The Flip Side - Chapter Twenty-Four - The Catalyst
By the time Madam Pomfrey had Pucey in her care, it was obvious that the gossip had already spread through most of the school. With it being Saturday and no class to contain them, the student body had moved at record speed to pass the news from ear to eager ear. A few of the first to be told even went so far as to try and catch a cheeky look through the Hospital Wing doors (having had nothing but curtains to gawk at therein for quite some time.)
"Mr Pucey! Let me guess," the Matron clucked at the sight of him as he, Abby, Sam, Higgs, Bletchley and Matthew entered. "Headbutted the wall this time?"
"I think the wall would have gone easier on him," Sam scoffed.
"I know the wall would have gone easier on him," Bletchley agreed.
"Oh, come on," Pucey was now down to one eye, the other squeezed shut as his cheek continued to swell. "It's barely noticeable."
"Not many here that could do this to you and get off scot free," Madam Pomfrey said knowingly as she eyed his unscathed knuckles and looked at him seriously. "Is this perhaps something I need to report?"
"Technically speaking, probably," he conceded with a pained laugh in reaction to the chorus of coughed affirmation around him. "But I already won - here," he handed her the tryout letter. "Have a look at that."
"Well, well, congratulations, my dear," Madam Pomfrey said kindly as she quickly read it and handed it back. "Though I dare say, if you keep the team's Healers half as busy as you've kept me over the years, they had all best receive wage increases."
"You'll always be tops in my heart, Miss," he tried (and failed) to wink.
"Never-mind that," she swatted at him and went to gather what tinctures and herbs she would need. "But that's a perfect position for you, Miss Malfoy, is it not? Since you already know how to put most of Mr Pucey back together as it is."
That was it for Bletchley; he snorted so loudly that he thought for a moment that his head exploded. And as he began laughing, Sam began laughing. And as she began laughing, Higgs began laughing. Madam Pomfrey attempted to settle them down by threatening to kick them out of the Hospital Wing. Matthew stared at them as though they had gone insane. Abby covered her face but her hands were not able to hide the bright pink glow of her cheeks. And Pucey stood there looking like the cat that ate the canary and then was promptly hit by a car.
"It seems I've found another piece of the puzzle," the Matron said in a stern tone as she examined Pucey's swollen face. "Miss Malfoy, if you would be so kind as to locate the Instant Ice in my office? Miss Edgecombe! On your way now, thank you!"
As Madam Pomfrey told off the first of many looking to get a glimpse at the walking wounded, Abby worked very hard to control her pace and keep from running for cover, while Matthew turned to his older brother, arms crossed.
"So are you two dating now or something?" he wrinkled his nose curiously.
"Or something - ouch!" Pucey winced as the Matron had prised open his swollen eye and administered drops. It felt immediately better. "That cool with you?"
Matthew shrugged. "Her brother's a git but she's all right, I guess. But you always fancied her anyway, didn't you?"
"Ha! Matty!" Bletchley howled. "No question to who got all the brains in the family!"
"There's hope for Miles, then," Sam smirked, referring to Bletchley's own younger brother.
"Am I that transparent?" Pucey asked incredulously as Madam Pomfrey carefully inspected where his nose needed to fit back together.
"Do you really want that answered?" Higgs retorted.
"Why didn't you hit him back, though?" the question had been bothering Matthew since it happened.
"I imagine that it would be quite exhausting to spend three years with someone who settled everything with his fists," the Matron replied wisely and smiled gently at Pucey, and everyone found that they had no argument for that.
Abby returned then with a jar of tiny white cubes that, with a simple charm ('facies glacies'), would become individual bricks of enchanted ice. If Madam Pomfrey was to have a clear path to heal his cheek bone and nose, she would need to first bring down the swelling. As Pucey held the ice to his face, he absently began to rub his ribs, which the Matron noticed.
"And what's this here?" she asked, tapping his hand on his chest.
"He caught me here, too," Pucey admitted.
"Right, top off."
"Ughh."
"Don't tell me you're trying out modesty this late in the game, Mr Pucey," Madam Pomfrey replied with a snort. "From what I know of you, it's generally more difficult to keep your clothing on."
"Miss!"
"Off. Now," she clicked her fingers as his entourage giggled at his being picked on. "If any of those ribs are broken, it could cause more complications than mere discomfort."
