Chapter 9

Homesick


In the weeks that followed, Coraline found Hogwarts to be not just amazing, but frustrating too. The sheer size of the castle and its twisting corridors and many vacant classrooms left her in a stupor, it didn't make things any easier that magic also seemed to inhabit the very stone walls that created the school and while Coraline was happy to be in this world of her Mother, she found herself a bit overwhelmed by it all.

"I thought your Mum was a witch." Jan said at breakfast one morning, buttering a piece of toast with one of the golden utensils. "You should be used to all this by now and I'm the one that's supposed to be going loony. Not the other way around."

"Jan," Coraline sighed as she picked at her sausage "the most amount of magic I was ever around was my Mom's private study and I rarely went to the big city with her to get potion materials and junk. This place is just a bit overwhelming."

"I'll have to agree with you on that part. This castle seems to have a mind of its own sometimes and the library isn't any better. Always shifting and reorganizing itself, not to mention the lack of a catalog."

At that moment the owls came from the rafters, after a few weeks it didn't hold any more "awe" and became something trivial, like riding in a car or flipping a switch to turn on a light. Coraline had sent Wendelin the other day and received no mail outside of her Dad and the occasional mix up between her and Jan's letters, so it was a surprise that a tawny brown and white owl descended over the Gryffindor table and dropped a letter right in front osdf her, causing her to jump in surprise.

She looked at it for a moment before picking it up. In black ink with curly penmanship that read out "Coraline McCoy", on the envelope. Jan raising an eyebrow in a strange way that almost made Coraline raise an eyebrow herself. "Fascinating." Jan said, fascinated "I thought your Father was all you had."

"He is." She said as she opened the envelope and took out the piece of parchment inside. Upon reading the first sentence however, Coraline quickly folded the note back up and placed it back in the envelope.

"What is it?" Jan asked "Something wrong?"

"No," Coraline said quickly "I just need to go to the bathroom, this-uh-looks like a long letter and I don't think I can hold-never mind, I'll be back." She gathered up her things, tucked the letter into her pocket and walked briskly out the Great Hall, leaving Jan behind.

The note was not long, nor did she have to go to the bathroom but if Jan, who had been looking over her shoulder, had read so much as the first sentence, disaster would have struck.

"Why don't Wizards put return addresses on their envelopes like Muggles do?" Thought Coraline angrily as she walked up the entrance hall staircase to the first floor, knowing who sent the letter first would have been helpful. "But NOOOOOOO! Wizards HAVE to be COMPLICATED!"

She opened the door to an empty classroom she had found during her first weekend in her search for a quiet place to be alone. She had also found a little nook in the library that was hidden among the bookshelves and had a desk covered in graffiti, but Madam Pince, the librarian had found her and instantly shook her wand in her direction and accused her of being responsible for the desk, she wasn't too comfortable in going back just yet.

With fear of being discovered by another student, she pulled the letter from the envelope hastily and began to read it.

"Dear Miss McCoy,

I am happy to inform you that the Wolfbane Potion is a success and is ready for your use. A proper place for your night has also been arranged and next week I will escort you to your room. I will be waiting every night this week in the Hospital Wing at six o'clock with Madam Pomfrey, your head of house, Professor Longbottom and your potion.

Remember: YOU MUST TAKE IT EVERY NIGHT THIS WEEK, OTHERWISE IT WILL NOT WORK!

With that in mind, please be sure to come every night this week at six o'clock. We will be waiting.

Yours Sincerely,

Professor H. Slughorn.

Coraline bit the inside of her cheek, not caring that the potion was ready for her or worried about what would happen if she missed a day. No, she was focusing more on Madam Pomfrey's presence.

Madam Pomfrey was the school nurse, whose concern for her was more hazardous, and unwelcome than helpful and appreciated. During the second week of school, when she was writing her Charms essay in Gryffindor Tower, Madam Pomfrey entered the common room, grabbed her, took her to the Hospital wing on the third floor and proceeded to give her a full examination in the middle of the night. She seemed to have taken after McGonagall in her sternness and no-nonsense manner and would not take "But I feel fine! I don't need to say here for the night!" for an answer. Now every time Coraline so much as scrapped her knee, Madam Pomfrey would be there in five minutes to examine her in every possible way.

