After her talk with Professor Lupin, Jillian went out onto the grounds to get some air and to think. Everyone seemed to think that Sirius Black was some coldblooded killer, and Jillian should probably think that as well, but something about it all just wasn't sitting right with her. Something was telling her that things were not as they should be.
Jillian sighed softly as she sat on one of the stone benches that were in the courtyard, running a hand through her blonde hair.
She heard a small yelp, and she raised her head to see a black dog approaching her. It stopped walking, tilting its head as it looked at her.
"Hey, there fella," Jillian said, a soft smile forming on her face. She held her hand out, and the dog came closer, sniffing at it. "Where did you come from?"
The dog licked her hand, and Jillian giggled, stroking its head, which the creature seemed to love, as it gave out a bark of delight, making Jillian laugh even more. "You're a happy little guy, aren't you? Although I don't suppose that I should call you little, considering that you're nearly as big as I am, and you could knock me down if you wanted to."
As though to prove her point, the dog jumped a bit, placing its front paws on her shoulders as it licked at her face.
"Well, at least someone's being friendly with me tonight." A frown formed on Jillian's face. "Harry probably won't even talk to me anymore because I think that Sirius Black is innocent."
The dog whined, and Jillian shook her head. "I'm probably crazy or something, but I just can't shake the feeling that things aren't what they seem. I mean, Sirius' best friend was Harry's father, so what possible reason could he have to help you-know-who kill him? From everything that I've found out, Sirius wasn't even remotely interested in you-know-who, or his cause, it just...it doesn't make any sense...and now I'm talking to a dog, which probably makes me even crazier."
The dog jumped off of Jillian, and she petted his head before making her way back to the castle. It was late, and she needed to get to bed.
She wasn't the only one awake though.
"Where's your little boyfriend, Mantle?" Marcus Flint made his way over to her, a smirk on his face. "Or has he finally realized what a loser you are and ditched you?"
"Leave me alone Flint, I'm really not in the mood to deal with you tonight."
"And I would care about that why?" Flint pushed Jillian against the wall. "Merlin, you really are pathetic, aren't you? You could disappear and no one would even care, not even your own parents."
He had hit a nerve, and he knew it too. Jillian bit her lip and looked away from Marcus as he laughed, her face red with shame.
Marcus pushed Jillian to the ground, and she cried out as she felt the stone floor gouging her knee.
There was a loud growl, and the black dog that Jillian had met in the courtyard was suddenly standing there, its teeth bared at Marcus, whose face had gone pale. The dog barked, and Marcus gave out a cry of terror before he took off running down the hall.
The dog walked over to Jillian, licking her face as she stood up, grimacing a little bit as she put some weight on her bad leg. "Yeah, this isn't going to work."
Blood was dripping down her leg, and she could barely put any weight on it at all without it hurting severely.
The dog continued to bark and bark, only running off when footsteps could be heard from the other end of the hallway.
It was Professors Lupin and McGonagall. McGonagall was about to scold Jillian for being out so late at night, but once she saw the state that Jillian was in, she seemed to change her mind. "Miss Mantle, what on earth happened to you?"
"Flint," Jillian said with a small groan as the two Professors helped Jillian towards the hospital wing. "He was bullying me, shoving me around. Not like that's anything new, though."
"I am going to see Professor Snape about this immediately, and make sure that Mister Flint is appropriately punished for his actions, bullying is not tolerated in this school."
"Professor McGonagall, Flint is a Slytherin, do you really think that Snape is going to punish someone or take points away from his own house? He isn't nearly as unbiased as you are."
"Don't you worry about it, Miss Mantle. If Professor Snape doesn't do something about it, then I will. I will get the Headmaster involved if I have to."
"That might be a good idea anyway, Minerva." Professor Lupin spoke up. "You know how Dumbledore feels about bullying on school grounds."
They got to the hospital wing, and McGonagall explained what had happened to Madame Pomfrey.
"The gash on your leg doesn't look too deep, so it shouldn't take too long to patch up." Madame Pomfrey assured Jillian. "We'll have you out of here in no time at all."
Madame Pomfrey was just finishing up with Jillian when Luna and Blaise came in.
"We heard what happened." Blaise was panting, as though he had been running. "The ghosts won't shut up about it."
"What in Merlin's name are you two doing up at this hour?" Madame Pomfrey demanded. "It is well past curfew and the two of you should both be in bed!"
Come to think of it, why were Blaise and Luna up so late? Jillian raised an eyebrow at the two of them as Blaise turned a dark shade of red. "Were the two of you up to something?"
"We were just talking," Blaise muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets.
"Oh really, just talking?" Jillian smirked devilishly. "Because judging off of how messed up Luna's hair is, I would say that something else happened."
Luna giggled as Blaise blushed even more. "Oh shut up, Mantle. Has anyone ever told you how annoying you are?"
"Oh hush, you know you love me, you wouldn't be here otherwise."
"Miss Lovegood." Madame Pomfrey cut in. "Since you see it to be perfectly alright after hours, then you can walk Miss Mantle back to the Ravenclaw dormitories. And if I catch the two of you out of bed again, then you shall be reported to your heads of house. Miss Mantle, you may feel a bit sore, but otherwise, you should be perfectly fine."
"Thank you, Madame Pomfrey." Jillian walked out of the hospital wing with her two friends. She and Luna parted ways with Blaise and headed towards Ravenclaw Tower. "Luna, you have got to tell me what happened between you and Blaise, and don't leave out a single detail."