Helping Madam Pomfrey
Since Alec received a positive answer from Kyle's parents, he was less shy, more confident, taking more initiative in class. Kate was glad to see him trusting himself enough to dare giving his opinion on all subjects, he wasn't trying to be as invisible as possible any more. During their Herbology class, he asked Kate casually if she would agree to talk with him to Fred and George. This made the young witch happy, as it meant that the twins wouldn't be so suspicious each time she talked about her friend. They decided to do this right after the lesson, before lunch.
They left the classroom together and hurried to the Great Hall. Kate was holding Alec's hand, confidently smiling. She could feel some anxiety coming from her friend, he wasn't as sure as she was that the twins wouldn't have any problem with that. They saw them before they entered the Great Hall.
- 'Fred, George,' shouted Alec.
They looked who called, told Lee they were coming and joined Kate and the Hufflepuff boy.
- 'I'd like to talk to you shortly,' he said, before leading the way outside.
It was a beautiful day of May, the sun was shining, some flowers were blossoming in the grass, birds were singing happily. It was one of the first day warm enough to not wear a pullover. They walked pass the Greenhouses in the direction of the Lake.
- 'All right, I guess it's time for you to know,' Alec started.
- 'The big secret why you were so lunatic with Kate before?' asked George.
- 'Yeah. You were somehow right at the Christmas dinner, I was jealous of Kate, but not in the way one could expect. The reason why I left our Sundays of practice is because I couldn't support hearing Kyle talking about her all the time as she would be a Goddess of some sort. But he just kept doing so in class, and I was really upset because... I wished he would talk about me that way. I wanted him to look at me in the same way he was looking at her. That's why I changed working group in Herbology as well. And I joined again after your first Quidditch match, because…
'Well, I saw your brother playing, I was subjugated, he was so handsome, with this feeling of calm confidence coming from him, it was like a magnet, I couldn't watch anyone else during that game. At the end, he caught the snitch, and happiness made him even more radiant, it was as if sunshine was flying around the pitch. I couldn't look anywhere else, I never felt something like that before, it was so strong, powerful... But then I saw he looked for something, someone in the stands. And when he found this person, he seemed to be shining even more, so I forced myself to move my eyes towards where he was looking, and I saw Kate, and she was shining just as much, as if they were connected. It was as if two very bright stars were beside each other, but none was making the other look paler, instead the presence of one was reinforcing the light of the other.
'That feeling I got before had brought me high on top of a mountain, and seeing them looking at each other just threw me off the cliff. How I wished that he could look at me that way, with these eyes, how I dreamed I could one day provoke such a reaction in a man. I joined the group in Herbology again, maybe being around her would help me know what I have to do, anyway, Kyle talking about Kate wasn't a problem for me any more. But I started wondering, it never bothered me when girls complimented Kate just like Kyle was doing, so I realised I wanted that attention from boys. I wrote to my parents about it, and it didn't end well. My father is a muggle, he didn't want me at home if I liked boys. That's why I stayed over at Christmas.'
- 'I'm sorry for you that your father is stupid,' Fred said.
- 'How will it go for summer then?' asked George.
- 'I'm coming to that. When I left at the Christmas feast, Kate followed me. She made me talk about it, and she was very supportive. She didn't judge me, she was sincerely sorry for how my parents reacted, that's how we really started to be friends. She was the first one to know about it at school. But then I received that second letter of my parents, that's the day I was in shock, maybe your remember.' Fred and George nodded.
'My mum told me my father said he would beat that crap out of me, he wouldn't have a faggot as a son. That's a slur muggles use for men who love men. He had beaten her up when she tried to argue, so she basically told me that I shouldn't go back home because he would probably kill me. Kate made me talk to Professors Sprout and Dumbledore, and we went to my parents' house to gather my belongings. My father only allowed me inside, without a wand, but she proposed to join me to go faster. He agreed. After maybe ten minutes, he came upstairs, broke the door Kate had locked, threw my mother aside and punched me. He wanted to do it, beat me. But Kate used her wand-less skills to neutralise him.
'After that, Dumbledore and Sprout joined us, they convinced my mum to leave as well, erased his memories of a family and we left. My mum is staying in Hogsmeade at the moment, but she has health problems, so she can't really work to earn money. I'm still not sure I can spend the summer with her, but if it doesn't work out, I'll stay at Kyle's, his parents agreed. I guess that's it, it's the whole story.'
- 'So, you were simply jealous that she was the centre of interest from guys you fancy?' asked Fred.
- 'I guess so.'
- 'What do you have with our brother, though? I don't understand,' George wondered.
- 'True, I don't get it either, he's not that good looking. You haven't seen Bill yet,' continued Fred.
- 'I guess he's not the most beautiful man on earth, but maybe you can call it charisma,' tried Kate. 'Haven't you seen all the girls who were looking at him?'
- 'How aren't you jealous, then?' wondered George.
- 'Because he never noticed them, he never looked at them the way he's looking at me,' she said, blushing.
- 'Anyway, that's it. Now you know,' said Alec. 'All I ask you is that you don't make jokes about it.'
- 'Why would we do so?' asked Fred seriously.
- 'I don't know, because you love to make fun of everything?'
- 'But there's nothing fun about it, who cares if you like boys or girls, it's just how life is,' said George.
- 'All right. On an unrelated topic, would you like to join us tomorrow afternoon in our Common Room for my birthday?' Alec asked.
- 'Sure, I'll be happy to come,' Kate answered with a smile.
- 'We'll come too,' said Fred.
- 'Thanks, that makes me happy. You were super nice letting me hang out with you during the holidays, and last month for your birthday, I'm thankful for that.'
Kate hugged the young Hufflepuff and they started walking back to the castle, Fred and George walking in front.
