she thought a lot about him…
I’d tried everything, but Deanne just wouldn’t speak to me.
“Dee, I’m really sorry,” I told her that night while she lay, pretending to sleep in her four-poster, “I was out of my head!”
Yeah, she didn’t say anything. I finally sighed, crawled into my bed and tried to sleep. My feet, under the covers, felt as cold as ever, as if the cold from the hallways had permeated my feet permanently. I thought about charming a pair of socks to keep heated all night, but figured that they’d probably catch my bedding on fire, and decided to tough out the cold feet. It didn’t help with my sleep.
Sunday, things weren’t much better, especially since my attempts to sleep had failed miserably. I didn’t even see Deanne all day. I figured she was avoiding me, so I let it go. Maybe by giving her alone time, she’d understand that I hadn’t meant to hurt her deliberately.
Monday went by in a haze. I had completely given up on talking to Deanne at all. We shared all our classes, except Potions, but I sat in the back and tried not to look around. At one point, I thought I saw her smile my way, but I’m sure I was mistaken. She probably had indigestion, or something.
And, Potions was torture. Malfoy was evil as usual. Nothing I did was good enough, nothing!
And that particular potions class was really bad for other reasons… a whole handful of reasons “ literally.
“Miss Owlsten!” he shouted at me when I tripped on my own shoe and staggered towards my own caldron, making it swing and slop. “I know it will be difficult for you, but could you please try and not crash into anything that would possibly injure others?” He sneered at me. I wanted to cry.
“I’m sorry professor,” I said meekly as the slop over the side of my cauldron gave a hiss of purple smoke when it met the flames underneath. “I’ll try better.”
“Better? Ha!” he said, his blue eyes glinting menacingly, “You had better start adding those spider eyes before whatever it is you think you are trying to make in your cauldron turns into acid.”
I said nothing, turning back to my stores and getting out the right amount of spider eyes. They were so tiny! Who’s fabulous idea was it to use stupid spider eyes, anyway?
Laughter across the classroom caught my eye. Some odd Slytherin girl had laughed at me, spilling the eyes over my counter top. I frowned at her “ I’d seen her in class, but I didn’t know her name. She wore odd robes, with different colors on them and somehow managed to get away with it. Malfoy probably pulled strings for her. I rolled my eyes and went back to my spider eyes.
There was a bump across the room, some girl squealed about a bug on a desk “ I think it was that same Slytherin girl, or some other girl near her, and then there was a pop above my head. I ignored it. I reached with my thumb and index finger to pick up more eyes.
I missed them. With a grunt, I tried again… and missed.
I stopped in horror, looking down at my right hand. There was no wonder why I missed picking up the eyes… my right index finger was missing, as though I had been born without one.
A strangled scream escaped my throat, “My finger’s gone!!!”
*** *** ***
In the commotion that followed down in the dungeons “ Malfoy yelling at students for disrupting class and various students screaming and shouting at their potions and the fact that someone had lost a finger “ no one noticed the Slytherin girl slowly sinking down to hide behind her cauldron.
*** *** ***
Clay was laughing when he entered the common room “ I noticed Zinny quickly buried herself in her Charms textbook as he came in.
I smiled at that.
Then I turned to Clay, “What’s so funny?”
He came over and plopped on the couch, next to where I was sitting, “Oh, it’s nothing, Andran,” he said, wiping tears from his eyes.
I frowned at him. “Hey, I want to know, too. What’s so funny?”
He eyed me strangely, “Are you sure you want to know?”
“Yes.”
He started laughing again, “Apparently, there was a huge problem down in the dungeons this afternoon, during Malfoy’s Newt Potion’s class.”
Zinny cleared her throat and looked up, a little red in the face, “Um, what happened?”
“Some sixth year Slytherin, who studies Alchemy in her spare time-”
“Oh, that’s Alexandria,” Zinny piped up, “I’ve heard of her. She wants to be an Alchemist one day. You’ve seen her, Andy, she wears the odd clothes. Alexandria Dublin.”
I hadn’t heard that name in my life, but whatever. I nodded to get Clay to continue.
Giggling, he wiped his eyes, “Well, she killed a bug on her desk, and tried to take it back or something “ Alchemy is odd like that “ and the bug lived but a girl in the class lost a finger in exchange!”
I noticed Clay giving me a strange look…
“What!” Zinny said, tossing her Charms book aside, “Alexandria sacrificed a finger to save a bug?”
“No!” Clay said, laughing, “She saved the bug without thinking, and another girl lost a finger! The, um, the girl,” he paused slightly, giving me that strange look again, “She fainted twice, but refused to go to the hospital wing. The real commotion was when Malfoy had to drag her there on his own!
Zinny and I looked at each other. We each had a good idea who Clay was talking about, without even asking. That must be why Clay have the strange face.
I was about to wager my guess, but Marcia burst into the room, drawing attention from everyone in the room, myself included. She was beaming.
“Did you all hear the news?” she said aloud to everyone. Now I knew it was Marti who had lost a finger, she was the only one who drew news that quickly. I was taken aback “ surely news of Marti’s finger wouldn’t be this big, would it?
An odd feeling welled up in my stomach. I wish I could put my finger on what it was. I was furious, but it was also embarrassing, too, and I started breathing faster. Was this protectiveness? It was a new feeling, so I couldn’t really tell. Whatever it was, it made me feel irrational. My face went red from it.
