*NOTE - hooray, it's chapter 8. This one's kinda long, but bear with me.
Lots happens in this chapter. Once again, if anyone knows how to get
italics and underlines and things to save, please let me know.
.
Alice felt s if she was floating in a void among the stars. Occasionally she'd wave to a spacecraft cruising by, but mostly she just floated, naming starts and making up constellations, playing connect-the- dots with them and having conversations about what it's like to be a star, hovering in space a million light-years from your closest neighbor . . . but then after a long time, or none at all, (time stood still in the void, so she couldn't be sure) the stars disappeared, leaving her in blackness and the emptiness was washed away in bright warmth - the sort that turns blackness slightly red. When she opened her eyes, it took her a few moments to get accustomed to the garish sunlight pouring in through some orifice to her left. She felt as if she'd never seen anything but darkness.
By the time she realized that she was in bed in the hospital wing and that it was around nine or ten or eleven in the morning (judging from the position of the sun), she had also noticed a number of other things - such as the thick gauze bandage around her left upper-arm, the IV in her left wrist, and the pile of treats, stuffed animals, and cards that created a warm, colorful contrast to the sterile white bed. She felt as if she hadn't eaten in weeks and eagerly grabbed a box of Bertie Bott's Every- Flavour Beans. Normally she avoided them as a general rule (the risk just wasn't worth taking when there were tomato-flavored ones involved), but today . . . today she felt lucky. She grabbed a yellow one a popped it in her mouth. . . corn! Today was going to be a good day. She sorted through the pile, pleasantly surprised that so many people had cared enough to send things. There were cards and candy from Hypothia and Claire, a teddy bear from Draco. . . a friendly note from Professor Sprout saying that after all Alice had gone through, she surely deserved highest marks on the poison- dart flower assignment. There was homework from Snape (he sure knew how to brighten sick children's spirits). . . and (her heart skipped a beat) a letter from Seamus. She could tell it was his by the writing. She loved the way he wrote her name. . .
She opened the envelope slowly and carefully, wanting the feeling to last as long as possible, torturing herself with the suspense until she felt she would explode if she had to wait one mores second to read it. Finally deciding that the exploding was best left to Seamus, she gave in and read it.
Alice-
I'm so glad you're getting better, and sorry about the dart- flower accident. I need
to talk to you about that right away - there's something you need to know. But all
that can wait until you're well. You could have died, you know. . . I was really
scared. I can't wait for you to be up - come see me as soon as you can. I miss
you!
-Seamus.
No "I love you"? Alice had to admit she was a little disappointed, even though she knew it was too early to be saying things like that. She wanted to see him. 'NOW!' a voice screamed inside of her (but maybe that was just her tummy telling her to get something to eat). Of course, she couldn't very well go pulling the IV out of her arm and running around the school in a little paper hospital gown. . . Just that moment, Madame Pomfrey walked in, carrying a tray of bottles in various shapes, sizes, and colors.
"Oh, you're up! Wonderful!" she said cheerily, sitting down on a stool beside the bed.
"Uh. . . Madame Pomfrey? When do you think I can. . . er. . . leave?" Alice asked timidly, and then added, realizing that she sounded a little rude, "Not that I don't LIKE it here or anything. . ."
"Well of COURSE you don't like it here - it's the hospital wing! And you can leave as soon as you take this," she said, mixing different amounts from each of the bottles in a small plastic cup. Eventually it started bubbling and turned a bright, syrupy shade of reddish-orange. "Here you go, hon - drink up!" she said, handing it to Alice.
She eyed it suspiciously. A little fizzy, smelled something like cherry soda but with some sort of bitter overtone. Couldn't be THAT bad. Downing the contents in a quick sip, she reassessed her opinion. It tasted like acetone and gave her a sort of numb burning sensation in her mouth and down her throat. Observing the obvious distress on Alice's face, Madame Pomfrey handed her a glass of water, which she downed in one big gulp. "Thanks!" she said, not quite sure whether she should be thankful or not.
