Considering the events of the day before, Elphaba's sixth and seventh year classes went rather well. They believed her magical skills completely. Therefore, she didn't need to demonstrate the way she had with her first classes. Fred and George Weasley were distraught at the news. They adamantly claimed to have figured out a way to beat her, but Elphaba didn't give in. Madame Pomfrey would have her head if she did anything strenuous for the next few days.
After her last class, Elphaba locked the door of her classroom. However, instead of heading to lunch like everybody else, she headed toward the library. Snape had told her the location during breakfast. Elphaba came to the small set of double-doors and pushed one of them open. Peeking in, she didn't see anyone inside, not even the librarian. Elphaba slinked inside, closed the door silently behind her, and stared at the massive library where the shelves went so far back they faded into darkness. Tiptoeing to the first set of bookshelves, she read some of the titles; Charms for Beginners, Shrinking Charms, Levitation Charms….
Elphaba wasn't looking for anything in particular; she just wanted to see the library. Her whole body seemed to relax instantly as she browsed the shelves and explored open and secret sitting areas. Deeper and deeper Elphaba went until she couldn't see the titles easily without a light of some sort. Elphaba held out her green hand to summon fire, but stopped in the middle of muttering her spell. Open fire would be dangerous in a library with very old books.
Dropping her hand to her side, Elphaba sighed and leaned against the shelf. She felt slightly lonely all of a sudden. Sliding her body down, Elphaba sat on the floor with her knees pulled against her chest. She laid her head against her knees and stared unseeing at a clump of books on the bottom shelf. The books were extremely old; centimeters thick dust covered them and the pages were cracking from age. These books had obviously been forgotten by the librarian herself. Elphaba couldn't blame her though; there were so many books here. She closed her eyes and breathed in the musty smell of the old books. Her body relaxed even more. The large room was completely silent. No one except her was here. Elphaba thought her own deep breathing was too loud.
'Knock,' Elphaba's eyes snapped open and immediately stared deeper into the dark shadows of the shelves beyond. She had definitely not imagined that noise. There was something else here. Elphaba stretched out her magic as she made a shield around herself. She felt it; there a few rows back. Dark magic; extremely dark, powerful magic, but it wasn't living. It was inanimate.
Elphaba rose to her feet slowly and quietly. Even though she was alone, she felt she needed to be quiet. She walked deeper into the shadows keeping her eyes and magic alert for anything; inanimate or otherwise. Elphaba came to the shelves where she had heard the knock come from. She stopped and peered into the gloom. It was almost as dark as dusk; just after the sun had set and forests were shrouded in shadows. The same uneasy feeling someone would get in a dark forest; Elphaba had in her body. She had never been afraid of the dark, but Elphaba couldn't help but feel slightly anxious.
'Knock,' Elphaba snapped her head to her right at eye level to stare at a book in front of her. Now that it had her attention, it started rattling gently on the shelf. Nothing else moved, just the one book. Against her better judgment, Elphaba reached her hand out and closed her fingers over the spine of the book. The book went still; seemingly waiting for her to pull it out. Elphaba took a firmer grasp on the book and pulled it off the shelf.
As she brought it in front of her to look at it more clearly, a feeling raced through her veins. She gasped at the feeling, but didn't drop the book. The feeling was familiar to her; too familiar. She looked at the cover; it was blank.
In the gloom, Elphaba kneeled down on her knees on the floor and leaned over the unmarked book. Shakily, she reached out her left hand and opened the book to the first page. Elphaba's mind went blank as she stared in shock. It was blank white page. She didn't understand. Flipping through a few more pages she found equally blank pages. Elphaba felt her patience wearing thin when she came to the middle of the book, and stopped moving completely.
There in the middle of the book was another page from another book folded neatly in half. It looked like a harmless piece of paper that someone had forgotten long ago. But, Elphaba knew better. The Dark magic was rolling off this simple piece of paper in strong, dense waves. Even more hesitantly than before, Elphaba reached out and touched the paper. A shock of magic raced through her, as she snatched her hand back quickly. She wasn't afraid of the magic racing through her because she had felt it before.