"Your lung!" Abby's eyes widened. "That's how you punctured it. Not two years ago but last year before Hallowe'en!"
"Two memories in one day, Miss Malfoy," the Matron smiled encouragingly as her friends reacted with surprise. "That's quite an accomplishment. And there appears to be a common thread emerging at that."
"Aww, your life has purpose after all, Ade," Higgs grinned and slapped Bletchley a high five.
"Ha, ha," Pucey rolled his eyes at them, though the smile he then gave Abby suggested something quite the opposite of annoyance (and made Matthew pull a face of comical disgust the way younger siblings are prone to do).
"Do you remember how it happened?" Bletchley asked curiously as Madam Pomfrey assisted Pucey in removing his shirt, revealing an angry purple bruise on his lower left rib-cage.
"Maybe," Abby bit her lip as she thought hard. "You were trying out a new play at the end of practice, I think. Derrick hit a Bludger toward you as you went to dive and-" she hesitated, second guessing herself. Their smiles gave her the confidence to continue. "I think - yes, I remember! It hit the tail of your broom and snapped the front up into your ribs. You couldn't get your breath. It was quite awful, actually."
"And now?" Madam Pomfrey moved aside and motioned for her to diagnose the injury. Abby met Pucey's dark-eyed gaze and then very tenderly (though it was still enough to make him wince) felt the area around the bruising.
"No break that I can find," she concluded. "But I'm certain that the bottom rib is dislocated. Maybe even two."
"Very good, Miss Malfoy," the Matron nodded at her, and then set about putting Pucey back together. Sam leaped forward to hug her; Bletchley and Higgs expressed how impressed they were with the details and then teased Pucey about the freshly resurfaced memory of the accident.
Abby and Pucey smiled at each other the way teenagers tend to do when they feel butterflies in their stomach and believe that Fate has romantically pushed them together.
"You are joking!"
"I'm not."
"You are. You must be."
"Swear on my life."
"I heard it, too!"
"And me!"
"Oh-h-h, this is too wild."
"Oliver is going to think he's died and gone to Heaven."
"Is that so? What's killing me this time?"
"Olly, wait til you hear this."
Fred, George, Lee, Angelina and Alicia filled Wood in on the details of all the latest gossip surrounding the Slytherin Quidditch team that was spreading like wildfire around the school. When Katie joined them where they were loitering on the staircase outside the common room, they enthusiastically retold it for her as well. Wood had stared, dumbfounded, at the first telling, and, after the second, plopped down beside the twins, laughing.
"So, wait just a moment," he made a T with his hands and called for a time out. "They fought? Flint and Pucey actually had a fistfight? Not just an argument like in the Great Hall last weekend?"
"They way I heard it, only Flint did the fighting," Lee folded his arms and sat on the stair behind him.
"Apparently, Adrian didn't even try to fight back," Alicia shrugged.
"That's a hell of a beating to just stand there and take," George whistled.
"I can't wait to see the damage for myself at supper tonight," Lee chuckled.
"I knew they were acting funny in class this week - him and Abby, I mean," Wood furrowed his eyebrows. "But to not fight back - he could have landed a few shots if he had tried."
"True," Angelina agreed. "He's not as solid as you are, Olly, but he's no slouch."
"Dunno. Maybe he reckoned he deserved it?" Katie wondered aloud. "She is his best mate's ex. Not to say that Flint doesn't deserve a thump for what he did to her."
"Flint is the only one who deserves a thump in that situation, if you ask me!" Angelina interjected. "He's the one who cheated!"
"Yes, obviously, I wasn't saying Adrian deserved it," Katie clarified her statement. "I meant that maybe he thought he did."
"Or maybe he was making a statement or something?" Fred scratched his chin thoughtfully.
"What statement does he make with his face smashed to bits?" Alicia blanched, being one of the many girls in the school that quite enjoyed looking at Pucey's face.
"That Flint can do his worst and he still walks away," Wood said pensively, considering the psychological implications of such an act.
"And walks away with Abby by his side, at that," Fred added.
"I bet that's driving Flint mental," Lee smirked.
The team fell silent, all thinking the same thing.
"So, we're throwing our hats in Pucey's corner, yeah?" Angelina voiced what was on everyone's mind. "He's already off the team, after all."
"Fred, George - make sure Potter doesn't land himself in Hospital again this year," Wood's eyes twinkled as the twins saluted his order. "That Quidditch Cup is as good as ours."