It was really quite embarrassing.

Before she could take anything else, the door suddenly opened and in its entrance stood the creepy caretaker known as Filch, a waxy skin, old, wrinkly man, whose greatest joy was giving students detention when they caused trouble in "his" castle. He and his cat Mrs. Norris, who was his eyes and ears and would report practically anyone as a "Mischief Maker", were always something to be wary of.

As soon as she saw him looking at her with his yellow eyes and teeth, grinning at her in a way that made her shiver, she knew she had gotten on his bad side. She spotted Mrs. Norris, who was busy rubbing against her master's boots that were underneath his long dirty brown coat.

"Stupid cat." Coraline's eyes narrowed to it as her suspicion on the tipster landed on the cat. Maybe it was just a classic "Dog VS Cat" thing but there was something about that cat that she didn't like.

"Now what are we doing in here?" He said in a soft menacing voice tinted with a bit of anger "planning some clever joke to pull on someone? Or just nosing around in places where you know you shouldn't?"

She took a deep breath "I was just looking for a place to read my mail." She said as calmly as possible, she hadn't gotten into trouble yet and she didn't want to get on this guys bad side. With her temper rising, she had to be very careful of how she said what she said.

"I've heard better lies." He grumbled.

"Lies?" Coraline questioned "Sir, I'm not lying, I really just-"

"Miscreants like you don't go looking for rooms to read the post unless you got something to hide."

"Sir," her voice was shaking, didn't this guy KNOW like the rest of the staff? "I assure you I wasn't-"

Before she could say another word, he moved towards her and snatched the letter from her hands. "HEY!" she yelled at him "THAT'S MINE! You can't do that!" Filch snarled at her "Afraid I might find your order from the Weasleys, are you?" he asked with a murderous smile, his crooked, revolting yellow teeth facing her.

"Huh?" Now she KNEW they were on different pages.

"Those two gave me plenty of trouble, I won't have-"

"Argus?"

Filch turned around and Coraline looked in the doorway. Like an angel sent to save her, her head of house, Professor Longbottom, stood in the light that flooded into the room. His red robes clean from the dirt of the Herbology Greenhouses.

"What are you doing?" he asked the creepy caretaker. Coraline leaned out from behind Filch, "Professor!" she sighed with relief.

Longbottom blinked "Miss McCoy? What are you doing here?"

She sighed. "I got an owl from Professor Slughorn just a few minutes ago, sir." She began to explain, stepping around Filch and his cat. "The information in it was personal and my friend, Jan, she was…well close by. So I decided to find a private place where I wouldn't be bothered and then HE comes in," she pointed at Filch, who still had her letter in his dirty, greasy hands "accuses me of planning trouble or something, and takes my letter saying that I'm ordering something from the Weasleys! I don't even know what he's talking about."

"I've got to remember to tell Horace not to be so open in his letters." The Professor shook his head and looked at Filch, who was standing idly by, the letter still in his hand. Longbottom looked at him, "Argus, I think we already told you about Coraline McCoy." He said in a soft voice. "The letter isn't an order, now can you give it back to her?"

Filch turned to her and handed her the letter back, reluctantly. "Thanks, Professor" she mumbled to her head of house before rushing out the door.

The look Filch gave her sent chills up her spine. There was something about that look, something that she couldn't figure out. Why would he look at her that way? The Slytherins hated her and gave her icy glares on a daily basis. The way he looked at her like that was on a COMPLETELY different level. He didn't just dislike her, he HATED her.

And Coraline had a good idea why.

After all, she wasn't new to the idea of prejudice against people like her.


Coraline retreated to the sanctuary of the Gryffindor Common Room. The sky was already darkening at six o'clock and the lake outside the window was sparkling in the sunset. She sat down at the table that faced away from the fireplace and the arm chairs; it was high time she started up her story again. It hadn't been since the beginning of September that she began it and she wanted to make sure she could get out as much as she could before she returned home for Christmas, so she could type it on the computer.