- 'You know you didn't ask them not to talk about it?' she asked him.
- 'Yeah, I know. I think I'm fine if people know it. It seems like it's really not a big deal here.'
- 'True, it isn't. And if there's a muggle born that has troubles with that, tell them if they mess with you, they mess with me. I won't let anyone hurt you, Alec,' Kate said, trying to look fierce.
- 'I know that,' he said with a wink. 'I saw how you came facing my father without your wand even though you were doubting you could do something.'
- 'Is that why you train so much wand-less magic?' asked Fred.
- 'Yeah, I was really scared that I wouldn't manage to be effective. But I couldn't let him face that man alone, without his wand. I had to try.'
- 'You're a true Gryffindor,' George said, putting an arm around her shoulders.
- 'Yeah, even Professor Sprout noticed. She told me I showed as much loyalty to my friend as a Hufflepuff, but that the bravery I showed proved that Gryffindor was truly were I belong.'
- 'If we are done talking, could we hurry, I'm starving,' cried Fred.
As they arrived at the castle, Kate took Alec's arm.
- 'I'm happy to see you gained confidence. It's good to see you daring to be yourself. I just wanted to tell you that I'll stick with you no matter what, and that I'm lucky to be your friend, because you're awesome.'
The young boy stopped and hugged her tightly.
- 'I'm not awesome, and I'm the lucky one. Without you I would still be completely lost, probably alone all the time and wondering how I will survive summer living on the streets.'
- 'That's what friends are for, helping each other in time of need. I saw you needed a friend but you were too scared to ask for help, so I tried my best. But you are awesome! Your father was abusing you and your mother, you came here thinking you were worth nothing, and look at you now. You're one of the best in class, you stand for yourself, you're not trying to stay unnoticed any more. This is truly awesome.'
- 'That's all thanks to you…'
- 'It doesn't matter who helped you, it matters that you chose to dare, to learn, and you grew. I'm happy I could help you on the way.'
Alec released Kate from his grip. He was pink.
- 'Thank you for being my friend, Kate. Thanks for being by my side when I'm doubting, for being there when I need support, and for helping me understand that I'm not worthless and weak.'
- 'No one deserves a father like yours, I'm glad I can assist you while you're building yourself after he tried for so long to break you down. You deserve to be loved unconditionally for who you are. I had the chance to have my twin sister for this when I was young. You have no siblings, maybe I want to show you what that means.'
- 'We really should go eating, now,' said the young Hufflepuff, his cheeks still really pink.
After lunch on Saturday, Fred, George and Kate joined Alec and Kyle to go to their Common Room. Alec opened the room, he seemed in really good mood. Plenty of snacks were garnishing the tables and all first year students were sitting together.
- 'It looks really comfy, here,' commented George.
- 'Yeah, really, I wasn't expecting it to be so bright although it's mainly underground,' continued Fred.
- 'Why don't you look surprised, Kate?' George asked.
- 'I came here once, with Alec and Professor Sprout. There was still snow outside, the view through the windows is really nice now as well, with all the flowers in the grass.'
They joined the group of first year students and all wished Alec a happy birthday. Kate took out two packages from her bag and gave them to her friend.
- 'Here, happy birthday,' she said, smiling. 'That's from all three of us.'
The young boy opened the first package.
- 'That's the same fixation system for wand that I have. We can make it fit your arm.'
- 'That's cool, I like it. Thanks.'
He opened the second package, it was containing paint and paint brushes.
- 'We all thought the painting you offered me was really nice, you're talented, so… It's just to show you we hope you'll continue expressing yourself through art.'
- 'Thank you so much, all of you,' Alec whispered. 'I'll just have to find canvas to paint on, now.'
- 'Well, we ordered some as well, but it didn't arrive yet,' laughed Fred.
Alec hugged the Gryffindor trio to thank them. They all sat together, talking. After a moment, a second year came to talk to the twins.
- 'What are you doing in our Common Room?' he asked.
- 'Hi Cedric. Alec invited us for his birthday,' Fred answered.
- 'Why would a Hufflepuff first year invite Gryffindor second years?' he wondered.
- 'Because I'm a Gryffindor first year, but these two are like brothers to me –'
- 'She's the third twin, actually,' cut George.
- 'Right. So I'm in class with Alec and Kyle, during the Christmas holidays we spent a lot of time with Alec, and we are really good friends since then. We invited him last month to our birthday.'
- 'By the way, Cedric, this is Kate. She started school one year late, that's why she's in first year, but she's our age,' explained George.
- 'And Kate, this is Cedric Diggory, he's also in second year,' said Fred.
- 'Aren't you the Hufflepuff seeker?' she asked.
- 'Yeah, I am,' he smiled, extending his hand to shake Kate's.
- 'Oh, handshaking? All right… Congratulation for catching the snitch against our team then.'
- 'You don't like handshaking?' he wondered. 'Thank you, it's kind of you not to be mad.'
- 'I'm more a hugger, to be honest. I'm from France, there we kiss each other on the cheek to say hello or goodbye. When I moved to the USA, I adapted and went for the hug,' she explained. He seemed fascinated. 'And for the quidditch game, I'm not sure I could have been fully happy if we had won, because I would have felt bad for Alec and Kyle, and well, obviously, if you had won, I wouldn't have been happy either… So a draw was like the best result for me.'
- 'You sound like a Hufflepuff,' Cedric chuckled.
- 'Yeah, sometimes I do. But even your Head of House agreed that I was made for Gryffindor. After all, being in a House doesn't mean we don't have qualities of other ones. I'm sure you have bravery in you, yet you are in Hufflepuff.'
Cedric was looking at her in a way that made her uncomfortable. Fred and George noticed, the second stepping closer and putting an arm around Kate's shoulder while Fred simply said:
- 'It's nice seeing you, but we're here for Alec's birthday, so if you don't mind, we'd like to spend time with the group.'
