Year 2: Triple the Trouble
Chapter 17: March 2013
"Professor Binns has completely lost his mind," Brianna cried one day as she and her friends were walking down the Grand Staircase from Gryffindor Tower to the Great Hall for dinner. "He's already assigned us that huge term paper, and now he's giving us a research project on top of it? When are we supposed to have the time to do all this work?"
"I know," Victoire agreed. "Plus we have that big potions project coming up too. And I thought first year was tough."
"The spells are getting harder too," Kara agreed, swivelling her head around to see her friends as she continued to walk down the stairs. "I mean, that disarming spell that Harry Potter is so famous for? It's a lot harder than I thought."
Victoire saw it a split second before it happened. She opened her mouth to warn Kara, but there was no time. With a shout of alarm, Kara stepped onto one of the Grand Staircases' many trick stairs, her leg twisting around at an unnatural angle.
"Help!" Kara cried in anguish, clutching at her leg, trying to pull it out herself. "I think I twisted my ankle!"
Brianna and Victoire rushed forward, each grabbing one of Kara's arms and pulling with all their might. They got her out and deposited her on one of the steps higher up.
"Does it still hurt?" Brianna asked in concern.
"Yeah," Kara said, moving the bottom of her robe away to get a good look at her ankle. If it wasn't sprained, something was definitely very wrong with it. "I think I should go to the hospital wing."
"Can you walk?" Victoire asked.
"I don't know," Kara said. "Let me see."
She started to push herself up, leaning the tiniest amount of weight on the injured foot and then cried out in pain, falling back down onto the stairs.
"We'll take that as a no," Brianna muttered.
"How am I supposed to get there?" Kara wondered. "We're on the second floor and the hospital wing is all the way up on the fourth floor."
"We'll have to carry you," Victoire said. "Come on Bri, you take her feet and I'll grab her under her armpits."
Brianna moved into position and Victoire counted to three. They heaved Kara up, but barely managed to get up a stair before dropping her.
"Ow!" Kara exclaimed, bumping her head against the stairs. "Thanks a lot guys."
"Sorry," Brianna apologized. "But you're really heavy."
"Hey!" Kara cried, offended.
"No, it's not that you're overweight," Brianna corrected herself. "It's just that you're heavier than Victoire and I are able to lift."
"So now what are we supposed to do?" Kara wondered.
"We could try levitating you," Victoire suggested.
"Oh, no way!" Kara exclaimed, shaking her head vehemently. "I've seen the two of you levitating your trunks up into the luggage rack on the train. You have terrible aim and you're always banging them into things. I'm not going to float along down the hall bumping my head against the wall every two feet all the way to the hospital wing.
"I don't see what other choice we have," Victoire said. "How else are we supposed to get you there? You can't walk and we can't life you on our own."
"Then find someone who can," Kara insisted. "Hey, there's Teddy! Maybe he can help. TEDDY!"
"Kara?" Teddy asked from a few flights above. "What's up?"
"We need help!" Kara cried. "Get down here."
Teddy hurried down to where the girls were and asked what was going on.
"Kara thinks she twisted her ankle," Victoire explained. "We're trying to get her to the hospital wing, but she's too heavy for me and Brianna to manage on our own and she refuses to be levitated."
"Okay, how can I help?" Teddy asked.
"If Victoire and Brianna both lift me from under my armpits and you take my feet, maybe the three of you will be strong enough to carry me," Kara said.
Victoire and Brianna looked at Teddy doubtfully. He wasn't the strongest guy they knew.
"It's worth a shot," Teddy agreed, moving around to Kara's feet. "Alright, ready? Lift!"
They got as far as the next landing before having to let Kara go. At least this time, they didn't completely drop her.
"That wasn't bad!" Kara said encouragingly. "We'll just go a little at a time until we get there."
"Yeah, this isn't going to work," Brianna said, breathing deeply from the exertion. "It's too far. We need a new plan."
"What if I levitated you?" Teddy suggested.
"No," Kara shook her head. "I don't want to hit my head on the wall every five steps."
"No, I'm really good at keeping things steady," Teddy assured her. "I'll keep a really close eye on you. I promise, you'll be completely fine."
Kara deliberated. "All right," she agreed. "But the minute you bang me into something, you put me down and we come up with a new plan."
"Not going to happen," Teddy assured her.
"I need to hear you promise," Kara said.
"Fine, I promise," Teddy said. "If you bang into the wall or something, I'll put you down and we'll come up with another plan."