'It is the same,' she thought. She felt that even her thoughts sounded choked and alarmed. 'It is the same as the Grimmerie.' Elphaba reached out to the paper and opened it despite all of her instincts telling her to leave it be. She studied the words on the unfolded paper. Elphaba felt her breath catch in her throat as she stopped breathing completely. 'No, this cannot be.' In front of her lay a page from the Grimmerie itself, however, 'I can read this version easily…why? In Oz, it took me years to decipher a few spells on a few pages because the words were constantly rearranging themselves, but this; I can read this like a child's novel.' She paused as she felt something else. It was a foreign magic, like another being had already used it. 'Odd, how would someone have used it?' The Dispelling Curse… Elphaba clamped her eyes shut. She would not read it. With her eyes still closed, Elphaba reached out and folded the piece of paper quickly. She felt the magic race through her again, but it was more like a reprimanding shock this time. The magic wanted to be read, to be used. "No." She said to the paper; mentally slapping the page's magic with her own. "I am your master and you will listen to me." Elphaba held her hand over the paper lying in front of her. "You will never be read again. You will never be used again. You will never be found by prying eyes or minds. You will lay still and silent for all of eternity. Whatever spell was put in place before is now banised." Pushing her will and magic at the paper, it accepted her declaration and lay lifeless against the blank book. A chilly wind suddenly swept through the shelves and moved outward into the castle. Those walking in the halls shivered at the disturbing wind whipping past them; getting an uneasy feeling in their souls. Students in the Great Hall felt it and turned to each other to whisper their thoughts. Many of the teachers sat rigid in their chairs as the disconcerting feeling swept up to them. Snape recognized this feeling; dark magic. Someone was fiddling with dark magic inside the castle; not performing but … meddling with it. Snape looked at Dumbledore and realized the old man had come to the same conclusion.
About two hours of reading later, Elphaba realized that her office hours were about to start and she wasn't in her office. Sighing quietly, Elphaba marked her page, sent the book back to its place, and stood abruptly. She hadn't noticed before, but some brave students had sat themselves down somewhat close to her. The so-called 'brave' students had startled violently and stared when she stood so quickly. As soon as Elphaba made eye contact with them however, they looked back at their books, but she could see their eyes were not moving with the words. Elphaba made her way out of the library toward her office. Once there she took out her key…
"Professor!" Elphaba turned to see Harry running toward her with a less than comforting grin on his face.
"Yes, Potter?" He came to a skidding stop in front of her.
"Could you do me a favor?" He asked without preamble. Elphaba took in his disheveled appearance and windswept hair. She got the distinct feeling he was doing something he shouldn't.
"No," she opened her door and walked in. Harry followed her with a whine.
"Oh, come on. Please, you don't have to do much. Just sit on a broom and referee."
"What?!"
"Some of my friends and I want to play an impromptu game of Quidditch and we need a referee. Please, we can't play without a professor present. And, you are the only professor free… and I know you are good on a broom." Elphaba narrowed her eyes as she considered.
After some deliberation, "What if I want to play?" Harry's eyes lit up as his grin became even wider.
"The more the merrier, Professor. We needed one more player anyway." Harry grabbed Elphaba's hand and began pulling her toward the door.
"Wait! I thought you needed a referee."
"Hermione can be the referee. She did say she would rather do that, if we could find another player, and you just offered." He began pulling her again. Elphaba smiled a little at the thought of flying again, but remembered something that made her spirits plummet.
"I just remembered, Harry." Harry stopped at the use of his first name. "Madame Pomfrey said I could not do anything strenuous for three days at least." Harry looked at the crestfallen face of his friend.
"Really Elphaba, are you seriously going to follow her instructions? You are an adult, if you want to have some fun; you are going to have some fun. Come on, we aren't that competitive anyway; this is just for fun." Harry smiled encouragingly at her. She smiled back. He resumed pulling her out the door and locking it behind them.
"But, I do not know the rules." Elphaba exclaimed as they power-walked through the halls.
"I'll fill you in," Harry answered and explained the rules while walking as fast as they could. The professor and student got odd looks as they rushed past. Of course, no one dared to point out that Harry was still holding onto Elphaba's hand as they walked past. Elphaba considered telling Harry to let go of her, but figured that would look even more unusual and suspicious, as if she was "caught red-handed." So, she allowed Harry to pull her along, taking on a bored and resigned expression as he explained the rules of Quidditch. As Harry finished explaining, they came out onto the grounds and walked toward a large stadium.
"Is that the stadium?" Elphaba asked.
"Yep. Everyone is already there. We were there thinking of professors who had this period off, and we thought of you. So, they told me to come get you. Fred and George will be psyched to hear you are going to play."