- 'Oh, yeah, sure, I was just wondering why you were there,' he said, still staring at Kate.
Kate and George turned around to be with the group of first year again, while Fred said goodbye to Cedric. They talked all together for a while, then around four, Kate pretended she had work to do to leave. She hugged Alec again, wished him to have fun and left with the twins. They went to their classroom.
- 'I think Cedric fancies you,' said Fred after they closed the door.
- 'Yeah, that's what I figured out, it was feeling weird. Not a good weird,' Kate answered.
- 'Should we tell him you're in love with Charlie?' asked George.
- 'We'll see. If he doesn't say or try anything, I guess that's okay. I mean, he's allowed to think what he wants, right?'
- 'Sure,' said George. 'But if it makes you feel uncomfortable, maybe it's good to do something.'
- 'Well, it's uncomfortable because I had the feeling he likes me, but I'm not interested. He didn't say or do something special, I have no reason to go and tell him I love Charlie. He's also not supposed to know I can see in people's mind.'
- 'You checked in his mind?' asked Fred, surprised.
- 'He was thinking rather loudly, I didn't really have a choice there.'
Fred and George laughed.
The next Saturday was the final quidditch game for Gryffindor. They were playing against Slytherin, Kate was really anxious. During breakfast, Kate caught Thor's stare. He seemed like he wanted to tell her something, so she went in his mind.
- 'What's up?' she asked.
- 'They'll be ruthless. I thought it would be great if you know.'
- 'Thanks for telling me,' she told him before finishing breakfast.
- 'Are you all right, Kate?' asked George.
- 'I have to talk to Oliver,' she simply said as she stood up.
She joined the quidditch captain and asked to talk with him away from people. They walked out of the Great Hall, Fred and George stood up and ran after them. They went in the small room in which the first year students had to wait before the Sorting Ceremony at the beginning of the year. Kate closed the door and looked at Oliver.
- 'Thor just warned me, I have to tell you. He said Slytherin's team decided to be ruthless. He seemed worried. I believe they'll be unnecessarily violent. You should tell the team to be even more vigilant than usual.'
- 'Well, we know them, they're always rough,' he said, trying to downplay it.
- 'I'm not talking about being rough, but about aggression. Be careful. It would be good if the game isn't too long.'
- 'Don't worry, we'll manage,' Oliver said.
- 'I don't think Thor would have said something if they didn't plan on worse than usual. Warn the team to be more aware of their surroundings than usual.'
- 'If he doesn't, we'll do,' Fred said, seeing the anxiety on Kate's face.
She nodded, opened the door again and they left to join the Common Room to spend the time left before Fred and George had to go preparing themselves.
Kate had never been so worried before a quidditch game. After the team left, Katie Bell joined her.
- 'You're not looking good,' said Bell.
- 'I'm worried, bad feeling about the game. That will be harsh.'
- 'Alicia and Angelina said it's always rougher against Slytherin.'
- 'That'll be worse this time. I think I'll already go to the pitch,' Kate said, standing up. 'I can't focus on anything anyway.'
- 'I'm coming with you, then. It's better if you're not alone when you worry.'
Both girls walked together to the pitch. They sat in the stands, where they always sat. It was completely empty at that time, there was still nearly one hour to go before the start. The two girls talked quietly, Kate's eyes fixed upon the pitch. Slowly, the stands started to be filled. Twenty minutes before the start, Cedric Diggory came sitting beside Kate.
- 'Hi Kate, good to see you again, how are you doing?' he asked.
- 'Not well, that'll be a brutal game. I don't like that,' she muttered.
Katie seemed super excited beside her to see the handsome second year talking to her friend. Kate wasn't paying attention at all.
- 'You seem like a very interesting girl, I wished to talk with you more last week, but it was impossible because of Fred and George. So I thought I could use the time when they're playing,' he explained.
- 'The only reason why Fred and George acted like they did is because they felt my discomfort. We don't really have to talk to understand when one doesn't feel good. They just came to my rescue.'
- 'I didn't know I was making you uncomfortable, I'm sorry,' Cedric said.
- 'Then you should try to think less loudly.'
- 'What do you mean? You can hear my thoughts?'
- 'Yeah, I'm a natural legilimens, I try not to use it most of the time, but with you it's like your thoughts are screaming at me, I can't help it but I know what you're thinking when you're in front of me. And that's not comfortable for me.'
- 'But why? It's nothing bad.'
- 'Maybe, but it's nothing I can return. I'm in love with Charlie Weasley.'
- 'The twin's older brother? He's gone to Romania months ago!'
- 'I know, thanks. We are still writing to each other. When he had to make his decision, I said I'll support him whatever he chooses to do. He chose Romania, I stand by my word. I didn't choose to love him, though. It was just an evidence from the moment we met. Let's face it, him being nearly eighteen and me twelve at the time, it wasn't really simple, so we went for being just friends. We'll see later, when I'm older.'
- 'He'll forget you, and you'll forget him. You'll stay years apart, he'll probably meet someone else over there.'
- 'He never showed interest in anyone before, neither girls nor boys, I feel pretty confident he won't find someone else he loves there. Except dragons, but that's not the same kind of love. Look.'
Kate showed him Charlie's picture with the baby dragon. She looked at it and it eased her fears a bit.
- 'He seems happy there,' said Cedric. 'I don't think he will come back.'
- 'I don't want him to come back, I want him to be happy! And that's the place where he'll be happy.'
- 'So you will go to Romania as well?' he wondered.
- 'I don't know yet. I probably could, but I don't know if that would make me happy.'
- 'That makes no sense. If you do not intend to be together, then you're not in love.'