"Okay," Kara said, satisfied. "Go ahead."
Teddy pulled his wand from his pocket and pointed it at Kara, casting the spell. Slowly, she rose into the air.
"Alright, everyone quiet, I need to concentrate," Teddy said, slowly maneuvering Kara around and up the next flight of stairs. Victoire and Brianna followed as silently as possible behind him.
"Hey, you're actually pretty good at this," Kara said from her horizontal position. "This feels really weird though, being suspended in the air and all."
"If you talk, there's a higher chance I'll throw you into a suit of armor," Teddy warned. "Let me focus."
Kara closed her mouth tight and the four of them silently made their way to the hospital wing.
"What is this?" Madam Eldridge cried when they entered the hospital, causing Teddy to lose focus on drop Kara on the floor.
"Ow!" she cried. "And you were doing so well."
"At least I got you here," Teddy pointed out.
"Alright, thank you," Kara said sweetly, plastering on a huge smile.
"She says she twisted her ankle," Victoire said to the waiting hospital matron. "She fell through one of the trick stairs in the Grand Staircase."
"Oh those trick stairs," Madam Eldridge grumbled as she levitated Kara into a bed and magically elevated her injured foot. "At least one injury because of them every week. I keep telling the Headmistress to fix them, but every time, she comes back saying that it's out of her hands and the trick stairs are part of the ancient magic of the castle. Nonsense. If she wanted to get rid of them, she could do it."
"Uh, can you just take a look at my foot?" Kara asked, interrupting Madam Eldridge's rant.
"Oh, it's a sprain," Madam Eldridge confirmed. "I'll just give you a potion for that, and you'll have to stay overnight, but you'll be better in time for breakfast tomorrow."
"I have to spend the night?" Kara asked, aghast.
"Oh, it's not that bad," Victoire assured her. "I was in here for like a week last year and I got along just fine."
"Yeah, but you slept most of the time," Kara pointed out.
"And you're here for one night," Victoire countered. "You're just going to sleep."
"What if I have to use the bathroom in the middle of the night?" Kara asked.
"If you have to use the bathroom, just go," Madam Eldridge said. "The beds are charmed to clean it up as it happens."
"Gross!" Kara cried. "Victoire, you lived like this for a week?"
Victoire grimaced. "I was hoping we'd never have to discuss this."
"Ugh!" Kara cried, throwing her pillow over her face. "Just leave me here. I'll be fine. I'll see you at breakfast tomorrow."
"Don't you want us to keep you company until curfew?" Victoire asked.
"No," Kara insisted. "I have to pee and I don't want any of you here for that."
VvVvVvVvVvV
"Poor Kara," Victoire sighed after dinner in the common room. "Maybe we should go and visit."
"She did say she didn't want to see us," Brianna reminded her.
"Yeah, but that's just because she was embarrassed she had to pee," Victoire said. "I'm sure she's done by now."
"I don't know," Brianna said hesitantly. "She might get really mad."
"She's our friend," Victoire reminded Brianna. "We can't just abandon her."
"Alright," Brianna agreed. "Let's go."
They left Gryffindor Tower and descended the three floors to the hospital wing.
"Hey Kara," Victoire said, pushing open the door to the hospital.
"You guys came back!" Kara exclaimed, a huge smile appearing on her face. "Thank God, it was getting so boring in here. The only company I have is Madam Eldridge, who just keeps taking my temperature, and snore fest over there." She pointed to the bed across from her where a sixth year Ravenclaw was fast asleep. "Madam Eldridge gave him a sleeping potion about an hour ago."
"Well we thought you might like some company," Victoire said, pulling up a chair while Brianna did the same on the other side. "Gosh, being on this side of the bed is really different."
"Tell me about it," Kara rolled her eyes. "I think I'd rather be the visitor."
"I think I'd rather not be in the hospital at all," Brianna grimaced. "But of course, I want to be here for you," she added when Kara's face began to fall. "I just meant that it would be better if nobody was sick or injured."
"Have you taken your potion yet?" Victoire wondered.
"Yeah, right after you guys left," Kara confirmed. "Tasted horrible. I spat it out the first time, and then Madam Eldridge had to pour it in and charm my mouth closed until I swallowed it."
"That sounds awful!" Brianna cried.
"It was," Kara agreed. "Don't ever sprain your ankle."
"Well, I think we'll all watch out for that trick stair in the future," Victoire muttered.
