Weeks passed, and not once did Willow glance at Draco Malfoy, not even for a second.
She wasn't about to attempt to help him if he clearly didn't want her help. If he didn't want to feel better, if he really wanted to be angry and alone for the rest of his life, then so be it. She had gotten over the guilt she originally felt when he had confronted her, and now all she felt towards him was bitterness. It wasn't as if it was a crime to offer support to someone, even a stranger. There had been so many times she wished someone would aid her, and nobody did. She wasn't even sure what she would have done if he had turned around when she yelled after him and told him she wanted to help, but she knew she could think of something. But she wasn't even given a chance. The boy had to help himself before he could be helped by anyone else. It was out of Willow's hands.
She hustled down one of Hogwarts' many first floor corridors, finishing off the last bites of the sandwich she had taken from the Great Hall. She was skipping having lunch with her friends to go the Hospital Wing alone instead, which she had been doing often. Even after almost two months of school, she still got lost on the way to some of her classes without her friends' help, but the Hospital Wing was one place she knew by heart. She spent a lot of time there; Madame Pomfrey had taken to her immediately, and was allowing Willow to assist with patients, giving her small tasks to do while she was off running errands. Willow felt at home there. The clean, white room with its rows of beds was a kind of safe haven, a place where she felt she could really make her contributions to society. She could imagine herself spending the rest of her life in a room just like it, healing others and helping them regain their health. Healing was something she just knew she wanted to do, and she was good at it, too.
"Hello, Madame Pomfrey," she called out when she stepped into the room, closing the door softly behind her.
'Hi, dear!" she heard the friendly voice call from the corner, where the woman was leaning over a bed, holding a goblet to someone's lips.
"Can I help you with something?" Willow asked, placing her bag on an empty chair.
"I'm afraid not," Madame Pomfrey smiled apologetically, "I just gave Samuel here something to repair his sprained wrist and he's our only patient so far today,"
"Oh, what happened?" Willow inquired, always curious about how injuries came about.
"I got my foot stuck in a trick step on the stairs and fell forward," the young boy, who Willow recognized as one who had been standing near her in line during the Sorting Ceremony, piped up excitedly. Willow winced sympathetically.
"You're all done, off you go!" Madame Pomfrey exclaimed, shooing him off the bed and watching as he strolled triumphantly out of the room, presumably to go boast to all his friends about his injury.
Seconds later, a small, scrawny boy in Hufflepuff robes walked in, holding his hand over his nose.
"My, my, what happened to you?" Madame Pomfrey asked, leading him to a bed and sitting him down. He took his hand off his face to reveal blood spurting out of his nostrils.
"I think I broke my nose,"
"How?" she asked, watching disapprovingly as the blood dripped onto the sparkling white sheets.
"I got punched by a Slytherin," he said matter-of-factly, and Madame Pomfrey grew stern.
"Who?" she asked angrily, "I don't condone that kind of behavior,"
"Oh, no, it's okay," he stated cheerily, "Professor McGonagall saw the whole thing. She gave him detention," he seemed very pleased with himself, puffing up his chest and grinning from beneath the blood on his face.
"You can take care of this, can't you, Willow?" Madame Pomfrey sighed, turning to the girl, "I've got a letter I have to finish in my office,"
"Of course!" Willow said excitedly, ecstatic for a chance to prove what she knew. The nurse smiled at her and shuffled away into her office, leaving the door slightly ajar behind her. Willow sat in a chair next to the boy's bed, clearing her throat and pointing her wand at his crooked nose, "Episkey," she stated clearly, and the boy's nose bulged slightly before settling back to its normal position. She Summoned a towel and a bowl of ice water and flicked her wand again; the towel dipped itself into the liquid and onto his face, wiping the blood off. He grasped his nose uncertainly, before smiling and leaping off of the bed.
"Thanks!" he exclaimed, clearly satisfied with Willow's work. He headed towards the door, but Madame Pomfrey came bustling out of her office, and she held out a hand, stopping him in his tracks. To the boys' surprise, she grabbed his nose, pulling it this way before looking at Willow and exclaiming "Well done!". Willow beamed, delighted. She glanced down at her watch, realizing lunch was nearly over, and stood up, grabbing her bag.