Kate's eyes started to look like storm. She took a deep breath to remain calm.
- 'The way we'll handle is none of your business. I know we are meant for one another, but I don't think there's only one way to live a happy relationship with someone. I know I feel good only if I know he's doing all right, I know that his presence gives me strength and confidence, I know how horrible it felt when he was hurt. I know how horrible he felt when he thought I was dead. I saw how worried he was when Dumbledore told him I had been injured by Spalding, Dumbledore knew it too, he made him come to see by himself that I was doing all right. You're no one to say if what we feel for each other is love or not. No one!'
- 'All right, all right.'
Kyle and Alec arrived, Kate made them sit between her and Cedric. Alec looked at his friend interrogatively and she showed him the conversation she just had with Diggory.
- 'I think he's not used to get an answer like yours with his good looks,' he whispered. 'I guess he can't understand why you keep loving Charlie although he's so far away, but that's probably because he doesn't understand what you feel. I saw it, I have no doubts about you two.'
Kate looked a last time at Charlie's picture before putting it away as both teams entered the pitch. Then she grabbed Alec's and Katie's hands.
- 'What's up?' asked the young Hufflepuff.
- 'Thor told me the game will be very brutal. I'm scared,' Kate whispered.
Then the game started. And indeed, it was very rough. Not even ten minutes inside the match, Angelina had been twice nearly knocked off her broom, once by a bludger, another time by one of Slytherin's chasers, Marcus Flint. He had a bad snare on his face, seemingly happy to act in the least fair-play manner. Oliver was doing an awesome job as a keeper, Slytherin had scored only once, when Gryffindor had it three times already, although twice on penalties. Wood's talent seemed to upset Slytherin.
After another superb stop by Oliver, all players went back in the direction of Slytherin's loops. All but Flint, who was still behind Wood. Kate stood up and freed her wand, she was not allowed to intervene before anything happened, but she wanted to be ready. That's when Flint violently pulled Oliver backwards and smashed his head on one of the hoop pole. Wood's head hit it full strength and the fourth year fell of his broom, unconscious. Kate was already standing and slowing down his fall as all Gryffindor students were screaming, then she ran to the pitch. After the fall, Madam Hooch had call for a medical time out. The young witch arrived at the same time as Madam Pomfrey by Oliver's side.
His head was profusely bleeding on the right side, his skull seemed cracked and he was still unconscious.
- 'Do you have anything to help him?' asked Kate anxiously.
- 'If I bring him to the ward, yes, but not here. He anyway shouldn't play any more.'
The young witch shook her head, rubbed her hands and approached them from Oliver's head. It was a heavy injury, she knew she couldn't heal it completely without passing out. She stopped the bleeding, and stopped after the cracked pieces of skull were back in place and not pressing on the brain any more.
- 'Something to make him come back to consciousness maybe?' the girl asked.
Madam Pomfrey took out a small phial, opened it and put it under Wood's nose. He soon opened his eyes again, but seemed really confused.
- 'Oliver, your skull was cracked. I've put back the bones in place, but I couldn't fix it.'
- 'I have to go back playing,' he muttered, trying to sit up.
- 'No, no, no, young man. It's out of the question,' said Madam Pomfrey. 'You're going to the Hospital Wing right now.'
- 'They can't play without a keeper, I have to play.'
- 'Listen,' said Kate, 'if you get another hit to the head, it could end badly this time. You're putting yourself in danger if you go back.'
- 'But I have to, Kate. I have to go with them through that, I'm their captain.'
- 'All right,' sighed the girl. 'Then you'll have to get your head protected.'
Kate conjured a heavily padded helmet and she put it softly on his head. She fixed it and stared at him a moment.
- 'You have to be extra careful, Oliver. Really,' she said, her eyes fixed upon his, which were unfocused.
- 'I'll try,' he said, his hands searching something to grab to help himself stand.
Kate took his hand and pulled him up.
- 'I'll try my best to keep you safe, wait until I'm back in the stands before going back up there,' she said in his mind.
He nodded, Kate turned to Madam Pomfrey, who seemed horrified.
- 'It's his decision, I hope this helmet with protect his head enough. But he'll have to be brought to the Hospital Wing right after the game,' Kate said before running off the pitch and back in the stands.
- 'Is he all right?' asked Katie as she arrived.
- 'Not really, his skull is cracked. His brain took a bad shock. I hope the helmet will be able to protect him from further damage. But he didn't want to stop playing. I have to focus now.'
Obviously, Oliver was not really effective any more. Slytherin scored much easier, Flint seemed to be jubilating. Madam Hooch had not seen what had happened with Oliver, so the Slytherin's chaser hadn't been punished. Kate decided to let her mind go in this danger mode, just like when they made this game at the beginning of the year. She however decided to only protect her team members, she didn't want to meddle in the result of the game, especially as Gryffindor coming back to the score would just make Slytherin more violent.
She was focusing on making them avoid bludgers or the aggressions that the Slytherin players were trying to commit. Kate ordered Angelina to dive as two chasers were trying to slam her between them, they collided violently. Students in the stands cheered as they did. Kate was telling the team members when to duck, when to abruptly change direction, and she was happy when she realised the snitch had been seen. As the Slytherin seeker was nearly reaching it, she saw Fred and one of Slytherin's beater ready to hit the same bludger. She screamed in his head to move away, he answered that he got it. As he was starting his move to hit the bludger, the Slytherin beater violently hit Fred's arm, he didn't even try to get the bludger, which hit Fred in the chest, throwing him off his broom. The snitch had been caught, the game was finally over.
Kate had already warned George of what would happen, he caught his brother who was falling and she ran back to the pitch. George had landed with Fred and the whole team gathered around them. The young witch joined them, looked at Fred's arm.
- 'Your elbow is dislocated and the bones are broken,' she stated.