The days that followed progressed without nearly the open drama that most of the school seemed to be expecting, but more along the lines of a simmering tension bubbling below the surface. Pucey's heavily-bruised face garnered an impressive response that first night at dinner, but Flint seemed to have taken the hint that any further reaction would result in his expulsion, and had evidently cut his losses after the incident in the common room. And while he ground his teeth and cracked his knuckles at those who boldly supported Pucey and Abby's relationship, he got his own back by officially beginning to date Holly Hocks. This was especially vexing to Roger Davies, who had been enthusiastic to join in Oliver Wood's plan to unhinge Flint but did not want his own team similarly divided. However, as Slytherin's remaining match would be against Hufflepuff and Pucey was one of his best customers, Cedric Diggory had been all-too willing to step up and take Davies' place.
For Abby, dating Pucey was akin to (as she had inked, daydreaming, in the corner of her Potions notes) 'waking up one morning to find it was Spring just as I had grown accustomed to the Winter.' She had become that used to learning to deal with Flint's moodiness, possessiveness and tireless aggression that she had never expected the freedom of being liberated from him, let alone the shock of dating somebody who was exponentially more laid back, surprisingly tender, and showed aggression only in self-defense or in defense of his friends. In fact, he was so unconcerned about things that would have sent Flint into a veritable temper tantrum that, for the first few weeks, she would have anxiety attacks, mistaking his relaxed attitude for complete apathy. He took the time to patiently calm her down after each one, promising her that what did matter to him was her opinion - the rest could do one.
It was a refreshing change, and Abby began working to follow his lead, fighting to ignore the stinging comments that were still being directed at them (her) from people like Celeste and Elizabeth and anyone else who had taken Flint's side as result of, what they considered to be, her disgusting and disgraceful behavior. It would take time, they both knew; as a member of one of the 'truly pure-blood' Sacred Twenty-Eight families, Abby had been conditioned from an early age to present a chaste and untainted image. Such an archaic way of thinking would not change overnight. And while she was determined to tune out the unflattering names she was being called, there was still one person whose approval she desperately wanted.
Violet had been distant since that fight in the common room, and would only speak to Abby, Pucey, Bletchley, Higgs or Sam when necessary, but it was coldly and rarely with any eye contact. Abby had tried on multiple occasions to apologize for not telling her, guessing that she was feeling foolish for being out of the loop the day it had all come to light, but she had each time shrugged her off and made up some place to be with Lara and Aretha. Sam had offered to talk to her, but neither she nor Abby had much hope in the idea; Sam and Violet had never been terribly close and she seemed to be as much in the doghouse as Abby.
As the Easter holiday approached and the weather finally began to warm, everyone's spirits started to lift. It was much easier to deal with both social and academic stress when the sun was shining on your face and another Hogsmeade visit was on the horizon. Madam Pomfrey even recommended the fresh air for Abby, hoping that it would help to clear her mind and encourage more memories to surface. And as Gryffindor and Hufflepuff was about to kick off the second half of the Quidditch season, Pucey had got a bit pouty seeing Wood and Diggory doubling-down on practices; it would be good for him to get out and put the longing out of his mind for an afternoon.
"Oi! Wait up, you lot!"
"Sorry, Bletch," Pucey smirked apologetically as Bletchley caught up to them, puffing. "We'd all but given up on you."
"What took you so long?" Higgs raised an eyebrow.
"Had to roll a fresh one, didn't I?" Bletchley grinned as he lit a spliff with the tip of his wand.
"I honestly don't know why I bother asking," Higgs sighed at himself as Abby and Sam giggled at him.
"So-o-o, Abby," Bletchley grinned as he passed to Pucey. "Is this the day that you finally smoke with us like you said you would last year?"
"There is no way that I said that," Abby wrinkled her nose and looked at Pucey, who smiled and shook his head as he took a long drag.
"Traitor."
"You are a weasel."
"Now, to be fair," Pucey continued as he passed back to Bletchley. "You did almost say that you would join us last Hallowe'en. After my lung had healed enough that I could smoke."
"But then somebody gave us a dirty look to shut us up," Bletchley said as he did an impression of Flint's Death Glare. "And you made some excuse about actually caring about your reputation."
"And then a troll started rampaging around the castle," Sam added casually.
"Oh - the troll!" Abby blurted and covered her cheeks. "I remember that!"