I got up and pointed a finger at Marcia, “You and your gossip!” I breathed. Everyone in the room looked away from Marcia and turned to look at me. “Can’t you leave people alone for a while? It’s bad enough that terrible things happen to that poor girl, but people like you have to spread it around and make it worse!”
The room went silent. Some third-years over in the corner dropped a bottle of ink on the floor and it shattered. No one flinched from it.
Marcia stopped and glared at me, “What girl?” she held up a piece of parchment, somewhat defensively, “I was talking about the announcement for Halloween… we’re going to have a Masquerade for fourth years and up after the feast… what did you think I was talking about?” she demanded.
Oh… oops.
*** *** ***
“Please, Madam Pomfrey, don’t make me stay!” I wailed after choking down the drink that she’d handed me. It tasted nasty, but she said it would give me back my finger, so I didn’t complain… well, about the drink at least.
I didn’t want to be in the hospital wing anymore! It wasn’t fair. This time the stupid thing wasn’t my own fault! I wanted to go to my own bed, in my dorm! I was angry, and I wasn’t about to give up without a fight.
“You can leave at first light,” the woman huffed, “But you are going to stay the night, end of discussion!”
The doors to the hospital wing burst open, ending my protests. In marched, to my surprise, Deanne Liles, dragging with her the Slytherin girl from my Potions class. She was the same one who… well, she dressed oddly.
“What’s this?” Madam Pomfrey demanded.
“We won’t be long,” Deanne said, determinedly, “Alexandria Dublin, here, owes Marti an apology. She won’t be leaving until that’s taken care of!”
My mouth fell open. Deanne… still cared?
I watched as she dragged the girl my bedside and pointed a finger at her, “Go on, you. Talk.”
Alexandria (I made a mental note of her name, though I couldn’t guarantee how long that would last) wrenched her arm free of Deanne’s grasp. “You know,” she said in a surly manner, “I was more than willing to come and apologize. You didn’t have to drag me here.”
Deanne smiled, “Eh, that was just for show, I guess. Never mind that now, just get the apology over with.”
“Fine,” she snapped, turning to me, “Look, I didn’t think that you, of all people, would lose the finger over that stupid bug. I am really sorry…”
“Um, thanks?” I said, not really knowing how to respond to her. What does a person say to that, anyway? ‘Oh, that’s okay, I really didn’t want my finger, and it was only the index finger, so it’s not a problem’?
She frowned at me, “What, is that a question?”
I gave a small laugh, “No… I just… I’ve never lost an appendage before, and I’ve never had anyone apologize for causing it.”
She pulled another face, “Is that really all you have to say about it?”
I frowned at her, “Well, hey, you tell me, what else do you want me to say? I hate you? You’re a stupid jerk? Why did you have to try and bring a bug back from the dead anyway?”
She shrugged, “I don’t know. Something like that, I guess…”
I scoffed at her, “Sorry, I don’t hate you. You could very well be a jerk, but I don’t know you well enough to make that judgment. When it comes to you and your Alchemy, I think I’m better off not knowing any answers. So… thanks for the apology. I appreciate it, really. I don’t get many of them… usually I’m the one giving them. But,” I held up hand to point at her (which I had to do with my little finger, as, you know, I was missing my pointer), “You owe me. I’ve seen you in class, and you’re good with potions. Maybe you can work with me on an assignment or something sometime, and we can call it even. Does that work for you?”
She smiled, “Sure,” then she rounded on Deanne, “Can I GO?”
Deanne crossed her arms, “Well, I’m not going to stop you,” she said, trying to look as though she didn’t care at all. What a faker. I could tell she was pleased with herself.
With a small wave, and a flourish of her oddly colored robes, Alexandria left, leaving Deanne and I pretty much alone.
I didn’t know what to say. Sheesh, what was it with me being speechless? That was very unlike me.
Deanne sighed and sat down on the edge of my bed. “Marti… I’m not mad at you, alright?” she said at last.
I looked at her, “You’re not? You have a funny way of showing it, dearie.”
She smiled and looked at her hands, “I know… I had to have a little time to be upset, though. I… I talked with Clay. He told me about your sugar allergy and… I know you weren’t thinking straight.”
“To say the least,” I grumbled.
I saw a small smile appear on her lips, “I really should thank you, though…”
“Huh? Why?”
She turned her face to me and gave me a big grin, “Sam and I spent the rest of the afternoon together… he came after me, when I ran off in Hogsmeade. It was… nice,”
I raised an eyebrow, “Going by the goofy grin on your face, it was more than nice… did he kiss you or something?”
Deanne blushed bright red, but didn’t say anything. Go Deanne!
After my laughter had died down, Deanne excused herself and said she’d see me in the morning. I put up more of a fight, trying to get her to take me with her, but Madam Pomfrey was there, so she couldn’t smuggle me out. In angry protest, I pulled the sheets over my head and refused to look at my surroundings.
Stupid hospital wing, with it’s scratchy sheets and stiff pillows and that too-clean feeling - I hate it!
Okay - I finally got the next chapter posted! Thank you for all your lovely reviews (ginnybabe, I'll get on those 'secret' spelling errors ASAP). I hope you all like this chapter! And, I also hope I can update this sooner...