- 'Can't you heal it?' George asked.
- 'No, I'm sorry,' she said, shaking her head. 'I used a lot of energy to start healing Oliver, and then trying to keep you safe. Next time I hope you'll listen to me!'
She showed how her hands were trembling.
- 'Yeah, sorry. I didn't expect him to hit me instead of the bludger.'
- 'I did, that's why I told you to move away!'
Then she noticed the Slytherin beater was walking away with Fred's bat. This made her furious, she grabbed her wand, stepped away from the group, pointed and screamed 'ACCIO!' The bat flew out of that boy's hands right to her. She caught it. The Slytherin boy walked to her looking as menacing as he could.
- 'Who do you think you are?' he shouted. 'You'll give that back to me!'
- 'You can dream about it! I made this bat for Fred, I won't let you get it.'
- 'Give that back!' he said, pulling out his wand.
- 'I'm not the one who should be scared here,' she said, a bad snare on her face.
- 'What is happening here?' asked Snape's cold voice as he was approaching.
- 'He was trying to steal Fred's bat after breaking his arm,' Kate said as calmly as she could.
- 'Go back to the changing room,' Snape said, putting a hand on his player's shoulder but keeping his eyes on Kate.
- 'So it's no problem for you that he deliberately hit Fred's arm, not even trying to touch the bludger in the move.'
- 'The game was over,' stated the Potions Master.
Kate shook her head in disbelief and walked to the team on the way back to the castle.
- 'Labelle, a moment, please.'
- 'I can't, I have to bring Fred and Oliver to the Hospital Wing.'
- 'They can go without you, I want a word with you.'
- 'If you want a word with me, you'll have to give me a damn detention. I'm going with my friends. If you're all right with your team's behaviour then I frankly have nothing to tell you.'
- 'Quidditch is rough, there are accidents.'
- 'I can't believe you're trying to justify their behaviour! I know quidditch is a rough game in which players can be hurt by accident, hit by a bludger in the head, a seeker who can't avoid the ground,… but what happened today wasn't accidental. That was deliberate aggression! Are you so afraid your team is lame that you encourage them to act so irresponsibly? Because let's face it, brutality is no talent!'
- 'All right, tomorrow after lunch in my office, Labelle! You earned a new detention.'
- 'You should be careful, Professor, or I'll end up thinking you fancy my company!' she shouted as they walked away, Ethan and Ainsworth nearly carrying Wood who could barely stand on his feet.
Katie, Alec and Kyle were waiting for them on the way to the castle.
- 'How are they doing, is it bad?' asked Katie.
- 'Fred has a broken arm and his elbow is dislocated. We'll see what Madam Pomfrey will say. I'll tell you latest during dinner,' answered Kate.
She was walking beside Fred, George was on the other side, both making sure that no one would walk too close and bump accidentally in his broken arm. Madam Pomfrey had already prepared two beds when they arrived, Ethan and Ainsworth installed Oliver on one of them, Fred sat on the other one. Once Wood was comfortably installed, Kate vanished the helmet she had conjured earlier. One could still see his head had been cracked open, the girl hadn't heal it completely as she needed a lot of energy to put the pieces of crushed skull back in place.
- 'You shouldn't all stay here, they will need rest,' said Madam Pomfrey, looking at the six students there.
- 'But Oliver wanted to keep playing for us, we want to be there for him now,' firmly said Angelina.
- 'We can go aside and wait quietly, but we don't want to leave him,' said Ainsworth.
- 'All right. Then please, go sit over there, all of you. Except you, Kate.'
The young witch was surprised but glad to stay around.
- 'Good. I keep thinking you would be a wonderful healer, you proved again your capacities today. What's your diagnosis for Mister Weasley?' asked Madam Pomfrey.
- 'His arm is broken there,' she said pointing at two different places. 'His elbow is also dislocated. I wouldn't replace it manually as long as the bones are not healed, and I'm too weak to do it magically right now,' she finished, showing her hands still trembling.
- 'Very good. Do you know what we use for broken bones?'
- 'Skele-Gro potion, I believe. I read about this healing potion in the book I received for Christmas.'
- 'Exactly. And you are right, we shouldn't try manually to reduce the dislocation before the bone parts grew back together. And for Mister Wood?'
- 'His skull was crushed, I put back the bone pieces in place so it doesn't press on or damage his brain. So I guess Skele-Gro as well. I would also use Essence of Dittany to avoid a bad scar. I just don't know if he might have lasting brain damage. He's definitely not in the best shape.'
- 'You're right, Skele-Gro and Dittany. His brain should be fine, we have a potion that speed up the healing of soft tissues, he will get some as well. And you will get again the one to restore your energy level. I start to think you should always have some with you,' she said with a smile before leaving the Ward.
Kate sat beside Fred on his bed, putting her head on his shoulder.
- 'I'm sorry I can't help you more than this right now,' she said quietly.
- 'That's all right. I'm glad you took care of Wood during the game. And it's cool that you made the diagnosis.'
Madam Pomfrey came back, carrying a tray with two cups, three bottles of potion and a little phial. She took the first small bottle and gave it to Kate.
- 'Here, one sip now, one sip during dinner, one sip before sleeping. Tomorrow you should be fit again,' she said with a smile.
Kate did as she was told while the Matron was filling the two cups with one potion. She gave one to Fred and asked him to drink it. He nearly spit it out.
- 'That's disgusting!' he cried.
- 'What were you expecting? Pumpkin juice?' said Madam Pomfrey disdainfully. 'You have to drink it all, you'll spend the night here, and tomorrow we'll fix your elbow.'
- 'That's why I apologised. They say in my book that the Skele-Gro tastes horrendously.'
Then the Matron went with the other cup to Oliver who was nearly unconscious now. She asked Kate to come help her.