Writing was frustrating in the wizarding world. The ink was un-erasable, messy and the sound of the quill, scratching the parchment was constantly making her brain feel tight with annoyance. What she wouldn't GIVE to have her old pencil and lined paper back in her possession, such wonderful things she wrote with them. Not that anyone else ever saw them but, she enjoyed it and reading them over after she was done was fun.

Setting down her supplies and taking out a bundle of parchments from a sorted place in the bag, she placed them on the table before her. The top page was set up like a book cover, which read

"The Mystery of the Glassmaker"

By C.R McCoy

She hadn't gotten much down, due to the homework and the ink was terrible to smell, but it was a fair amount and she had just gotten through a writer's block when school started. Draping her robes over the back of the chair, she took her hat from her bag; put her red hair up into it.

She looked around the common room and after deciding it was ok, she rolled up the white sleeves of her uniform.

Coraline hated the uniform because it was far too tight and uncomfortable for her. Above all, the simple fact that she had WHITE sleeves and BLACK runny ink to write with was frustrating and rolling up her sleeves was dangerous because if it wasn't for the sleeves, every single one of her scars could be seen.

She looked down at her arms for a moment, the sunlight hitting her pale, mutilated skin. The remains of full moons past lingered with her and would one day be her undoing. She could cover them up, for now, but what would happen if she began to scratch her face or her hands? She already had one small scar on the brim of her nose, but that was no self-mutilation, that was because the skin kept splitting when the snout was-

She shook her head, "Stop it." She told herself "No use thinkin' about it when you can't do anything. It'll happen and that's that." After looking over what she had written last she turned over to a new blank page and began to write.

"Margaret looked around, never missing a beat as she surveyed the room. The apartment smelled of clothes, erasers and paint, but the weak aroma of gunpowder was still aloft in the air, coming just inches away from where the corpse lay on the blood stained floor. She crouched down and thought to herself, as she saw the horror on the man's face, what was going through his mind in his final moments?

"Detective Hall" called a voice loudly from behind; she swiveled on the spot, her long dirty blond hair hitting her shoulders as she turned around and saw a familiar face she knew too well. From his sports cap down to his black Vans, his cocky attitude and smug face at the scene of the crime.

"Detective Montgomery," she said, without the least bit of humor in her voice. "Didn't know you were on this case too."

Montgomery shrugged "I-"

"Do you see NOW, Jan?" cried an annoying voice from the world of reality. Coraline groaned; she was just getting started.

"I still don't think it means anything." The blond girl said as she stepped into the common room with Jim and Teddy following closely behind her. "Doesn't mean anything?!" Teddy exclaimed with a voice that sounded upset.

The blond girl shrugged "I can take a few childish remarks." She walked over to the fireplace and sat down in the armchair in the corner. "You didn't have to hex them."

"Jan, did you hear what they said about you!" Jim yelled. "They called you a "Mudblood", insulted your family!"

"I know," she said calmly, "I heard them."

"Yeah," Teddy said without so much of a second in-between comments "but you DIDN'T hear what they said about my parents."

There was an awkward pause in the room, even Coraline had stopped writing. Not that she could write where there were people in the room.

"You don't want to know what they called them;" Teddy said, breaking the silence "trust me."

"Alright…" Jan clapped her hands together "fine, I will give you BOTH the benefit of the doubt that the Slytherins are rude, rotten, cruel, stubborn, selfish, and self-centered prats."

This received instant applause from her audience who were concerned for her to start with.

"You've finally come to your senses!" Jim cheered, patting her on the back "Maybe now you'll use that brain of yours to come up with some good pranks?"

"Don't be ridiculous; I don't pull pranks, I'm more mature then that!"

"But say, someone REALLY deserved it!" Teddy chimed in, his hair turned to a Gryffindor red.

"I'd get caught!"

"Say you could get away with it though!"

"Go away, Lupin!" Jan said as she began to walk up the steps to the Girl's dormitory. But when the boys tried to follow, the stairs became a slide and they all went tumbling down in a heap.

"Oi! Who charmed the stairs to do that?"

"Ouch! Kirk, get your rear off my back!"

"Wasn't expecting that!"

"CAN YOU GUYS TAKE IT SOMEWHERE ELSE?!"

The three Gryffindors stared at her from their pile. She had been quiet and disconnected from talking for a while, they had never seen her angry before, it scared them.