"Spoilsport that he was," Pucey remarked sarcastically as she reached down and laced his fingers with Abby's. She smiled and walked a half-step closer to him.
"So then, more's the point," Bletchley called them back as he exhaled another lungful. "Without the disapproving Captain to be bothered about, and your reputation in complete shambles by now over dating Muggins here-"
"Hey now, play fair, mate," Pucey grinned, taking the spliff from Bletchley's outstretched hand.
"-would you like to try?" the Keeper finished his offer as they approached the outskirts of Hogsmeade.
"Oh," Abby hesitated and looked at Pucey. "I don't know."
"Don't look at me, babe. It's your decision," Pucey laughed easily.
"I'll try," Sam shrugged.
"Yeah?" Bletchley's eyes twinkled as he took the now half-smoked spliff from Pucey and held it out to Sam. All he ever really wanted was more people to smoke with him.
"Mhm," she gave him a sly look. "As soon as you let me read your cards properly."
"Ahh, no, come on," Bletchley whined and popped the spliff back between his own lips. "I'm not risking pulling the Death card again. Look what all happened to stop you doing that last reading! All Hell broke loose! I'm telling you, there are things not meant to be meddled with."
"I'm starting to agree with you on that, Bletch," Abby smiled. "And since the last experiment resulted in nightmares that I'm still having-"
"Soz," Sam replied on cue.
"-I will pass on the offer," Abby concluded.
"A wise decision," Higgs laughed.
"Fair enough," Bletchley grinned as Pucey gave Abby's hand a squeeze.
"We wanted it to be your decision," he winked at her and she felt another wave of butterflies burst into existence inside her stomach.
The feeling dissipated rather quickly, unfortunately, as the group moved further into town. Abby looked up to catch Violet's eye as she was entering Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop with Daniel Yaxley and reflexively waved. The other girl stared at her distrustfully for a moment before shaking her head and entering the shop.
"Ouch," Sam noted as Abby slowly lowered her hand.
"I just wish she would talk to me," Abby said dejectedly.
"Is she still being funny with you?" Pucey arched an eyebrow. "She's usually got some other bug up her skirt by now."
"She's proper upset with me," Abby shook her head as they carried on up the street.
"You don't suppose it's because she asked you out last year," Higgs asked Pucey, making Abby and Sam nearly fall over.
"She did what?" they screeched in unison, making the three boys jump.
"Er, yeah, last Valentine's?" Pucey sputtered.
"He said 'no' though," Bletchley clarified, as though it mattered.
"She never said!" Abby blanched, turning to Sam. "Did she?"
"Not to me," Sam grimaced.
"Um, yeah, because I said 'no,'" Pucey reiterated and looked at Bletchley and Higgs for help. They shook their heads in mutual confusion.
"Well, why didn't you say anything?" Abby asked frantically.
"Because I don't think about Violet," Pucey honestly offered the best that he could. "It wasn't an important detail to me. But, now that you mention it, she asked me this year, too."
"Oh, God."
"What did you say?"
"'No,' again, obviously."
"Bletch."
"That I wasn't in the market for a girlfriend, I think."
"Oh, God."
"Was she upset?"
"I dunno," Pucey shrugged, running the incident back in his head and still unsure as to why he appeared to be in trouble. "She weren't any more annoying than she usually is."
"This is a nightmare," Abby dragged her fingers down her cheeks in horror.
"At least it makes sense now," Sam winced.
"But why wouldn't she tell me if she had a crush on you?" Abby turned back to Pucey.
"Look, babe," Pucey held up his hands in a gesture of truce. "This has to be a girl thing, because we lads don't tell each other if a bird turns us down, do we?" Bletchley and Higgs shook their heads in emphatic consensus. "I never thought it was important. Blimey, I didn't even think she was serious at the time."
He took her hand in his to hold her attention, and she could not help but notice the stark contrast to the way Flint used to grab her shoulders to attempt the same outcome. His gentle approach with her brought the butterflies back in a rush and she looked up at him.
"Nothing ever happened," his dark eyes were cool and honest. "And anyway, I was too busy worrying about you up in St Mungo's then."
"Nice," both Bletchley and Higgs said under their breath.
Abby's face softened; she was still annoyed with the situation but the fact that he was openly telling the truth without trying to wriggle out of anything made it difficult to blame it on him.
"Well," she said after a resigned sigh. "At least I know where to begin, now."