- 'All right, hold his head carefully, I will make him drink. Try not to touch the broken area to avoid moving the broken parts once more.'
Kate delicately lifted Wood's head, putting her hand in his neck and Madam Pomfrey slowly poured the potion in his mouth. Then she went filling the cup with the other potion and took the phial with her before coming back to Oliver. Once again, they made him drink the second potion together, then she gave Kate the phial.
- 'Here, that's Dittany. Seeing the size of the wound, I'd say three drops are enough. Go on, do it.'
Kate opened the phial and carefully let three drops of Dittany fall on different places of the wound, which started healing at a very fast pace. She closed the phial and gave it back to Madam Pomfrey who was smiling broadly. Then the girl installed Oliver's head comfortably on the pillow.
- 'He won't wake up before a few days, I fear. Without your help that would have been at least a week. But they both should rest, now,' said the Matron, inviting Kate to leave Oliver's bedside before closing the curtains. 'I really believe you would be a very good healer. You should think about it.'
- 'I don't know. There are many things that I love and at which I'm good. I guess I could be a good Professor, a good Auror, a good Healer, maybe even a great Wand maker, I find Wandlore fascinat-ing. I'm only thirteen, I don't know yet, but my goal is to have the best results in all areas so I can choose when the time will come.'
- 'This is a good idea. If you have any question regarding healing, feel welcome to ask me,' commented the Matron. Then she looked at all the students. 'All right, Mister Wood will not wake up before two or three days, he needs to rest, but he'll be fine. Mister Weasley will stay here until tomorrow, when his bones are repaired and we can take care of his elbow dislocation. I would recommand you to all go taking a shower and relax in your Common Room. Visits for Mister Wood will be allowed tomorrow, maximum two people at the same time. As for Mister Weasley, I'm guessing his brother and Miss Labelle will stay with him today.'
- 'Yes, please!' shouted Fred from his bed.
The rest of the team wished Fred to get well soon, then they left. But Angelina turned around and came back, taking Kate in her arms.
- 'Thank you for your help during the game,' she whispered in her ear. 'Without you, I fear most of the team would have ended here.'
Kate smiled and nodded and the second year ran to join Alicia who was waiting for her. Kate and George joined Fred, who had to change clothes to put on the pyjamas Madam Pomfrey gave him, and they helped him. As Kate was finishing to button his shirt, Professor Dumbledore entered the ward. He talked shortly with Madam Pomfrey, asking how both boys were doing, then he walked to Fred's bed.
- 'Kate, I cancelled your detention tomorrow with Professor Snape,' started the Headmaster.
- 'Thank you, Professor.'
- 'But I would like you to come for a moment in my office. It won't take long, don't worry, you will come back here soon.'
He turned around and walked away, Kate showed her friends she had no idea what it was about and followed him. When they entered the office, the girl saw Professor Snape waiting in a chair in front of Dumbledore's desk. The young witch walked calmly to the seat next to him and sat down as Dumbledore took place on the other side.
- 'Severus, as you wanted to talk to Kate, here we are, go on.'
Snape looked at the Headmaster, then stiffly turned to face Kate.
- 'Did you use legilimency with your team during the game?' he asked in a very cold voice.
- 'Of course I did. After Oliver's head had been crushed against the pole and Flint had no consequences to face, I tried to keep the rest of the team as safe as possible. I didn't want all of them to finish in the Hospital Wing. It doesn't change anything to the result, all I did was to tell them when to avoid being hurt.'
- 'This is cheating!'
- 'Is it?' she cried, standing up. 'Is it more cheating than waiting for the referee to look somewhere else to deliberately injure one of the other team's player? I sincerely hate cheating, but the game was anything but fair with this attitude, and security goes before anything else. I won't use my ability to help my team win. They are good players and can win on their own. But it was no normal game, they were in danger due to your team's attitude. If you want to punish me because I protected people, do so, I have my conscience clear, and if something like this happen again, I'll do the exact same thing. But for me, if someone has to be punished, it's Flint and that beater who broke Fred's arm. Their attitude has nothing to do on a pitch.'
- 'I must agree with Kate, here,' said Dumbledore quietly. 'Their attitude was uncalled for and should be sanctioned.'
- 'I still believe Miss Labelle was cheating and must be punished,' snapped Snape.
- 'Listen, beginning of the year, we played a game for fun with Charlie and other Gryffindors. My mind automatically started to scan my opponents' mind, seeing what their intent was, and giving information to my partners. Charlie wanted me to play in the team, I refused because I said I couldn't avoid my mind doing so again and that would be cheating. During the other games, I didn't intervene at all. But when friends are in danger, I have to do something. If your players behave, I'll do as well. I would agree I had cheated if I had helped my team score much more, but that's not what I did. I only prevented them to be injured.'
- 'It doesn't matter why you did it, you intervened in the game. And I'm not mentioning how you stopped Wood in his fall!'
- 'He was unconscious and was already badly injured, I didn't want it to be even worse!'
- 'In Kate's defence, I was ready to do the exact same thing for Mister Wood,' said the Headmaster.
- 'But it –'
- 'Professor, your team won and got out of it without any consequences although they were violent. What do you want more? More injured Gryffindors? Then please, start now, I'm here, do whatever you want, I won't fight back!'
- 'That's not what I mean,' he coldly said.
- 'Then what?' Kate shouted. 'What do you want then? Why do you insist on this? I didn't change anything at the result of the game, so what's your problem if you don't want any more injuries?'
- 'Kate, please, calm down,' said Dumbledore. 'Severus, I admit I don't see what your problem is. I am sure Kate will not use her abilities to help her team win. She wants the game to be fair. And I must say I understand why she had to protect her friends today. I believe there is no reason to punish our young friend here. I would however recommand you to at least have a talk with your players to tell them that this behaviour is not acceptable.'