"Why you and not someone else?" Elphaba asked suddenly.
Harry gave her a cheeky grin, "I thought that would be obvious." Elphaba pondered that statement silently and a little nervously as they walked into onto the field. The others were already in the air. Hermione, Elphaba noticed, was still on the ground standing next to a broom hovering next to her. Harry and Elphaba walked over to the abnormally pale girl as the others landed a few feet away. "Hermione, you have been saved. You can referee while Elph…Professor Thropp plays."
"Oi, I thought Madame Pomfrey said you couldn't do anything stressful for the next three days, Prrooffeesssor!" The twins held out her title mockingly.
"She said strenuous, not stressful. And, I haven't flown in… a long time." Elphaba walked over to the broom hovering next to Hermione and took hold of its handle. "This one is different from my own." She stated quietly.
"You've flown before, Professor? Where is your broom?" Hermione asked right next to her.
"It got burned," Elphaba answered without thinking.
"Who burned it?"
"I did," Elphaba immediately flinched inwardly at that. She sounded crazy.
"Why?" Elphaba could hear the note of worry in Hermione's voice.
"I was having an off day," Elphaba answered vaguely.
"Was that the same day you," Harry held up his fingers in the quotation symbol, "melted?"
Looking at him with a less than approving glance, "Yes," she answered and looked back at the broom in her hands.
"What in the world are you two talking about?" Dean Thomas asked incredulously.
"It's… an inside joke," Harry explained. After an awkward pause, "Okay, let's get started. Hermione you are the referee and score keeper. For each team, there will be one Seeker, one Keeper, one Beater, and two Chasers. For my team, I will be the Seeker…"
"Oh, come on, Harry! Give the other team a chance. If you are the seeker, your team will definitely win. Let someone else be the Seeker for once." Dean complained.
"Fine," Harry started after a moment's pause, "Ginny can be Seeker, Ron is the Keeper, Fred is the Beater, and Professor Thropp and I can be the Chasers. What have you guys decided?"
"Colin will be the Seeker, Seamus will be Keeper, George the Beater, and Katie and I will be the Chasers." Dean said quickly.
"Okay," Harry spoke to everyone present, "Since we don't have two Beaters per team, we will only use one Bludger. The rest of the rules will be the same. Oh, and let's try not to kill each other; we are just having fun. What are we playing to?"
"Until one of us catches the Snitch of course," Ginny answered.
"Okay, that's fine," Harry gave her a wry smile, "but what if it gets dark before either of you catches it?"
"Let them be, Potter." Elphaba spoke up before Ginny could launch herself at Harry, "How do you know Miss Weasley will not catch the Snitch quicker than you ever have?" Harry grimaced at her as the others snickered behind his back. "Oh, for this game, could I call you all by your first names so I don't have to keep using your titles?"
"Sure," Fred piped up.
"What about you?" Elphaba paused for a few seconds, "Elphaba is fine; but, only for this game. Don't you dare call me by first name at any other time; got it?"
"Sure, sure, Elphaba," Fred threw his arm over her shoulders casually. "After the game we'll all just head down to the pub and get a drink." Elphaba gave him her best professor's glare. Fred promptly dropped his arm and backed away a few feet. "Joking; I was joking, Professor."
"Alright, let's get started, before Fred says something he really regrets." Ginny walked past the two of them linking an arm with Elphaba before she could even think about hurting the boy. Ginny positioned Elphaba a couple feet away from Harry so she and the three other Chasers made a circle of sorts. The Seekers and Keepers launched themselves into the air first to be above everyone. The twins went second, and the Chasers went up last.
Elphaba leaned forward slightly on the broom and felt her stomach lurch as she levitated off the ground. The broom lifted into the air quicker than she had expected, but she smiled to herself anyway. It was good to be back in the air.
"Please, don't get overly competitive and hurt each other," Hermione stated standing next to a closed chest on the ground. She opened the chest. A Bludger launched into the air followed by a small golden ball. Elphaba tensed as Hermione grabbed the Quaffle and positioned herself under the Chasers. She felt a familiar feeling of excited nerves dancing through her body as Elphaba's smile grew on her face. Glancing at Harry, she saw he was watching her. He grinned back at her when he noticed her mood.
"You're going down," Dean teased lightly.
"Please, we'll wipe your remains off the ground with our brooms when we win," Harry retorted to his roommate.