"Oh, trust me," Kara said. "I've learned my lesson. From now on, I watch where I'm going on the stairs."
After about half an hour, Madam Eldridge bustled over and shooed Victoire and Brianna away.
"But curfew's not for another twenty minutes," Victoire protested.
"If you leave in twenty minutes, you'll be out after curfew," Madam Eldridge pointed out.
"But Gryffindor Tower is only five minutes away," Brianna said. "We can stay a bit longer."
"No," Madam Eldridge insisted. "My patients need to sleep!"
"What patients?" Victoire frowned. "That guy's been asleep this whole time and the only other person here is Kara."
"Who makes the rules here, me or you?" Madam Eldridge demanded. "You must leave now!"
"I'll meet you in the Great Hall for breakfast!" Kara called out as Madam Eldridge shoved them out the door.
"Well that was rude," Brianna muttered when the doors slammed shut in their faces.
"Tell me about it," Victoire said. "Try living with her for a whole week."
VvVvVvVvVvV
"You look fantastic!" Victoire exclaimed the following morning when she and Brianna arrived in the Great Hall to find Kara, as good as new, buttering some toast.
"Don't mock me," Kara muttered.
"No, we're serious," Brianna said. "You look good."
"I haven't showered, my hair is a mess, I'm not wearing any makeup, and I'm wearing yesterday's clothes," Kara said. "I'm a disaster."
"At least your ankle is healed," Victoire pointed out.
"Do you think I have time to go back to Gryffindor Tower and fix myself up before class?" Kara wondered.
"I don't think so," Victoire said. "We have potions all the way in the dungeons. By the time you got up there, you'd just have to turn around and come back."
"I should have skipped breakfast," Kara mumbled. "I was just so hungry. Dinner in the hospital wing last night was pitiful."
"Yeah, they give pretty small portions up there," Victoire agreed.
"Why didn't you ask Madam Eldridge to excuse you from first period?" Brianna asked.
"I did," Kara grumbled. "She said she couldn't excuse me without a valid medical reason."
"Bummer," Brianna said.
"I know!" Victoire exclaimed. "I have some nosebleed nougat in my bag. Go wait out in the Entrance Hall and when she comes out, take it and your nose will start bleeding all over the place. She's sure to exempt you from class, and then you'll have plenty of time to shower and stuff."
"I'm in," Kara said. "Give me the candy."
Victoire handed over the nougat and Kara hurried out into the Entrance Hall. Moments later, their potions Professor finished her breakfast and started heading out of the Hall. Victoire and Brianna hurried over to the door and arrived just as Kara's nose started bleeding.
"Oh, Kara, are you alright?" Professor Abbott-Longbottom cried in surprise.
"I have a pretty bad nosebleed," Kara said. "I think I should go to the hospital wing."
"We'll take her!" Brianna cried, hurrying over and dragging Victoire with her. Victoire frowned, shooting a questioning look at Brianna. This wasn't part of the plan.
"Oh good," their Professor said. "And don't worry if you're late to class today, or even if you can't make it at all. Just make sure you get that nosebleed under control."
"We will," Brianna assured her, guiding Kara away and up the stairs, in the opposite direction of the dungeons.
As soon as Professor Abbott-Longbottom was out of sight, Kara took the other end of the nougat and the nosebleed stopped immediately.
"What did you do?" Victoire asked Brianna.
"I just got all three of us a free period," Brianna smirked.
"You're a genius!" Kara exclaimed.
The girls hurried upstairs and Kara immediately jumped in the shower while Victoire and Brianna lounged on their beds in the dorm. They avoided the common room, because it was full of upperclassmen with actual free periods and they didn't want to be called out by a prefect or something.
By the time first period was over, the girls were in high spirits and didn't even care that they had to go to History of Magic next to listen to Professor Binns drone on for an hour about things nobody cared about.
VvVvVvVvVvV
"Well don't you look all healed!" Teddy exclaimed that night in the common room upon seeing Kara. "Ankle all better?"
"Yeah, thanks again," Kara said. "Even though you did drop me at the end."
"That was not my fault," Teddy defended himself. "Madam Eldridge completely broke my concentration."
"Sure she did," Kara smirked.
"She did!" Teddy insisted. "She really did!"
