Poppy's POV
The girls had insisted on staying up late as we talked all things Luke; Fiona and Alice planning Lily's outfit for tomorrow and insisting she start rolling her skirt a bit to keep his attention. They had asked my opinion on everything, wanting to know everything about Luke which I had been happy to tell them, making sure I didn't tell them anything particularly embarrassing, I'd leave that to him. As such, every mealtime on Sunday I noticed Lily's eyes straying to the Ravenclaw table and knew she was looking at Luke and I noticed her blushing a few times and could only guess that he had smiled back at her. James had been none too happy about this latest development and he was moodier than I'd seen before, preferring to keep himself to himself. I could only guess that he liked Lily a lot more than he let on and that when he asked her out, he really did always hope she would say yes. I felt kind of sorry for him, he was a really nice guy, but Lily had seemed adamant in her dislike of him.
Before I knew it, Monday came back around and I felt a lot more settled now; I knew what lessons I had on which day, I knew where I sat in each of them and what's more, I was beginning to learn people's names a bit better. I had, however, still felt surprised on seeing Sirius with Remus Monday morning, evidently waiting for Lily and me in the common room although he just smiled at me as though nothing unusual were happening. As per, Lily walked with Remus ahead, Sirius and I following behind them.
"So, De Piesto likes Evans?" was his opening question and I looked over at him to see him looking intrigued.
"It would seem so" I admitted, seeing his eyes dart to Lily. "How's James?" I asked in return and he sighed, shrugging.
"A bit down to be honest. He does actually like Evans. Always has" he told me simply, taking me by surprise. "I know. It seems like it's a bit of a joke, but he does genuinely like her" Once again I found myself feeling sorry for James and I resolved to make an effort with him to hopefully take his mind off it.
"I guess at least you're starting quidditch training this week so that might help" I said to Sirius who nodded, smiling.
"I think he just needs to think about other girls for a change" he replied cheekily, making me shake my head. "Oh, come on. That will definitely help him!" he told me, and I just shrugged.
"He's your best friend. You know him best" was all I said but I heard him scoff.
"Come on, what do you think?" he asked me, sounding genuinely interested.
"I really don't know" I replied honestly. He looked at me carefully for a moment before nodding, making me wonder if he was looking for an eye colour change that he thought might help him.
"Would you mind if I asked you something?" he asked me, evidently leaving the topic of James and Lily behind for now.
"Sure" I replied, seeing how he was clearly thinking about it.
"It's about your eyes" he said slowly, making me blush a little but I nodded. To be honest, I was surprised I hadn't had more questions about them. "Last week they were mainly that golden colour you have now" he told me, and I nodded, realising I was worrying about what he would ask. "What does it mean?" he asked quietly, eyes holding mine for longer than usual.
"They're gold when I feel worried" I admitted, surprising myself. For some reason I found myself always telling Sirius more than I intended to.
"What are you worried about now?" he asked with a small frown.
"I was just worried about what you were going to ask me" I said quietly and saw him look surprised at this.
"Sorry, I didn't want to make you uncomfortable" he replied quickly, and I shook my head.
"No, it's fine" I told him quickly, not wanting things to be awkward.
"You sure?" he queried, and I nodded. "In that case. Recently they've been more…brown?" he asked. I glanced at him, wondering why it was that Sirius was paying such close attention to me.
"That's my natural eye colour" I explained, seeing him nod.
"Does that mean you're happy being here?" he asked with a small smile which I found myself returning as I nodded. I saw his own smile widen but he said nothing as we made our way down the marble staircase. We were just at the entrance of the Great Hall when I heard somebody call my name and turned, surprised, hearing Sirius also stop. I saw Caleb making his way towards us and could have sworn I heard a growl come from Sirius in response. Startled, I looked up at him, but his eyes were fixed on Caleb, a frown on his face.
"Uh, morning Caleb" I greeted him as he got closer and I saw how he looked at Sirius, an odd sort of smile on his face.
"Morning Poppy. How you doing?" he asked, eyes fixed on me in a way which made me feel a little uncomfortable.
"Good thanks, how are you?" I asked politely and he gave me a smile.
"Good thanks. It's nice to see you. I don't get to see you too much" he told me, making me blush and shrug. "I guess I'll have to hope that McGonagall changes her seating plan sometime soon" he continued, embarrassing me a little with his attention.
"Poppy shall we go join Remus and Lily?" Sirius interrupted and I looked up at him to see him looking most unhappy.
"Sure. I'll err, see you round Caleb" I told him, seeing him give me a wide smile.
"I'll be hoping so" he said, giving me a wink before sauntering off towards the Hufflepuff table. I glanced up at Sirius again to see he was watching Caleb walk away but he was still stood still.
"Shall we?" I asked Sirius seeing his eyes flicker back to me and nod, but he didn't see anything as we went to sit with Lily and Remus.
"Poppy how the hell do you know Caleb?" Lily asked me as I sat down, her green eyes blazing.
"Oh, he helped me when I got lost last week" I told her simply, confused as to what was going on. She shook her head, scowling across the room at him.
