A/N: It's about damn time, yeah?

DOM'S PERSPECTIVE

I lie in my bed in the Hospital Wing, utterly hell-bent on defeating the Muggle version of Miffed Hippogriffs, called Angry Birds, that Chris introduced to me yesterday. Where do Muggles get this kind of shit? Do they have that much spare time on their hands whilst bumbling around their little Muggle lives? It doesn't matter.

I. Must. Triumph.

I hear someone coming, and quickly slide the shiny rectangle under my sheets. A pure-blood Slytherin like myself can't be seen with such a Muggle device. Damn Chris...

One of the giant wooden doors creaks, and four dripping wet Gryffindor Quidditch players try to maneuver through it without dropping whomever they're carrying. I hear a girl's moan of pain come from within the quartet, and my mind can't help but jump to other subjects.

A grip, Dom. Get one.

I pointedly avert my eyes from the scene as they set the injured player gently in the bed directly to my left. Great. Now there's no chance of defeating those godforsaken green pigs before I get out of here.

"WHAT IS THIS?" Madam Pomfrey scolds as she emerges from her office. "In my Hospital Wing? I don't think so! Scourgify!" she orders, flicking her wand, and the water puddles on the floor recede into themselves until they've completely vanished.

"We're sorry, Madam," one of the players says. "We couldn't exactly dry off and change clothes before we brought her up here." He gestures to the girl lying in the bed, who's gritting her teeth and staring intensely at her legs.

"What happened?" the nurse asks, apparently letting go of her frustration and switching into healer-mode. She makes her way to the side of the girl's hospital bed and effectively blocks my view of her face. I huff and cross my arms, staring back up at the ceiling. No one needs to see Pomfrey's backside a foot away from their face.

One of them begins to speak, but the girl cuts him off. "We were at practice...and then a Bludger locked onto me, and I was trying to get rid of it..."

I'm surprised to hear she has an accent, but then I remember Matt saying he has Potions with an American girl. This is probably her.

"And then I flew into one of the stands, but landed on a bar. Then the Bludger hit me in the side, and it knocked me off and I fell." She gives a frustrated sigh. "It feels like Superman chucked a bowling ball at my leg."

"And your chest, dear?" the nurse asks.

"Like the Silver Surfer ran me over with his board."

Madam Pomfrey looks bemused, which is exactly how I feel. I know who Superman is due to being minimally exposed to the Muggle world through Chris, but this Silver Surfer is far beyond my knowledge. "Whose board did what to whom?" she asks confusedly.

There's a pause, and a slight rustling sound from the direction of the girl's bed. "Nothing, never mind. It's a Muggle thing. The point is that it hurts."

After casting a drying charm on the girl, Madam Pomfrey heads back towards her office, apparently to retrieve something to help the girl. She shoos the other players out as she goes.

"I'm Maddy, by the way," the girl says quickly before Madam Pomfrey can step out of the room.

"I know." The door shuts before Maddy can ask how exactly she knows.

I think I hear her mumble something, but can't decipher what it is. I look over to her side to see her with her eyes closed, arms curled around her torso. She shivers. Ah, yes, she was flying around in the October rain.

Maddy's eyes open, and she's looking at me. She quickly averts her gaze to the ceiling when she sees I'm looking back.

"I'm Dominic," I say, introducing myself. I would offer a handshake if we weren't both in hospital beds.

"Maddy. But you already heard me say that a few seconds ago so never mind..." She rushes the last part, clearing her throat. She then winces, the latter action having probably shaken something up where the Bludger hit her.

"Pleasure to meet you," I say politely, showing my most sublime smile.

It's then that Madam Pomfrey bustles back into the room with several items. "Here are your pyjamas, Madeline."

"I have to stay the night?" Maddy complains. "I thought you could fix normal injuries in a trice!"

Madam Pomfrey eventually pulls the curtain closed around Maddy's bed, allowing her to change into her nightclothes. While I wait for it to reopen, I pull out the phone Chris loaned me and pick back up on my muted game, unintentionally falling asleep a few minutes later.

When I wake up, the curtain is still closed, and from the light shining through the windows I can tell the sun is setting. I look to my left again, and since there is a window behind Maddy's bed, I can see her silhouette. She's in bed too. Ah well. Evidently, she doesn't want to talk to me. Whatever. I put Chris's phone under my pillow, turn over on my belly, and go back to sleep.

A while later, I hear a muffled voice. "You. Howard."