"Well, you're free to go now. All the venom's been neutralized so you should be fine, I'll just go get your clothes," said Madame Pomfrey. "Your friends brought you up a clean pair."
"Uh. . . Madame Pomfrey? What day is it?" Alice asked sheepishly.
Giggling slightly patronizingly, she replied, "Oh, it's Saturday! You've been unconscious for five days, since Monday. Lots of your little friends came by to visit, as you can see." She waved over to the pile of gifts.
Alice smiled and Madame Pomfrey went to get her clothes, returning with a neat pile which she placed on the stool. She gave Alice one last sweet smile, then left the room, closing the heavy wooden doors behind her. Alice walked over to the huge cathedral window on the left side of the room, admiring the view from the tower. Although she normally felt most at home when it was raining, she had to admit that it was a beautiful day. The sun hovered above the horizon, pouring light across the green valleys and hills, highlighting the tallest trees of the forest. She returned to the stool and put on her clothes thankfully, wondering how long it had been since she had last bathed, slightly paranoid about what they might have done to her while she was unconscious. Pulling on the jeans and t-shirt, she stretched out her arms and hopped around a bit, loosening up her stiff, unused joints. When she felt like herself again, she gathered up her things and went down to her dorm, confronted about six times concerning her "epic battle" with the poison-dart flower. She was even asked once if she thought 'he-who-must-not-be-named' was behind it. Ah, gossip thrived at Hogwarts. . .
After freshening up a bit, her next priority was finding Seamus. As she was leaving the Slytherin common room, she ran into Claire and Hypothia and they exchanged hugs and got Alice caught up on the latest events of the past few days. Since Alice had missed the potions final, Claire had "convinced" Snape to give her a few more days to study for it.
Alice then asked if either of them had seem Seamus recently. "I really need to talk to him."
"Oh, yeah. . . SURE. You need to 'talk' to him. I get it," said Hypothia, elbowing Alice playfully and winking rather exaggeratedly.
"No. . . I really need to talk to him," responded Alice, somewhat annoyed.
"Yeah, uh huh. You go 'talk' to him then," (wink, nudge) said Hypothia.
Claire rolled her eyes and giggled. "He was here about an hour ago asking about you. Said he'd be in his common room and asked me to tell you to go tell the portrait you wanted to see him, in case you woke up."
"Thanks," said Alice, making a conscious effort not to start running. She finally made it to the Gryffindor portrait and told the woman that Seamus had asked Alice to come meet him. The portrait turned around and called his name, and the door opened moments later. Seamus appeared, as wonderful as ever, wearing a pair of well-worn jeans with a hole in the right knee and the cuffs torn up, a studded belt, black chuck taylors and a red-and-blue striped t-shirt that he'd probably had since he was ten. It was far too small on him but Alice didn't mind (quite the opposite, in fact). The scratch on his cheek had healed and was now only a thin, pale scar. His hair was in a state of beautiful disarray. It looked as if he'd simply put gel in it then rubbed it around a little. The most startling aspect was that it was now a shade of bright cobalt blue. And she was even more attracted to him than ever, probably because she'd been deprived of him for so long. When he saw her, he smiled bigger than she'd ever seen him smile before and gave her a huge hug. She hugged him back, smiling almost as big.
"I'm so glad to see you," he whispered into her ear.
"Me too," she replied. "But what happened to your hair?"
"Oh. . . yeah, this was a little spell gone wrong. Does it look okay?" he asked, concerned, suddenly looking very self-conscious, something Alice had never seen him as before.
"It's fine!" she giggled. "I like it a lot, actually."
"Well that's good. . . because I can't figure out how to turn it back," he confessed. "Hey, let's go somewhere. I need to talk to you," he said, stepping back, holding her hands in his, and looking into her eyes.
"Sure," she said. Gods, he was wonderful. . .
. . .