"BEGIN!" Hermione yelled as she threw the Quaffle above her head. Elphaba watched the maroon ball come level with her and the other Chasers and go past them a little more. Just as gravity took over on the ball, Elphaba launched herself forward as Katie Bell did the same. The two girls were on a collision course. Elphaba reached out as she came to the ball first. Tucking the ball under one arm quickly, Elphaba yanked her broom skyward and immediately climbed above the others. Katie sped under her in at a blistering pace. Elphaba leaned forward again and sped off toward Seamus at the goal posts.
"RIGHT AWAY, PROFESSOR THROPP SNATCHED THE QUAFFLE OUT FROM KATIE BELL'S FINGERS AND IS HEADING STRAIGHT FOR THE GOALS! HEAD'S UP, SEAMUS!" Elphaba heard Lee Jordan's voice loud and clear. She glanced into the stadium seats as she flew past and saw him standing with his wand to his throat. Elphaba focused on the goals in front of her. Cloth flapped as Dean and Katie came up behind her. She glanced around for Harry. He was coming up below her in case she dropped the ball.
Dean and Katie came neck to neck with her as if they were racing. They kept their distance though. Elphaba wondered what tricks they had up their sleeves. Suddenly, Dean rose a little higher and moved toward her quickly. He meant to run into her with his body. Noticing Katie do the same thing on her right, Elphaba thought quickly. The two players came to be twelve inches from her on either side. Elphaba loosened her iron grip on the broom and let herself slide sideways.
"WHAT IS PROFESSOR THROPP DOI…? GOOD GOD! SHE'S HANGING UPSIDE-DOWN ON HER BROOM! NICE MOVE!"
Elphaba smiled as she heard Harry let out a 'whoop' as she sped upside down past Katie and Dean, who had just collided with each up on the goals, Elphaba righted herself and brought the Quaffle to her hand. Seamus was waiting at the middle goal post; he looked ready to do an ything to block her score. She raised her arm to throw the Quaffle as she saw Harry just below her. He was slightly to her right; looking at her. Elphaba made a decision. She tensed herself to throw the Quaffle; Seamus rose a little higher to block the goal.
Elphaba threw the ball down and to her right; straight at Harry. Harry caught the Quaffle and threw it at the lower right goal. The ball flew through the circle easily. Harry and Elphaba circled around together and headed for the center of the field. Harry came up beside her.
"Nice move," he yelled over the wind. "High five!" Elphaba slapped her hand against his and circled around again to face their opponents.
"A SWEET GOAL BY HARRY POTTER! HE WOULD MAKE A GOOD CHASER IF HE WASN'T A SEEKER! WHO KNEW PROFESSOR THROPP COULD FLY? IT'S A GOOD THING SHE'S NOT A SLYTHERIN OR I WOULDN'T BE SO THRILLED THAT SHE'S GOOD-LOOKING…!" Elphaba glared down at the black-haired announcer. "JORDAN!" Lee Jordan made his voice higher to match McGonagall's voice. "SORRY, PROFESSOR!"
"Don't worry about it, Elphaba," Harry made eye contact with her, "He is best friends with Fred and George. What do you expect?" Elphaba looked down at Lee and noticed Hermione walk up behind him. She slapped him upside the head.
"OUCH!"
"AND, DEAN THOMAS SPEEDS UP THE FIELD WITH THE QUAFFLE UNDER HIS ARM. KATIE BELL RIGHT ABOVE HIM." Hermione's voice announced to the empty stadium.
"OI! GET YOUR OWN JOB, GRANGER!"
"DO YOUR JOB THEN!" Elphaba smiled at their bickering.
"Here they come," Harry got ready.
"What's the plan?" Elphaba asked.
"Stick to Katie like glue. If Dean passes the Quaffle to her, you might be able to steal it. I'll follow Dean." Elphaba flew a small circle and sped up next to Katie. Katie noticed their plan immediately and tried to lose her. Elphaba stayed right with Katie through every fake, sharp turn, and stop.
"Katie!" Dean yelled out as he neared the goal posts.
"I can't shake her!" Katie yelled back making another sharp turn toward Dean. "Make a goal!"
Dean launched the Quaffle at one of the goals, but Ron caught it and passed it to Harry. Harry raced toward the other goal posts. It was Dean and Katie's turn to defend. Elphaba tried a few maneuvers to get Katie away from her, but nothing was working. Harry neared the goal posts; Seamus was hovering back and forth between the three goals. He wouldn't be caught off guard this time. Elphaba saw Harry glance back at her to see what she was doing. Elphaba needed to think of something fast. Katie was inches behind her own broom.