VvVvVvVvVvV
As the end of March drew near, the second years were presented with a new challenge; picking their electives for the coming year. There were four to choose from; Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, and Muggle Studies. There used to be a fifth option – Divination – but as soon as Headmistress McGonagall acquired the position of Headmistress, she'd gotten rid of the class. Everybody was supposed to choose two courses to take the following year, and Victoire had no idea what to take.
"Take Ancient Runes," Teddy suggested. "It's a great class. I love it."
"It sounds like a lot of work," Victoire replied.
"It is, but it's worth it," Teddy assured her. Victoire wasn't so sure.
Teddy wasn't the only one with opinions though. Grandfather Weasley sent her an owl encouraging her to take Muggle Studies, claiming that it was a fascinating subject and his personal favorite when he took it back in the day. Uncle Harry and Uncle Ron wrote to her encouraging her to take Care of Magical Creatures with Hagrid. They said it might not always be the safest class, but she would have a lot of fun. Aunt Hermione in turn, sent her an owl urging her to stay away from Hagrid's class at all costs. Her father of course, recommended Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, those being the electives he took. Dominique suggested she take Muggle Studies, because it sounded like the easiest class of the four.
"What do you guys think?" Victoire finally asked one evening as she stared at the form she had to fill out and hand back to her Head of House no later than April 1st.
"I don't know," Brianna sighed. "I don't want to take something that looks too difficult, but I don't want to take something that looks easy and then discover that it's harder than the rest."
"I think they're all probably going to be difficult in their own way," Kara sighed. "We just have to pick two and be content with our choice."
"What if we change our mind?" Brianna wondered.
"You could probably talk to Headmistress McGonagall if you realized you really don't want to be in one of the classes," Victoire said.
"Yeah, but only until classes start," Kara added. "They won't let you switch into a different class once you've missed too much."
"This is so stressful!" Brianna exclaimed.
"We should just all sign up for two of the classes together, and if they turn out to be hard, at least we'll have each other," Victoire decided.
"Alright, but which two classes do we take?" Kara asked.
"I'm leaning towards Muggle Studies," Brianna declared. "Not to jinx it or anything, but I feel like it's going to be a more relaxed and laid back class than the others."
"I agree," Kara said. "I've seen the Professor around and he seems like a pretty cool guy."
"Alright, that's one class chosen," Victoire said, writing Muggle Studies down on the first line of her signup sheet. "What else?"
"Not Arithmancy," Kara declared. "Numbers are not my thing."
"Alright, so that leaves Care of Magical Creatures or Ancient Runes," Brianna surmised.
"Can we go with Care of Magical Creatures?" Victoire asked. "I feel like taking Ancient Runes would be super stressful, given my father was a Curse Breaker for such a long time. I just know he would constantly be on my case about it."
"Sure!" Kara agreed. "Muggle Studies and Care of Magical Creatures it is."
They wrote the second course on the second line and then put their papers in a stack at the end of the table.
"Decision made," Brianna said gladly. "Now we can stop worrying about it."
"Phew," Victoire said, staring at the papers. "Wait, guys… what if we chose the wrong classes?"
"We didn't," Kara said, her voice sure. "The classes we chose are great."
"But what if – "
"Come on," Kara declared, standing up and passing their forms back. "We need to get this officially over with. We're taking these straight down to Professor Longbottom's office and then we're never going to think about it again."
Agreeing that this was a good idea, the girls trooped down to the greenhouses and knocked on Professor Longbottom's office door.
"Professor?" Victoire asked, pushing the door open a bit. "We wanted to hand in our course selection forms."
"Oh, excellent," Professor Longbottom said, hurrying forward to collect them. "I see you've elected to take your classes together next year," he said, reading over their choices.
"Yes," Kara said. "But we didn't do that on purpose," she lied. "We just all happen to have similar interests."
"It's probably why we're such good friends," Brianna added.
"It's alright girls," Professor Longbottom assured them. "Now run along."
Eager to get away, the girls scurried off, returning to Gryffindor Tower where they started up a game of exploding snap.
"Maybe we should have – "
"Don't say it!" Kara interrupted Brianna. "We made the right choices."
"I was just going to say that maybe we should have swung by the Great Hall and grabbed a snack on our way back up here," Brianna said. "I'm a little hungry."
"Oh," Kara said. "I have a box of cookies in my trunk, should I get them?"
"Definitely," Victoire agreed.
The girls spent the rest of the evening eating Kara's cookies and playing exploding snap, not worrying about their course selections at all. There was nothing to do about it. They would just have to wait until next year and hope they'd made the right decision.