"I'VE ALREADY HAD A BAD DAY AND I AM TRYING TO DO SOMETHING HERE THAT REQUIRES CONCENTRATION! I CAN'T DO THAT IF YOU THREE ARE YELLING AND GOOFING OFF!"

Coraline slammed her fist on the desk, and after a second longer to glare at them, she turned her head back to her work.

"Someone needs to take a break."

She stopped thinking, and bit down on her lip as Teddy managed to escape from the tumble.

"Excuse me?"

"It's pretty obvious, Coraline." Said the obnoxious voice of Teddy as he collapsed on to the couch, "You've been buried in your homework for two weeks solid." She ignored him and scooted her chair farther away from the desk she was placed at, trying to get comfortable.

"I haven't seen her relax yet ether." Came the sudden voice of Jim, who appeared abruptly next to Teddy "All she ever does is study."

"I'm right here, Kirk." She said slightly annoyed by Jim's presence, turning back to the three with a glare "and I'm not studying right now, I'm writing."

"Writing?" Jan looked over at her friend "Writing what?"

"A Mystery Story." She grumbled, feeling uncomfortable with people asking her about her personal work.

"That's interesting," said Jim, who was right next to her, leaning over her shoulder. "Can I see?" he began to try and move position so he could read what she had.

"No." She leaned forward and placed both of her arms on the parchment so that he wouldn't see her work. There was a quick RIP that sounded off in the Common room and she felt something give way so she could lean forward.

They both looked down. Her winter cloak she had draped on the back of the chair had leaned forward and shifted around, her back was pining it in place but the bottom had ended up on the floor under his foot. Jan got up from her seat and rushed over to her. Jim stepped off the cloak as she picked it up and put her whole hand through an enormous hole just below one of the cloak's pockets.

The four stared at the hole in silence; Coraline couldn't find the right words to say. She didn't have another one and she couldn't get another one until at least Christmas. She wouldn't be able to borrow another one due to the silver in the fastenings.

"Coraline," Jan suddenly looked at the red head with panic, "was that dry yet?"

A new brand of silence settled into the common room as she closed her eyes and groaned. The red head raised both her arms off the parchment, the white sleeves had been covered and drenched in black, runny, smelling ink and the page was ruined.

She sank back in her chair and let out a yell of frustration that made them jump back. In one action she had ripped her cloak, dipped her uniform sleeves in ink and ruined the page she was working on. "I can't even remember what I wrote!" She couldn't go up to the dormitory to change because of the stupid stairs; she wanted to be left ALONE.

She took the wet, soggy parchment that had once been the layout of her creativity, crushed it into a ball and threw it towards the fireplace. The wad of inky paper didn't make it that far and ended up rolling onto the carpet right before Teddy's feet. She slammed her head down onto the wooden desk, she wanted to use her arms to cover her, but she couldn't even do that thanks to the ink!

"IS THERE ANY PLACE IN THIS STUPID CASTLE THAT I CAN BE ALONE AND NOT BE BOTHERED?!"

"Coraline," said a sudden voice from Teddy "I think you're cracking." He turned to Jan "Has she gotten ANY rest since school started?"

She thought for a moment "If by "rest" you mean "relaxed" or "taken a break", than, no, she hasn't. Or at least, I don't THINK she has. I've been hanging out with Megan sometimes so I don't know exactly."

"She needs a break." Jim spoke up after realizing she was upset. "She far too stressed to work, no wonder she snapped at us."

"I don't need to "relax"." Coraline said; raising her head off the table, a red mark from where she slammed onto the desk was visible on her forehead. "I WAS relaxed; I just want to be left ALONE!"

"Actually, Coraline, I agree with them." Said Jan very seriously to her, "You haven't taken a break since you came here and that can't be good for you, you don't look well ether."

She groaned; of course she didn't look well. With the combination of the ink, the red spot on her head and the full moon next week, she would be surprised if she looked good. The bags under her eyes had darkened and her skin looked waxy and pale, she trembled slightly as if she were about to faint and she even FELT as if she were going to faint.

"I don't need you to be my doctor, Jan." She said in a low voice, "That's what my Dad is for."