Elphaba flattened herself to the broom and sped forward at a neck breaking speed. If she fell off now, she would not survive. She raced forward; catching up to Harry. Katie was struggling to keep up.
"Harry!" Harry glanced at her. Elphaba came up close to him and matched his speed. "Stay in front of the goals and let me go beyond. I'll pass you the Quaffle when you are open and can make another goal." She hoped the rushing wind blocked out her voice so Dean couldn't hear her.
"You do it!" Harry said to her. "I already have the Quaffle; I will pass it to you." Harry sped past her as he raced past the goals. Dean followed him. Seamus watched Harry pass him with a confused look. Harry turned around swiftly and headed for the back of the goals as Elphaba made a ninety-degree turn and headed for the left goal. Katie was still a few feet behind her. Seamus saw Elphaba fly toward the left goal and headed there himself.
Harry threw the Quaffle between the left and center goal posts as Elphaba passed. She nearly dropped the Quaffle, but held onto it. Reaching the goal post in seconds, she threw it at the circle. Seamus stretched to stop the Quaffle, but he was inches short. The Quaffle sailed through the goal post.
"ANOTHER GOAL FOR HARRY'S TEAM. NICE STRATEGY BY HARRY AND PROFESSOR THROPP!"
Elphaba grinned outright and circled back toward her teammates. Never before had she had so much fun flying. Any other time was spent worrying over future happenings, but not now. Now she could relax because there was nothing to stop her; no domineering wizard seeking her obedience, no sister needing her help and counsel, no nation of gullible fools hunting her down for false crimes.
"Elphaba!" Elphaba snapped her head up. "MOVE!"Ginny and Colin were careening straight for her. A small, golden blur whizzed past her head as she veered to the right just as Ginny and Colin sped past her. They were neck and neck; hands stretched out for the elusive flying ball. Ginny was a more experienced flyer, but Colin was smaller and lighter. He and his broom easily pulled away from Ginny as he reached for the Snitch. His fingers closed over the struggling ball as he slipped completely off his broom just a few feet from the ground.
Elphaba watched in horror as the small boy seemed to fall off his broom in slow motion. No one was close enough to catch him. Elphaba threw her magic out to stop his decent, but it was too slow. It reached him in time to slow his decent, but Colin's body still hit the ground with enough force to bounce and tumble. Even at her height, Elphaba heard a sickening crack.
Elphaba was the first to fly down to him; everyone else seemed to be in shock. She knelt down next to him, "Colin?" Laying a green hand on his shoulder gingerly, she said his name a little louder. "Colin! Are you alright?" A muffled groan was the answer she got. "What hurts, Colin?"
"A…arm…" came the whispered reply.
"Can you stand? I need to get you to the infirmary so Madame Pomfrey can take care of you." Elphaba kept her voice quiet and calm, even though she was berating herself on the inside. 'You should have watched over the children more, rather than allow yourself to drop your guard and have fun.' "Is it just your arm that hurts?"
"Yeah, j…just my arm." Even though he was trembling, Colin's voice sounded stronger than before. When he tried to stand, Elphaba noticed he was holding his left arm to his chest with his right arm. He couldn't get up easily. So, she helped him into a kneeling position on his knees, and when she was sure he wouldn't pass out from the pain, she helped him to his feet. The others had finally landed after catching the Bludger and packing the rest of the balls, except the Snitch into the chest. Elphaba looked at them, "Harry, run ahead and tell Madame Pomfrey what happened. The rest of you store the equipment away and head back to Gryffindor Tower. There is not much you can do except follow and bother Madame Pomfrey. I would not recommend it. She will be busy enough without you all hovering." The group nodded as she and Colin slowly made their way toward the castle behind a sprinting Harry.
"Sorry, Professor," Colin started to say when they were out of earshot. "I…"
"There is no need to apologize. This could have happened to any of us, even me…"
"But, you were having so much fun."
"Why would that matter?" Elphaba asked after a brief pause.
"Well… I don't mean to be rude or anything but, it just seems like you didn't have a lot of fun growing up. I'm sorry if that insults you…" Colin trailed off. Elphaba looked ahead for a while without speaking. Colin interpreted her silence for anger. "I'm sorry I shouldn't have said that..." He said the words so fast that Elphaba almost didn't understand him.