"He's a right dick Poppy. I would stay away from him if I were you" she told me, and I glanced over at Remus to see him also frowning and looking at the Hufflepuff table.
"Oh, okay" was all I said, still feeling confused by the apparent dislike for Caleb. I mean, I thought the Hufflepuffs were supposed to be nice?
"Sorry, it's just…He's not got a great rep. Suze actually dated him" Lily explained now and I looked at her in surprise and she nodded. "He was okay whilst they were going out. I mean, I've always found him a bit creepy but gave him a chance" she said, and I saw Remus and Sirius both agree with her sentiment as they loaded their plates with breakfast food. "But then he dumped her for not…you know, doing stuff with him" she told me, and I gaped at her. What the actual hell?! "I know, right? Such a creep. And then he tried to make her feel bad about it until, well until these guys stepped in actually" she said, and I could swear she said it reluctantly. I glanced at Remus and Sirius, seeing the latter grin at me and the former just shrugged.
"We weren't going to let him treat her like that, were we?" Remus questioned and Lily smiled at him.
"So yeah, I would just steer clear" Lily summed up and I nodded, thinking it was probably a good idea.
"Got it" I told her, seeing her give me a smile as we both turned our attention to breakfast. I glanced at the Hufflepuff table, seeing Caleb talking to another Hufflepuff boy who I knew was in our year. Hopefully our paths wouldn't cross again.
Thankfully Caleb had proved easy to avoid as he was only in a handful of my classes and I didn't sit anywhere near him. After my Ancient Runes lessons, I would go to the library with Will who I was starting to open up to, thinking he was a nice guy and would be a good friend to have. I felt as though everything was settling down nicely and figured I should probably write a letter to Sara, so she knew I was okay. On Thursday night I sat down and penned a quick letter, letting them know that I was settling in well, that Luke was looking out for me and that I was enjoying lessons. I had just finished and sealed it when I realised I didn't actually know where the owlery was. I looked up, remembering that Lily was out on prefect duty and Alice had gone up for a shower leaving me with Fiona and the Marauders.
"Fiona?" I called, seeing her look up from the essay she was working on with James and Sirius, Remus and Peter playing wizards chess as they'd finished.
"What's up?" she asked, putting her quill down and stretching.
"When you're done could you perhaps show me where the owlery is?" I asked her and she smiled widely, nodding.
"Well as luck would have it, I've just finished so we can go now if you want?" she questioned and I nodded, smiling back.
"That would be great, thanks" I replied as she also got up.
"Eurgh can I come? I need a break" James said, almost throwing his quill down and looking frustrated.
"Sure" Fiona told him, and Sirius also stood, stretching.
"I could do with checking on Artemis" he said with a smile and I saw Fiona look at him sceptically. He rolled his eyes but didn't say anything and as such I got up and followed them out of the common room.
"Writing home?" James asked as we went and I nodded, smiling.
"Figured they'd like to know how I'm getting on" I told him, and he chuckled, nodding.
"Hope you've not told them any horror stories about us?" he asked with a grin, making me laugh and shake my head.
"What horror stories? You guy shave been weirdly quiet. You've pulled like, one prank" Fiona told him, and I saw James and Sirius both grin at her.
"Missing it?" James teased and she scoffed at him, shaking her head.
"Not likely. I'm just saying, it's been weird" she said as we made our way towards the opposite side of the castle and I pulled up my mental map of the place, adding this new route in.
"Well we wouldn't want to disappoint our fans now" James said and I saw him give Sirius a knowing look which made his grin widen.
"Oh Merlin. What have I just done?" Fiona asked, making the boys laugh at her. We were just climbing a set of stairs when I felt the others stop near the top and I looked up to see Caleb stood at the top, smiling down at us.
"Oh, hi Poppy" he said, evidently ignoring the others. There was a weird tension in the air as we made our way to the top of the stairs and I stopped, not wanting to be rude but at the same time not wanting to make a scene.
"Hi Caleb" I replied, feeling Sirius and Fiona shift slightly closer to me.
"Evening Simons" I heard James say. Caleb's eyes flickered over to him and he nodded at James.
"Potter, Black, Shorts" he said coolly. "Anyway, how you doing Poppy?" he asked, now ignoring the others.
"I'm good thanks. Just on the way to send a letter" I explained, holding it up and he nodded, smiling at me.
"I can show you the way if you like?" he asked, feeling Sirius stiffen next to me.
"Um I'm good, these guys are showing me" I told him, his eyes darting over them.
"I need to go anyway so it's no problem" he said, now holding up his own letter which I hadn't previously noticed.
"We're good thanks Simons" James replied for me, his voice distinctly colder now.
"How about we let Poppy decide" Caleb told him, his eyes narrowing slightly. I could swear Sirius growled and I was so surprised that I took a step away from him which brought me closer to Caleb who I think took this as a sign that I was going to go with him. My surprise only increased when I felt Caleb take my hand in his and start to move away but I quickly retracted my hand and stopped, hearing the others had followed.
"Poppy?" Caleb questioned and I stepped back, not realising how close I was to the others as I bumped into one of them in my attempt to stand further away from Caleb.