"She's clearly on a date with Dan today, that's got to be a good sign," Sam said hopefully as the group began walking again. "Where are we going, anyway?"
"Shrieking Shack," Pucey answered.
"Why?" Sam wrinkled her nose.
"Because Bletch and I had an idea," he replied with an easy shrug and a cryptic smile on his face. "Just trust me."
"Something happened here, didn't it?" Abby stopped walking as they approached the clearing at the edge of town where the fence surrounding the Shack barricaded the way.
"Maybe," Bletchley grinned.
Abby stepped forward cautiously, pulling her hand free of Pucey's, and peered at the clearing as she tried to remember. The other four hung back and let her advance toward the fence alone, watching curiously. Sam looked inquiringly at Pucey, but he held up a hand to her, asking her to wait.
"I do recall coming down here," she mused as she tapped the old wooden fence-post and paused, a bit overwhelmed at how much more quickly the memories now seemed to return after being triggered. "Marcus and I had a row in the Three Broomsticks. Ha - big surprise, I know. I came back from the loo and caught him leering at that new waitress."
"Oh, right," Sam rolled her eyes.
"And he said something disgusting about her bum as I came up behind him - and then he tried to deny it," Abby shook her head. "Big meltdown, of course. And I came out here, wondering if I died of embarrassment, would the ghost in the Shrieking Shack let me bunk up."
"Still a better roommate than Moaning Myrtle," Higgs remarked, having had to threaten her to leave the Prefect's toilet on more than one occasion.
"And then you two found me," Abby continued, indicating Pucey and Bletchley.
"We just went to the most dark and dramatic place we could think of," Pucey smirked.
"Oh, stuff it," she shot back as the others laughed and urged her to keep going. "You tried to calm me down with the same old tired 'Marcus is an idiot and doesn't mean anything by it' speech. Ugh. I can't believe how many times I heard that speech."
"Isn't that the truth?" Sam muttered.
"And then, what was it you said to me?" she wiggled her finger at Pucey. "Anyone dating someone with a bum like mine would have to be off his trolley to look anywhere else?"
"Still factual," Pucey grinned.
"Now, mate, please settle an argument for me and Terry," Bletchley interjected. "Were you or were you not trying to pull her that day?"
"Oh, I absolutely was," Pucey admitted without hesitation. The girls gaped at him.
"I knew it," Bletchley laughed and held out his hand.
"You bloody dog," Higgs dug into his pocket to find the coins he now owed. "I've clearly always had far more faith in you than I ever should have."
"Oh, no, I did not care at all at that point," Pucey shook his head. "I was that fed up with Flint treating you like rubbish."
"And then I gave you a big hug and a smile and went right back to him," Abby face-palmed herself as the others began a chorus of lighthearted teasing.
"Aye, well, you can't win them all," Pucey chuckled and ran his fingers through his hair. "It wasn't like I wasn't still going to be your friend. I just, er, broadened my horizons a bit."
"But all this, see, is a perfect example of what lads do not talk about, you two," Bletchley pointed at Abby and Sam. "If I hadn't been there, I never would have suspected he had even made an attempt."
"There's no way I would have ever told anyone," Pucey confirmed the suspicion.
"And I wouldn't have told Terry, no bet would have been made, I wouldn't have noticed anything weird this year, wouldn't have connected the dots, and wouldn't have sussed you both out in record time," Bletchley concluded. "Wow! It's all connected. Wait - do you think it's all happened for a reason?"
"Oh, good, Paranoid Patrick has shown his face," Higgs smirked and received a dirty look in exchange.
"Bletch, now you're just teasing me with all this talk of Fate," Sam tsk-tsked him. "What happened to 'things not to be meddled with?'"
"You keep those cards away from me," Bletchley warned her and started back up the hill into town toward the Three Broomsticks. Higgs and Sam followed eagerly and Abby and Pucey trailed after them.
"Funny how things turn out, innit?" he mused and held out his hand again. She latched onto his arm instead and leaned her head on his shoulder.
"I can handle 'funny' as long as it doesn't include any more traumatic surprises," she replied.
"Aye, well, dating the best looking bloke in the school can be quite shocking, I apologize," he grinned at her.
"And still the most humble - amazing," she rolled her eyes as they reached the Inn.
"You love it," he winked at her as he leaned in for a kiss and then pulled open the door.