"Would you mind taking this letter to Professor Slughorn?" Madame Pomfrey was asking the boy.
"I can take it," Willow interrupted, "I have Potions next,"
"Wonderful," Madame Pomfrey smiled at her with gratitude, and handed her the thin brown envelope.
Willow took it and bade the nurse goodbye before walking out the door, making her way to the dungeons while staring at the letter in her hand. She was definitely interested in its contents, but it was sealed, and Willow respected Madame Pomfrey's privacy. She just wondered what kind of business nurse could have with the Potions professor.
She made it through the doorway of the Potions classroom moments before the bell rang, and she hurried to her seat in the front of the room, which Ginny had saved for her.
"Why were you almost late?" Ginny whispered curiously out of the corner of her mouth. Slughorn was taking attendance at the front of the room.
"I was healing a broken nose," Willow responded, prideful.
"Prim?" Slughorn's voice interrupted, and Willow raised her hand.
"Here. And, Professor?" she asked, and he looked up, "I've got a letter for you from Madame Pomfrey,"
"Oh, yes," he said, not looking surprised at the slightest, and he reached out his hand, "I'll take that,"
Willow stood up from her seat, walking up to Slughorn's desk and handing him the envelope.
"Very well, thank you," he smiled at her, before looking back down at his class roster and continuing with attendance. Ginny waited until after he called her name before whispering to Willow again.
"What's that all about?" she asked.
"I have no clue," Willow mumbled truthfully in response.
"Huh," Ginny said, but she shrugged, clearly having lost interest.
"If I could have your attention, please," Slughorn was now saying, "I would like to take the time to announce that we are doing a partner project," he announced, a smug smile on his face. Everyone started whispering amongst themselves immediately. Willow looked at Ginny, who grinned at her.
"Partners?" Willow mouthed.
"You got it," Ginny mouthed back.
"This will be a three-part project," Slughorn was continuing, "Each partnership will be assigned a potion. Your assignment is this: an essay describing the uses of the potion and specific times in history that it has been helpful, a list of all ingredients used, including drawings of each ingredient and a description of where each one can be located, and, finally, you and your partner must come down to this classroom in your free time and brew your assigned potion perfectly. I expect your essay, list of ingredients, and a filled vial on the empty table in the far corner by a week from today,"
"This is going to take forever," Willow groaned, and Ginny nodded grimly.
"Oh, and one last thing," Slughorn said, "I have already picked your partners for you,"
A loud groan was emitted from almost every student in the classroom.
"Fantastic," Ginny muttered sarcastically.
"Now, now, settle down," Slughorn continued, not fazed by the negative reaction, "You'll all be perfectly fine. I'm going to read off the names of your partners now. You will get time at the end of class to meet with your partner and discuss your plans,"
Willow looked around nervously at the faces of the students in the room. She was worried she would get paired with someone completely undesirable. She tried not to scare herself too much; she had plenty of friends in the room as well. Crossing her fingers under her desk, she silently hoped she would be partnered with one of them. Slughorn cleared his throat, looking down at the piece of parchment he was holding in his hand.
"Potter and Granger," he began, and Willow looked enviously over at Harry and Hermione, who were sharing relieved smiles, "Parkinson and Weasley, Ginny,"
"You're kidding," Ginny complained loudly, whipping her head around to shoot daggers at Pansy, who was sticking her tongue out and looking just as displeased. Slughorn looked between the two of them uncomfortably, but didn't comment.
"Er, moving on," he said instead, "Prim and Malfoy,"
Willow's mouth dropped, and, forgetting her promise not to look at Draco anymore, she turned around to see him looking just as bewildered as she did, but only for a split second. He caught her eye, and his face was again as somber as ever. Willow turned back around, burying her face in her hands. Out of all the people in the classroom, she just had to have been paired with him.
"Rather him then Pansy," Ginny muttered darkly, but Willow would have eagerly switched.
This was going to be a disaster.
A/N: Thanks for reading! And thanks again to all of you who have reviewed, I love you to death! :)