"I'm just going to go with the others" I told him, seeing him frown.
"They're not your bodyguards you know. You can come with me" he said, and I quickly shook my head.
"You can go now Simons" I heard Sirius's voice and realised he must be the one I had bumped into as it came from directly behind me.
"I don't know who you lot think you are. People are allowed to make their own decisions" he told the others, his voice almost icy now.
"We haven't stopped her. Poppy said she'll just go with us" James told him simply but Caleb took a somewhat threatening step forward. Everything felt like it was spiralling out of control and I felt a surge of…something go through me, forcing me to close my eyes.
"What have you guys been telling her about me?" I heard Caleb ask and opened my eyes to see that James had taken a step towards him, his hand very close to his pocket where I knew he kept his wand.
"Nothing. We can't help what other people may be saying about you though" James told him and I saw Fiona reach out a hand and put it on James's hand in a move that looked like she was trying to keep him calm. Caleb's eyes darted to me as he shook his head.
"Poppy I wouldn't believe what any of this lot tell you about me" he told me. This was all very overwhelming, and I wasn't sure what to do or say. "They've definitely said something, haven't they?" he demanded in a tone that made a flash of anger flood through me. I saw his eyes widen as he looked at me and realised he must have seen the eye colour change. Dam it. Not what I had planned. I quickly looked away from him, internally scolding myself. "What the hell was that Poppy?" Caleb asked, a tone of surprise with disbelief clear to hear.
"Nothing" I said quickly, shaking my head.
"Maybe you're not as normal as I thought" he told me and even though I didn't know this person, his words hurt, and I flinched. I felt Sirius move from behind me as I stepped back, wanting to just get out of the whole situation.
"You can fuck right off" I heard James tell him as a whole range of emotions flitted through me and I felt another surge of something strange through me. I felt like it was threatening to engulf me and closed my eyes, wondering what the hell was going on.
"Apologise. Right now" I heard Sirius demand and shook my head.
"Please, just leave it" I said, although I felt like my voice was too quiet.
"You're a right dick Simons" Fiona now chimed in as I felt like nobody had heard me. I opened my eyes to see the boys squaring up to each other.
"I told you to apologise" Sirius told him.
"Apologise. Now" James chimed in.
"Please. Leave it" I said again, seeing everybody now look at me.
"Poppy are you okay?" Fiona looked at me in concern as my vision swam. I saw them move towards me but held out a hand to stop them and as I did I felt a wave of magic leave me and saw them all freeze as I backed away feeling drained and overcome as my vision swam once more and then, everything went black.
Fiona's POV
As Poppy raised her hand to stop us, I was frozen to the spot, unable to move. I don't know what happened, must be some sort of wandless magic but before I could compute much else, I saw her stumble backwards, looking as though she was going to faint. I felt my heart go as I watched in horror as she tilted dangerously before collapsing right on the top step of the staircase and I heard her body bang down the stairs. It was only a second later when I realised I could move again and I ran to the stairs, watching her hit the last step and crumple in a heap at the bottom, evidently unconscious. I raced down the stairs, seeing her head bleeding and her arm and leg looking all wrong.
"Get somebody! Now!" I yelled at the guys, shakily reaching for her pulse as I heard them take off in opposite directions. I breathed a sigh of relief when I felt it, although it felt weak. I didn't know what to do, she was evidently extremely injured, and I didn't want to chance hurting her further by moving her.
"Poppy? Can you hear me?" I asked, hearing the shake in my voice.
"What can I do?" I heard Caleb behind me.
"Go and fucking get somebody!" I told him, not turning around but hearing him head back up the stairs. "Poppy it's Fiona. I don't know if you can hear me but it's going to be okay" I said, not knowing what else I could do. Thankfully I heard footsteps and looked up to see James with Dumbledore, looking pale.
"I'm going to need you to step to the side for me Miss Shorts" he told me gently and I nodded, scrambling up quickly and standing with James who put an arm around me. We watched in silence as Dumbledore waved his wand over her and I saw a shimmer of colour surround her. He considered this for a moment before sending what appeared to be a patronus out of his wand which rushed in the direction Sirius had gone before focusing back on Poppy. He gently lifted her up, ensuring he kept her in the position she was in before he headed off towards the Hospital Wing.
"With me Miss Shorts, Mr Potter" he called over his shoulder and we followed him in silence. We hadn't gone far when we bumped into Sirius who had found McGonagall and I saw her eyes widen as she looked at what was happening.
"I'll let Poppy know" she said before turning and heading up the corridor, almost running.
"Mr Black come with us please" Dumbledore told him as he carefully followed McGonagall up the corridor. He walked the other side of me, all of us moving in silence as we made our way to the hospital wing. Once there, I saw the doors were thrown open and McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey were waiting.
"Wait here please" Dumbledore told us and we stopped at the entrance, watching as all three conferred before Dumbledore lowered Poppy gently onto a bed.
"Shit she looks really hurt" James muttered and I nodded as his grip on me tightened. "She'll be alright though. Madam Pomfrey's patched up worse" he reassured me, and I nodded, although I was still scared. Poor Poppy.