Silence ensured for a moment, Jan took a deep breath for a second before saying with a straight face "Well your father is not here, Coraline. And if you can't take care of yourself than Madam Pomfrey will be more than happy to take his place."

Coraline bit her lip. Like a punch to the gut, Jan had hit home. And in fact it was just that she was missing. Home. Even the word sounded welcome and even the thought of it brought her closer to breaking down in front of her so called "Friends".

What she wouldn't give to hear her Dad's voice. She needed to talk to him, she had sent Wendelin yesterday and she wouldn't get back with a reply for at least three more days. "There isn't anyone I can trust. If only they understood, if only they could just leave me alone!"

"Oh sorry, is this a bad time?"

Coraline looked over with everyone else at their fellow first year, Alvin Wood. He looked like he had just been trampled over but had the time of his life, his hair was messed up and his glasses hung loosely on the edge of his nose.

"Yeah, it sort of is, Alvin." Teddy said with an "Oh, ya THINK?" attitude.

"Sorry, I was just wondering if any of you've seen Oliver?"

The boys shrugged and mumbled out their "Sorry, no". Jan turned to the boy however, with the expression of an optimistic idea in mind "its six-thirty, he's probably talking to his family. He usually calls them around this time."

The three wizards tilted their heads, "Calls them?" Teddy asked.

"Don't Wizards have cell phones?"

"What's a cell phone?" Jim asked sincerely before Jan palm smacked her forehead and sighed as she began to explain to the Wizards.

"A cell phone is a portable Muggle device that can allow one to communicate with someone else who owns a phone with the proper…code." She settled on.

"Muggle device? Like an "electronic"?" Alvin asked, almost stunned "I thought those didn't work on the grounds."

She shrugged, "Well, he apparently found a spell that could make it work. It's enchanted now, but it doesn't get great signal-oh…let's just say it can only work in certain areas. You'll probably find him in one of the towers near a window or on a balcony somewhere. Most likely the Astronomy tower or your dorm room."

"Well, I've already looked in the room. Thanks, Jan."

Coraline sat up right.

Oliver had a cell phone.

"Oliver has a WORKING cell phone?" She suddenly asked. They all turned to her; she had been quiet for a while. "A-a REAL working cell phone?"

Jan nodded.

Coraline sighed, thanked Jan, and ran out of the common room.

"If you see him," yelled Alvin after her "tell him I'm looking for him!"

She knew the new number for the apartment; it was Saturday so he would be home early today! If she could just borrow Oliver's cell phone for five minutes- She rounded a corner, down the hall she saw Oliver, looking down at a glowing screen of a flip phone and smiling before placing it back in his pocket.

"Oliver," Coraline was biting the inside of her cheek to make sure she wasn't breaking down crying in front of everyone. "Can I please borrow your phone for a minute?" He looked at her, a bit stunned that she was asking him this very suddenly and out of the blue. "I'm sorry," he said "but my family has a plan and I don't think-"

"Oliver…" She interrupted, holding back the tears was beginning to be a losing battle as she felt her eyes sting, the pressure of her tear ducts opening up. "Please…I-I really need to call my Dad…"

He stood there for a moment, silence, and then he pulled out the electronic device out of his robe pocket, handing it to her. "Make it quick," he said "My parents will be furious if the bill's too high."

She thanked him and ran back to the Gryffindor Tower; the metallic object in the palm of her hand was pulsing with both magic and electricity. She flipped the phone open as it echoed its chime and saw light radiate from it. Electronic light was beginning to calm her; she had been in this world for way too long now.

She turned the corner into the Fat Lady's corridor, "What's wrong my dear?" she asked the crying Gryffindor. "Nothing, I just-never mind…Venomous Tentacula."

Coraline climbed in and raced up into her bedroom, thankful that Jan wasn't present. She closed the door and sat on her bed, closing the curtains for some privacy and punching in the buttons.

She waited, as a ring went off without an answer. She prayed he was there, "Oh PLEASE be home!" she whispered as the second ring went off.

"Hello," said a voice on the other end "McCoy residence."

Coraline sighed with happiness, the rough voice of her father ringing from the other end. "Dad…" She croaked in her voice, the tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Coraline?" Her Dad asked, sounding shocked. "How the heck? I thought there were no phones at your school."