"Hush." Colin hushed immediately. Her tone wasn't angry, just firm and quiet. "You are right. I did not have much fun as a child. I am sure you can guess why. Other children found many creative ways to insult and bully me. However, as a result, I could and still can hold my own against almost anything."
"Almost? I thought you were invincible." Elphaba could hear the harmless joke in the boy's voice. She gave him a humble smile as they entered into the school.
"How is your arm? Does it hurt terribly?" The boy was alarmingly pale.
"It's just throbbing now. Not so bad as before." He gave a weak smile. "You are a lot nicer than I expected." Elphaba glanced down at the boy as he grimaced. She wasn't sure if it was the pain or him wishing to cut out his own tongue. "Sorry…"
"It's alright. I too am guilty of making hasty judgments. Human nature I suppose. There was a girl at my private university. She had perfect blonde hair, a dazzling smile, and a wardrobe to clothe the entire school population. To top that off, she was the most popular girl in school and had the most popular boy as her boyfriend." Elphaba smiled as she reminisced. "What would you think of someone like that?"
"If I didn't follow along with everybody else, I would think she… was kind of shallow and selfish."
"That is exactly what I thought… at first. Then we were forced to room together. She became my best friend." Colin looked up at her in surprise. "Glinda taught me to never make assumptions…. And, I like to think I taught her how to… think a bit more." Colin giggled at that. Their conversation ended there since the pair was more focused on not running into other students as they walked through the more populated areas. Elphaba didn't want Colin to be in any more pain than he was already in. The rest of the walk passed in silence until they came to the Infirmary.
"ELPHABA!" Elphaba flinched as Madame Pomfrey's voice reached new heights. Harry and Colin cringed as well, wondering if bats could hear Madame Pomfrey's shrill scream. "First Harry runs in here going on and on about an injury playing Quidditch; not that surprising. Then he tells me you were playing right along with them. Do you NOT REMEMBER me telling you to come here today? Or, how about not doing anything that could reinjure your back."
Elphaba stood stock still while she tried to think of some sort of excuse. Her eyes found Harry standing helplessly off to the side, "Harry can be very persuasive." Madame Pomfrey turned furious eyes on the boy now sweating bullets.
"I only asked her to referee," Harry held up his hands in defense, "Elphaba is the one who asked to play."
"He encouraged me, even after I mentioned the fact that I wasn't supposed to do anything…"
"So you did remember!?" Madame Pomfrey turned her blazing eyes on Elphaba once more. Colin felt her grip tightened around his shoulders reflexively. 'Is she afraid of Madame Pomfrey?' Colin wondered. 'She can get really mad, but she would never hurt anyone.' Colin snapped out of reverie when he heard Pomfrey let out a frustrated sigh. "Alright, Potter, go back to the Tower; there is nothing else you can do." Harry scurried past the Medi-witch and made eye-contact with Elphaba. He mouthed a quick Sorry as he passed them. "Elphaba, help Colin onto a bed and then go into my office."Without looking at her, Colin could feel how tense his professor had become.
"Will you be okay, Professor?" he asked quietly as she helped him onto the bed.
"Me? Why are you worried about me? You are the one with the broken arm."
"Madame Pomfrey sounded pretty angry…"
"She is more worried than angry, I can assure you. The most she will do is yell at me and keep me here overnight."
"That's enough chatting," Madame Pomfrey came over with a potion of some sort. She handed it to Elphaba, "Take this and go into my office."
"What is it," she asked as she took it but didn't drink it. "It is a pain relieving potion." Madame Pomfrey answered while she eyed Elphaba reproachfully.
"Why would I need this? I am not in pain…"
"You will be," Madame Pomfrey assured her. "You probably didn't even realize how much you moved on your broom and how tense that made you. Then you practically carried Mr. Creevy here…"
"Are you saying I will not be able to move properly if I do not take the potion?" Elphaba interrupted the woman. Madame Pomfrey gave her a disapproving look as she looked at the younger woman.
"Yes, now take the potion of your own free will, or I have many creative ways of making you take it." Elphaba didn't doubt the old woman. After a few tense seconds of staring each other down with Colin looking between the two of them, Elphaba broke her eyes away, downed the potion, and walked to the nurse's office. "Well, Mr. Creevy, why don't we get your arm fixed so you can be in time for dinner."