Must Be Magic
Bobby was sure he was about to lose his mind.
He hadn't heard from Kitty in days. Both of the owls he had sent had gone unanswered. He knew she was busy, of course, but it wasn't like her to just ignore him.
The blond boy had racked his brains for anything he might have said in his letters that Kitty could possibly have taken the wrong way. He didn't think he had written anything that would have made Kitty upset, but it could be hard to convey tone in a letter. And with all the stresses of seventh year with additional Head Girl duties, he was sure it wouldn't take much to set Kitty off.
But Bobby had a plan. James, he knew, had a set of rare magic hand mirrors that he used to keep in touch with Clarice. Bobby was sure that with a little persuasion, he could get James to loan it to him.
It would take a bit more convincing to get Clarice to help him. If Kitty was angry about something, Clarice was the last person who would want to assist him in making up with her. He still suspected she hadn't forgiven him for the Yule Ball and probably never would, at least not entirely.
Bobby waited outside the Auror training room for James. The other boy was black and blue. Bobby knew he couldn't have looked much better. They had been working on Disarming spells today, only there were no cushions to fall on. As a result, everyone was beat up and sore.
"Hey, James," Bobby began, "I was wondering if I could ask you for something. A favor."
"A favor," James repeated slowly. A grin spread over his face. Bobby groaned inwardly — James never missed a chance to remind him when he owed a favor. There was a reason Bobby never asked his friend for anything.
But his desire to see Kitty outweighed his dislike of asking James for a favor. "Yes, James. I haven't heard from Kitty in a few days and I thought maybe when you have your talk with Clarice tonight I could borrow your mirror and talk to her for a second. I just want to know what I did and how I can fix it."
"So you want to — what's that Muggle phrase — be the third wheel while I have a date with my girlfriend and hope she'll tell you why Kitty apparently isn't talking to you?"
Bobby nodded. "If it's not too much trouble," he said.
"What are friends for?" the other boy asked. "Come on, then."
They made their way down from the training room to the lobby and got in line for a fireplace. Neither of them talked much; Bobby was sure James was just as tired as he was.
The Proudstars's place was just as Bobby remembered it. Mrs. Proudstar was sitting in the living room, and she looked up as they came in. "This is a pleasant surprise," Maria greeted as she came to hug first James and then Bobby. "Will you be staying for dinner?"
"That would be great," Bobby agreed. He couldn't remember the last time he had been over for dinner, and besides, there was no real reason for him to go back to his cold, empty flat sooner than he had to.
He followed James up the stairs to his bedroom. The other boy immediately flopped onto the center of his bed and buried his face in his pillow. Bobby settled down in James's desk chair, which was considerably less comfortable.
After a few minutes, James lifted his head. He reached over to his nightstand and picked up the mirror. "Clarice will be calling in a minute," he said. Bobby came to join his friend.
Sure enough, a few minutes later the mirror lit up and Clarice's face appeared. "Hi, James," she began. "I have so much to tell you — oh, Bobby. Hi."
"Bobby has something to ask you," James prompted.
A look of amusement crossed Clarice's face. "He does?"
The blond boy shot James an annoyed look. "I can speak for myself." He turned his attention back to the mirror. "But yes, I do have a question. Do you know why Kitty is mad at me?" he asked.
Clarice stared at him blankly. Bobby went on. "She hasn't answered either of my owls. And that's not really like her. The only thing I can think of is that she's angry at me for some reason, but I don't know what I did."
"I knew this was a bad idea," Clarice huffed after a moment. "She's not mad, Bobby. She's in the hospital wing."
"What?"
But the younger girl was already getting to her feet. Bobby caught glimpses of the Ravenclaw dorm and common rooms as she walked. He could tell she was moving quickly through the corridors to the hospital wing.
Clarice held the mirror up over one of the beds. Curled up in the bed was Kitty, though she barely resembled the girl he had seen off at the train station a month ago.
She was pale and she seemed even smaller than usual, but that might have been because she was curled in a tiny ball. The end of her nose was bright red and her warm brown eyes were watery. She looked exhausted. The Ravenclaw girl barely moved as her friend approached.
"See, Bobby? She's sick."
Kitty shot up. "Bobby?" She looked around for a moment before spotting him in the mirror Clarice was holding. He smiled at her and she groaned. She promptly plopped back down on her pillows and hid her face.
On his side of the connection, Bobby frowned. "I don't understand."
Clarice held the mirror up to her face again. "She didn't want to tell you because she knew you'd be worried."
Kitty sat up again. "And I definitely didn't want you to see me like this," she added.
Bobby glanced at James and then at Clarice. "I don't suppose you'd give us a few minutes alone, would you?" he asked.
"Fine," James grumbled.
"I'll be back in a bit," Clarice replied.
Kitty took the mirror from her friend and settled down in the bed again. "Hi," she said quietly.
"Hi."
She let out a sigh. "I got your letters, Bobby. But Annie wouldn't let me write back. She won't even let me do homework. I'm so behind…"
"Annie is a good nurse, Kit. She knows what she's doing. But I have to ask. Did you really think radio silence was going to make me not worry about you? I thought you were mad at me," he said gently.
The brunette looked away for a moment. "I wasn't thinking clearly, I guess. I'm sorry. And I'm definitely not mad at you." She sat up a bit more and attempted a smile. "How's training?"
Bobby returned the smile. "I've learned a lot in the lectures. It's the practical part I don't like as much. I think I've been injured or cursed on just about every part of my body," he informed her. But even still, it was hard to mask his enthusiasm.
"Take care of yourself, Bobby. For me." He didn't miss the pleading in her voice.
"I could say the same to you," Bobby countered. "But I will if you will." The sound of footsteps approached the room. Bobby glanced towards the door. "James is coming back. I have to go."
Kitty stretched her free hand towards the mirror. She rested her fingertips on the glass as if she were trying to reach through it and touch him. Bobby mimicked her actions. "I miss you, Bobby."
"Yeah, I know that feeling. I miss you too, Kit. I miss you too."