I squirm and reposition my head on my pillow.

"Wake up, boy."

"Nnnnn..." is all I can manage to respond. I was having an excellent dream, and I demand to know what happens next.

"Must I get a bucket of water?" says the voice, coming through more clearly this time.

That's all it takes to get me awake. I open up my eyes, only to be blinded by the morning light shining through the windows. My blurred vision slowly focuses to show Madam Pomfrey standing above me. "Okay, I'm up," I mumble, but the numbness of my mouth discredits the statement.

"You're all healed," she says without so much as a good-morning. "It was a powerful hex, all right, but I'd say you're good enough for classes now."

"Ugh, really?" I groan.

"Yes, really," she snaps, tossing some folded robes on the end of my bed for changing. "Come on, get up, I can't have perfectly healthy students filling up my Hospital Wing."

I push my sheets back, feeling far too exhausted to move again. But I must. So I sit up and swing my legs over the left side of my bed. Maddy's curtain has been pulled back again, and she's awake. She seems to be paying no attention to me, with her nose in a book, but then her eyes flick up to meet mine and back down again, so quickly that I'm not sure if I imagined it or not.

I sigh strenuously when my feet touch the cool stone floor.

I stand and stretch, looking back at the school's nurse, who's still there. "I think I can get dressed by myself now, thank you."

"Right," she says. "Just remember to be careful for a few days so you can recover fully. And try not to get hexed again," she adds in a maternal tone, before turning and going back into her office yet again. I wonder what she does in there... I wonder idly.

"Good morning," Madeline greets in a small voice.

"Oh, morning," I say back, surprised to hear her speak. "How did you sleep?"

"Well, thanks...it was kind of uncomfortable at first, but then I was able to doze off and it got better."

"Do you feel all right now?" I ask.

"Not really," she says with a sigh. "But I'm fine."

I'm unsure whether to say 'I'm sure it'll get better' because she doesn't feel well, or 'Good' because she's fine. After hesitating for a second too long, I decide on a happy albeit slightly confusing medium. "Good, well, I'm sure it'll get better anyway."

Maddy doesn't overthink it. "Thanks," she says, smiling a little.

I slide the curtain around my bed shut. "So how long do you have to stay?" I ask, starting to undo the top buttons of my pyjama top.

"Umm, I'm not sure," she responds. "Probably not for long. I mean, it's probably just a sprain or something, I'm fine...though I'm not sure why she couldn't just snap her fingers and have it healed."

"Yeah, that is a little odd. Maybe magic was involved somehow," I suggest. I shrug, though she can't see it.

"Well, obviously," she replies as I slip my shirt off my shoulders. "It happened during Quidditch practice."

I don't respond, what with being a bit preoccupied with removing my pants. I find it quite awkward to talk to someone while I'm naked, even if they can't see me.

When I've got my freshly cleaned Slytherin uniform on and Chris's mobile tucked safely in my pocket, I reopen the curtain. When I turn to grab my wand off the bedside table, it bothers me to notice that the bed is a mess from my tossing and turning. Even though I know the house-elves will change the sheets and blankets anyway, I still feel obligated to clean up, so I straighten the blankets to near-perfection and fluff the pillows. "There," I murmur to myself when I'm finished. Much better.

"Well, Maddy," I say with another radiant smile, "it was lovely meeting you."

"Mmm," she responds, clearly very involved in the book she's reading. I can't see the title; the cover is dark blue with a short-haired teenage girl on it. "Oh, sorry, you too." She smiles and goes back to her novel.

As soon as I step out into the corridor, I'm running before I can even comprehend where I'm going, as I'm being pulled by the arm towards the staircase by a short blur of black and blue.

A/N: I understand if everyone is a little pissed. I haven't updated anything, I'm late when replying to PMs, and I haven't been reviewing anyone's stories. Worst of all, I've been making stupid excuses to cover for it all. And I'm truly sorry.

The truth is that I've been struggling with depression, self-abuse,* and suicidal thoughts recently and it's difficult to find the motivation to write anything (including PMs and reviews), even though I used to find it very enjoyable.

Don't panic; I'm not quitting FF or anything. I just need everyone to understand that this is a trying time in my life, and I'll need a lot more time to write between chapters. As much as I'd love to update weekly or even daily, I just can't do that.

Thank you for your support and understanding. I really do love all of you.

-Lily

*Yes, Maddy, I remember our deal and have not betrayed it.