- 'Give them a talk?' cried Kate. 'Seriously? They could have killed someone! Any student from another House would get a few times detention and be threatened to be expelled if that occurs again, but for Slytherin, they should get a talk?'
Kate was furious, she didn't want to hold her anger back, a heavy wind started to blow in the room, some objects flew away as dark, menacing clouds were gathering.
- 'Kate, calm down now, please,' tried Dumbledore once more.
- 'I don't want to calm down, Professor,' she said, he eyes on Snape. 'This is completely unfair, all of it, being treated as if I was the one who did wrong while those who put others in danger are fine.'
A lightning bolt was seen between two clouds and a loud growling was heard.
- 'Labelle, that's enough now!' said Snape.
- 'No, it's not. If I have to be punished, I'll give you a good reason for it!'
Kate was letting herself be filled by this fury, she was feeling the strength of the storm in every inch of her body, she had the feeling to look down on her professors, not hearing them any more. At that moment, Fawkes landed on her shoulder and started singing to her. All of the sudden, everything stopped. The clouds vanished, the air was calm, the young girl was back to herself. She lifted her arm in front of the bird who jumped on it, still singing. These notes were the most beautiful thing Kate had ever heard. It was filling her heart with peace and warmth, giving her a quiet feeling that all would be fine.
When the bird stopped singing, Kate bowed her head in his direction, the bird mirrored her and they rested, their heads touching each others. All was quiet again. Kate whispered 'thank you, Fawkes,' and the bird flapped its wings. The girl then sat down and stroke the phoenix's head.
- 'Glad to see the work we did for weeks was completely useless,' mumbled Snape.
- 'It wasn't, I told you I didn't want to calm down. I can control it if I want to,' she said, her eyes fixed on the bird.
- 'You have a very peculiar bound with Fawkes,' whispered Dumbledore. 'He could have left the room, yet he chose to cross the storm to join you and help you calm down. Maybe this is your connection with the elements that creates this proximity.'
- 'Does it really matter why he likes me?'
- 'No, not really. I'm only curious, it has never happen before.'
- 'Professor Dumbledore, I do hope you will consider punishing Miss Labelle now?'
- 'Absolutely not,' answered Dumbledore, a joyful light in his eyes. 'Her anger was completely justified and nothing happened. This is a better result than at the quidditch game. Now if you don't mind, I believe she would be happy to join the Weasley twins in the Hospital Wing and you probably should go talking with your quidditch team. Congratulation for winning the quidditch cup this year,' he said, showing Professor Snape the door.
The Potions Master stood up at once and left the room, visibly angry. The Phoenix was still resting on Kate's arm, Dumbledore smiled.
- 'I know it's extremely frustrating to see how Slytherin is getting along with many things with Professor Snape. But you have to understand that they need to trust him fully, so they do not report in their families that he changed, that he isn't rooting for Pure-Blood any more, or that he started being nice with other Houses. See, we will need evidence to show he didn't switch side during the time Voldemort was gone. No one – but you – can enter his mind, that makes many of them doubt him as they cannot be sure of his loyalty. I am not entirely sure that he doesn't enjoy this role, but I am convinced that he has to act this way.'
- 'Yeah, I figured that out. But here, today, his insistence on having me punished, just the three of us, that made no sense. My best friend is in the Hospital Wing because of one of his students, I'm not really in the mood to play these games when there is no need to.'
- 'I understand. Well, I believe he was a little upset that he will have to obliviate most of his students so they forget they saw you healing Mister Wood. I will walk with you back to the Hospital Wing.'
- 'Why does he have to obliviate them? I used a Fidelius charm on my abilities, they can't talk about it.'
- 'They can't talk about it, but if they hear their parents talking about a young girl your age that has these abilities, if they saw it, they will still make the link, even if they can't talk about it, and that could potentially put you in danger.'
Kate nodded silently as she stood up, Fawkes flew away. She bowed to him while passing in front of him, he bowed back. The young witch was really happy to get along with the bird so well.
- 'Professor, Madam Pomfrey was thinking that it might be a good thing if I always had with me some of the potion to restore my energy level. Do you think this is a good idea?'
- 'Well, I believe as long as you are at school, you don't really need it. But that wouldn't be a bad thing. Who knows what will happen in the summer?' he answered with a smile.
- 'I hope nothing of the sort. But healing is not the only way it can happen. I talked with Charlie in his mind a few weeks ago, afterwards I was feeling dizzy, I couldn't stand by myself. I guess reaching someone else's mind who is so far away is requesting a lot of energy.'
- 'I wouldn't even have believed that this is possible,' he said, amazed.
- 'It is, but extremely demanding. I prefer writing to him, even if I have to wait a long time to have an answer.'
- 'I see. All right, I think I can let you go now,' he said as they arrived at the door to the ward. 'I must admit I feared Professor Snape would be waiting for you and try to provoke you to have a reason to give you detention anyway. He seemed really upset when he left my office.'
Kate smiled to her Headmaster. She had had the same feeling.
- 'Thank you, Professor.'
She entered the Ward and joined Fred and George who were talking quietly when she arrived, they asked her what Dumbledore wanted. She explained that Snape realised she helped the team to avoid further injuries and that he wanted her to be punished, but said Dumbledore decided there was no reason to do so.
Around six in the evening, Madam Pomfrey brought three trays with dinner for them, she checked that Oliver was doing all right, then she left them. They ate happily, they hadn't had lunch because of the game. After eating, Kate hurried to the Great Hall to tell Alec and Kyle how the injured were doing. The young witch was pretty sure Angelina and Alicia had told Katie all what Madam Pomfrey tsaid, so when she was done talking to her Hufflepuff friends, she left the Great Hall again. As she walked away, she heard someone call her from behind a pillar. It was Thor. Kate looked around, nobody could see them, she turned him invisible and asked him to follow her. She led him to an empty room, closed the door and muffled it, so no one would hear that they were both in there. Then she removed the charm.