"I'm borrowing a cell phone from one of my housemates, but I promised I'd give it back in five minutes due to the family plan he's got."

"Are you upset, Coraline?"

"Dad, I can't do this. I'm not fitting in here and I really REALLY miss you, I can't even talk to you in person. It-it just sucks!"

Coraline burst into tears and sobs at this point. She tried to hold them back but they just kept coming down in wet trails down her face.

There was a sigh on the other line. "Coraline. Coraline, listen to me." Her Dad pleaded to her. Just the sound of his voice made her obey; she even managed to calm down a little. "You've dreamt about this for years, it was all you wanted. Now that you're there you can't let anything, any fear, get in your way. You have to go with the flow and just keep going."

She nodded; his voice was comforting and reassuring. "You can do this, Coraline." He said, "You're brave."

"Ok…" she finally said. The pressure behind her eyes finally easing off. "I'm…I'm sorry."

"No, it's ok." He said "I'm actually happy to hear you. Even if you're upset, this place is quiet without you. The letters aren't the same."

"Well," she sniffed "I guess we'll just enjoy each other more when I get back for the Holidays."

"Yeah…"

"I've got to go…I told Oliver five minutes…"

"Alright,"

"I love you, Dad"

There was chatter on the other line, "oh, Tell Teddy and Jan that both their…guardians said "Hi"."

"Teddy too?" Coraline raised an eyebrow "Dad, who are you with?"

"Just the Taylors and Mr. Potter, I mean Harry."

Coraline's jaw dropped. He didn't tell her anything about being acquainted with "Harry".

"I love you, Coraline!" He said on the other end of the line. "Don't stress out."

"Wait, Dad!" But it was too late. He had already hung up.

Coraline didn't want to call back, she had promised Oliver five minutes. But he never mentioned in ANY of his letters being in contact with Teddy's Godfather, Harry Potter.

It was slightly disturbing.

A moment later, the dorm room opened. Coraline took a deep breath, no doubt who it was entering her room now. She closed the phone softly, placed it in the pocket of her robes and opened the curtains to her four-poster bed.

Jan stood still at the doors, she looked angry and upset. She had every right to be. Coraline took in a deep breath and got up off the bed.

"Jan, I'm sorry…" Jan looked back at her friend with a stern look. "I've been really stressed out lately and…I guess a little homesick. I'm not used to being away from Dad…"

She sighed and let her expression fade away, "I'm sorry too, Coraline. I've been sort of homesick too. Getting used to a new world is frustrating but I'll stand by what I said earlier; you've been buried in your homework for too long. Don't you know when to take a break?"

Coraline shrugged. "When my Mom died, I just didn't want to deal with the world…so I used work as a way to forget. It's usually my Dad who would…he would flip my lights off and say "Sherlock, this is your doctor speaking. Get something to eat" when I had skipped too many meals."

Jan frowned, "Well…he's not here, Coraline." She said soberly "One day, it will be all up to you. You can't really depend on him forever, that's just a part of life, no matter what world you live in. You might as well start here; at least here you have people to catch you if you fall."

She blinked. "Wowzers, Jan, that was really wise." She said, surprised of her friend's maturity and perspective on the matter.

She shrugged "I just think of what Spock would say. That sounded logical so I just said it…"

"Who?"

Her friend sighed, shaking her head and making her blond braids shake side to side "Never mind."


After Coraline apologized to Teddy and Jan, she felt calmer as she walked the familiar staircase to the Third Floor, where the Hospital Wing was. Not better, but calmer. Her Dad was right; she just had to go with the flow and not worry about it too much.

She pushed open the door to the Hospital Wing, reluctantly. A gust of wind flew out from the door and the familiar smell of medicine and all things clean reminded her of her Dad even more, as he kept coming home smelling like a hospital every night. It made her miss him even more.

"Well, don't just stand out there, Miss McCoy." Said Professor Slughorn from just a little ways into the ward, standing with the round faced Professor Longbottom. "Come in!"

Coraline obeyed and closed the door behind her. "Hi, Professor Longbottom." She greeted with a blank face to her head of house. "Hello, Coraline." He replied "are you alright? You look like you've been crying."