They walked out into the field where they had first met and sat down on the grass, looking up at the sky for a while. He pulled her toward him, into his warm embrace. She rested her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat, until he leaned down and kissed her lips - a favor which she gladly returned. After some time, Seamus broke the kiss, looked at her for a long time and said softly, "You're really beautiful, you know that?"
Alice broke her gaze and looked down at the grass, sighing almost disappointedly. Looking back up at him, she said, "Don't say things just because you know they're what I want to hear."
He smiled at her proudly and hugged her. "This is why I love you, Alice. You're not like most girls," he said into her ear. "You're. . . you're wonderful."
Alice could have just melted in his arms. Instead, she replied, "I think I love you, Seamus. . .", as if she'd finally been defeated.
"Oh come on. It can't be THAT bad." He turned to look at her and brushed a strand of hair out of her eye, kissing her on the cheek.
"Shut up!" she said playfully, pushing him away while at the same time kissing the tip of his nose.
"No, YOU shut up!" he said, knocking her softly onto her back. He leaned over her and they kissed for quite a while, until Alice suddenly sat up, wiped off her mouth, and announced, "Okay, this is getting corny."
"Couldn't agree more," said Seamus, straightening his shirt out. "Shall we move on to something that actually advances the plot?"
"Good idea!" agreed Alice, fastening her bra (No! just kidding. . .) "Now, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?"
"Oh, right. Listen, on the same day and at the same time that you had herbology on Monday, I was in the greenhouse next door with Draco, working on that project I told you about. Well things were going just fine until all of a sudden he started asking about you. I said we were just friends, but he kept insisting that he knew we were more than that and that we'd better end it or he'd tell your dad. So I said that he didn't have the right to choose your friends for you and he got all pissed off - put on his cloak and ran out the door like a five-year-old. Next thing I knew, there were screams coming from next door and I went over to see what was going on. You were lying on the floor with that dart in your arm and I helped carry you up to the hospital."
"So. . ." Alice said, piecing together the puzzle, "you think Draco had something to do with. . . this?" she asked, nodding her head at the bandage on her arm. Then she said to herself, "That WOULD explain the person I saw running away. . ."
"Maybe," he said quietly. For the first time ever, she thought she heard fear in his voice, and she was scared too.
.
Alice felt s if she was floating in a void among the stars. Occasionally she'd wave to a spacecraft cruising by, but mostly she just floated, naming starts and making up constellations, playing connect-the- dots with them and having conversations about what it's like to be a star, hovering in space a million light-years from your closest neighbor . . . but then after a long time, or none at all, (time stood still in the void, so she couldn't be sure) the stars disappeared, leaving her in blackness and the emptiness was washed away in bright warmth - the sort that turns blackness slightly red. When she opened her eyes, it took her a few moments to get accustomed to the garish sunlight pouring in through some orifice to her left. She felt as if she'd never seen anything but darkness.
By the time she realized that she was in bed in the hospital wing and that it was around nine or ten or eleven in the morning (judging from the position of the sun), she had also noticed a number of other things - such as the thick gauze bandage around her left upper-arm, the IV in her left wrist, and the pile of treats, stuffed animals, and cards that created a warm, colorful contrast to the sterile white bed. She felt as if she hadn't eaten in weeks and eagerly grabbed a box of Bertie Bott's Every- Flavour Beans. Normally she avoided them as a general rule (the risk just wasn't worth taking when there were tomato-flavored ones involved), but today . . . today she felt lucky. She grabbed a yellow one a popped it in her mouth. . . corn! Today was going to be a good day. She sorted through the pile, pleasantly surprised that so many people had cared enough to send things. There were cards and candy from Hypothia and Claire, a teddy bear from Draco. . . a friendly note from Professor Sprout saying that after all Alice had gone through, she surely deserved highest marks on the poison- dart flower assignment. There was homework from Snape (he sure knew how to brighten sick children's spirits). . . and (her heart skipped a beat) a letter from Seamus. She could tell it was his by the writing. She loved the way he wrote her name. . .