- 'What do you want?' she asked.
- 'How are they doing? Is it bad?'
- 'According to Madam Pomfrey, Oliver should awaken in two or three days and should be all right. Fred has a broken arm and a dislocated elbow, his bones are regrowing now, tomorrow we'll fix his elbow.'
- 'I'm so sorry for what happened,' Thor said softly.
- 'It's not your fault, you have no reason to be sorry. I gave them your warning, but that wasn't enough. After what Flint did to Oliver, I tried to keep them all safe. Fred thought I meant he should avoid the bludger when I told him to move away, that's why he was injured. I think now he'll listen to my advices.'
- 'I should have done something –'
- 'What could you possibly have done? You warned me, I gave the information to the team, and I tried to help as much as I could. There was nothing else to do!'
- 'I could have tried to talk to them and –'
- 'And get killed! Flint was part of the group who was after you last time, he's wicked. You don't try anything alone against him. No one will try to stop him by fear of retaliation, and I'm pretty sure many will follow his lead just because they'll be scared if they don't do so, they'll be his next target. You did everything right!'
- 'But I feel terrible,' he sighed.
Kate stepped forward and hugged him.
- 'I'm sorry you've been sorted in Slytherin, but you have to go through,' Kate said kindly. 'You're a great guy, I hope you'll have the life you dream of, later. But you need to get out of Hogwarts alive. I can't be there to help you, that would be too dangerous for both of us. Now if you get information that you'd like to share with me, try to call me in your mind. If you focus on me enough, I'll kind of hear it and I will come in your mind. That's all I can do. But please, don't do anything that can put you in danger, we'll need people like you to build our world again when the war will be over.'
Thor stepped back to the wall and let himself slide to the ground, his eyes seemed a bit watery.
- 'It's not easy, you know,' he said in a broken voice. 'I wished I would find friends here, people whom I can trust, who'd be there for me, like you are for Alec or the Weasley twins. But instead I'm stuck with people whom I despise and I have to pretend all the time. When I think they said our House will be like our family while at school...'
Kate kneeled in front of him and put her hands on his knees.
- 'Some families suck, I know what I'm talking about, I had to pretend all my life in front of mine. But seriously, try to befriend someone from Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. You can't go seven years without anyone you can trust.'
- 'I know I can trust you.'
- 'Sure, but you need more than rare meetings for which we have to hide. You need real friends with whom you can spend time without fear. That's not possible with me, or with any Gryffindor.'
- 'How can I do? Most are quite distant with us.'
- 'I don't know if they are really distant or if they just stay with their Houses. You can try to just propose your help if you see someone struggling with something you can do, and use it as a way to start a conversation. Sit beside someone else in class, someone who seems nice. Anything. You're great, they'll see it.'
- 'Thank you, Kate,' he said after a time.
- 'What for?'
- 'For taking time to talk with me when I know you'd rather be with the Weasleys.'
- 'That's all right,' she smiled. 'I like you too, I don't want you put yourself in danger, and it felt like you could, so...'
- 'Thank you for that.'
- 'No problem. Can you promise me something?'
- 'What?'
- 'Whatever Flint plans to do, whatever he says, agree with him. If there's danger for people, contact me mentally. But don't do anything openly. Please.'
- 'I swear.'
- 'Great. I guess it's time to go, now.'
- 'How will we go out without being seen? We're right beside the Great Hall.'
Kate used the disillusionment spell on herself.
- 'Like this, I go out and I look if it's safe for you to leave. I'll tell you.'
She opened the door, looked outside. No one was there at that moment.
- 'It's all right, Thor, you can go out, the way is clear. Take care of you,' she said before walking away.
The witch ran to the Hospital Wing, entered the ward, closed the door behind her and walked to Fred's bed.
- 'Is that you, Kate?' George asked.
The young witch realised she was still invisible, she laughed and removed the charm.
- 'Sorry, I hurried back here and I forgot I used it.'
- 'What took you so long? You said you would just tell Alec and Kyle how we are doing,' asked Fred.
- 'When I left the Great Hall, Thor wanted to talk with me. He's feeling sorry for what happened to Oliver and you, he was feeling down, so I tried to cheer him up.'
- 'I feel bad for him, sometimes,' George said. 'He seems to be a good guy and he's stuck with a bunch of people like Flint who'd be too happy to join You-Know-Who when he'll come back.'
- 'Yeah, it sucks for him,' said Fred.
- 'How's your arm doing?' Kate asked.
- 'I've seen better days,' he smiled. 'But tomorrow it's over, I'll manage. I shouldn't complain, though, your shoulder injury was probably way more painful.'
Kate closed her eyes and focused on Fred's sensation. She smiled broadly.
- 'Yeah, it was slightly more painful… '
- 'We've seen your face, Kate, it seemed to be nearly unbearable,' Fred said.
- 'And you see how relaxed Fred is, now,' George continued.
- 'I tried to not worry you when I was injured, but both Madam Pomfrey and Snape asked me how I was not screaming in agony. He asked me how the pain was, I couldn't talk so I shared the feeling of it, that's when he asked how I could stay so silent.'
Fred and George found the idea of Snape suffering someone else's pain quite enjoyable. The three of them talked until Madam Pomfrey told Kate and George to join their dormitories. Kate hugged Fred, then she went to Oliver, held his hand shortly and wished him to get well soon. She left with George, knowing they would join Fred again for breakfast. It was odd to be just the two of them, they were missing the spark igniting most of the fun.