She rubbed her eyes. "I have, a little…I'm just Homesick I guess, sir."

"I heard you yelled at your friends." He said with no hint of amusement in his voice. "You apologized to Mr. Lupin and Miss Taylor but what about Mr. Kirk? I thought you were friends?"

Coraline shook her head, "I'm really mad at him right now. He ripped my winter cloak did this" she showed them her ink, stained sleeves, "to my sleeves and made me ruin the mystery story I've been trying to write."

"Jim Kirk?" Professor Slughorn asked with a perplexed expression "He's your potion partner isn't he? I thought you did well together."

"That's enough chatting" came the voice of Madam Pomfrey, who was bustling forward from her office, rushing to Coraline, her wand out of her medical robes.

"Before you give Miss McCoy a checkup, Poppy, can Horace give her the potion?" Longbottom suggested.

"I need to make sure that she'll have no side effects, Neville." She conjured a chair and pushed Coraline into it as she began examining every inch of her. "Checking on a patient before they're introduced to something new is vital to treatment. Some Werewolves can't take the potion and I don't want to kill the girl."

"She's not going to die" Slughorn said slightly annoyed "there hasn't been a single case of that happening."

"But it could happen! It almost happened once, there was a case in Spain when-"

"When the man in question had an allergy to Horpnest Stub; Miss McCoy is not allergic to anything and besides, I don't think you'll get the best results at this point."

Madam Pomfrey shot Professor Slughorn a devil's glare and he quickly looked away to Professor Longbottom, who looked like he was trying his best to stay out of it. She turned to Coraline, who was looked very tired. "Fine, but if she starts having a seizure, I'll make sure you BOTH get MENTAL examinations at St Mungo's."

"Fair enough" Slughorn shrugged and walked over to a side table that had all sorts of medical potions and things that she could only guess what they were used for, but had a distinct and vague feeling that over time, she would have a firsthand experience with what they did; Coraline hopped out of the chair and followed him.

"Now," Slughorn said hesitantly as he handed her a goblet. "I will tell you this is NOT going to taste well."

She discovered, as she looked down into it, that the potion didn't smell at all. It looked like blue sand almost, but as she shook the cup slightly, the potion quickly shifted and had the impression of blue chicken noodle soup without the chicken or the noodles. Professor Longbottom stood nearby; he looked at the potion with raised eyebrows and a grim look on his face.

She looked at Professor Slughorn one more time. ""Bottom's up" I believe is the phrase."

Coraline raised the goblet to her mouth and opened it, the liquid pour in-"OH MY GOD!"

The goblet was empty and Coraline dropped it to the floor with a clang that echoed in the room. She NEEDED to spit it out! "Tastes awful" could NOT describe the agonyher taste buds were in. Madam Pomfrey rushed forward and put a hand to her mouth, making it impossible for her to spit it out. "Coraline, you need to swallow it!"

The potion went down her throat in one gulp and as soon as Madam Pomfrey felt it go down, she let go. Coraline opened her mouth and leaned on the nearby bed.

"I-I'm gonna be sick." She fell down on the floor feeling her stomach turn over and over as the potion hit it. "You're going to tear yourself up if you don't hold it in." Professor Slughorn said as Madam Pomfrey and Professor Longbottom picked her up off the floor. "It's hard the first time but it's better than beating yourself up and becoming dangerous don't you agree?"

Coraline looked at them, unable to safely say a word without gagging.


I apologize for the wait. College is a real pain and confusing math problems combined with equaling confusing English prompts get me blocked most of the time. This chapter alone has gone through so many changes and re-do's that I fear I may have messed something up. (This chapter alone has taken me six months to fix, I'm serious, and I've got about ten alternate versions of this chapter somewhere in my computer's memory.)

I wanna thank my beta, Saru Wolfe for helping me with the (now) existing plot. It's been a long time working out all the bugs but thanks to her, we can finally continue.

Also would like to thank a friend of mine, Forgotten by Love, for spell checking. (She hasn't gotten to this chapter yet but I revise chapters often.)

Let me know if something is off and I'll fix it.

Remember, Lupin's fiftieth birthday is on March Tenth!