She opened the envelope slowly and carefully, wanting the feeling to last as long as possible, torturing herself with the suspense until she felt she would explode if she had to wait one mores second to read it. Finally deciding that the exploding was best left to Seamus, she gave in and read it.
Alice-
I'm so glad you're getting better, and sorry about the dart- flower accident. I need
to talk to you about that right away - there's something you need to know. But all
that can wait until you're well. You could have died, you know. . . I was really
scared. I can't wait for you to be up - come see me as soon as you can. I miss
you!
-Seamus.
No "I love you"? Alice had to admit she was a little disappointed, even though she knew it was too early to be saying things like that. She wanted to see him. 'NOW!' a voice screamed inside of her (but maybe that was just her tummy telling her to get something to eat). Of course, she couldn't very well go pulling the IV out of her arm and running around the school in a little paper hospital gown. . . Just that moment, Madame Pomfrey walked in, carrying a tray of bottles in various shapes, sizes, and colors.
"Oh, you're up! Wonderful!" she said cheerily, sitting down on a stool beside the bed.
"Uh. . . Madame Pomfrey? When do you think I can. . . er. . . leave?" Alice asked timidly, and then added, realizing that she sounded a little rude, "Not that I don't LIKE it here or anything. . ."
"Well of COURSE you don't like it here - it's the hospital wing! And you can leave as soon as you take this," she said, mixing different amounts from each of the bottles in a small plastic cup. Eventually it started bubbling and turned a bright, syrupy shade of reddish-orange. "Here you go, hon - drink up!" she said, handing it to Alice.
She eyed it suspiciously. A little fizzy, smelled something like cherry soda but with some sort of bitter overtone. Couldn't be THAT bad. Downing the contents in a quick sip, she reassessed her opinion. It tasted like acetone and gave her a sort of numb burning sensation in her mouth and down her throat. Observing the obvious distress on Alice's face, Madame Pomfrey handed her a glass of water, which she downed in one big gulp. "Thanks!" she said, not quite sure whether she should be thankful or not.
"Well, you're free to go now. All the venom's been neutralized so you should be fine, I'll just go get your clothes," said Madame Pomfrey. "Your friends brought you up a clean pair."
"Uh. . . Madame Pomfrey? What day is it?" Alice asked sheepishly.
Giggling slightly patronizingly, she replied, "Oh, it's Saturday! You've been unconscious for five days, since Monday. Lots of your little friends came by to visit, as you can see." She waved over to the pile of gifts.
Alice smiled and Madame Pomfrey went to get her clothes, returning with a neat pile which she placed on the stool. She gave Alice one last sweet smile, then left the room, closing the heavy wooden doors behind her. Alice walked over to the huge cathedral window on the left side of the room, admiring the view from the tower. Although she normally felt most at home when it was raining, she had to admit that it was a beautiful day. The sun hovered above the horizon, pouring light across the green valleys and hills, highlighting the tallest trees of the forest. She returned to the stool and put on her clothes thankfully, wondering how long it had been since she had last bathed, slightly paranoid about what they might have done to her while she was unconscious. Pulling on the jeans and t-shirt, she stretched out her arms and hopped around a bit, loosening up her stiff, unused joints. When she felt like herself again, she gathered up her things and went down to her dorm, confronted about six times concerning her "epic battle" with the poison-dart flower. She was even asked once if she thought 'he-who-must-not-be-named' was behind it. Ah, gossip thrived at Hogwarts. . .
After freshening up a bit, her next priority was finding Seamus. As she was leaving the Slytherin common room, she ran into Claire and Hypothia and they exchanged hugs and got Alice caught up on the latest events of the past few days. Since Alice had missed the potions final, Claire had "convinced" Snape to give her a few more days to study for it.
Alice then asked if either of them had seem Seamus recently. "I really need to talk to him."
"Oh, yeah. . . SURE. You need to 'talk' to him. I get it," said Hypothia, elbowing Alice playfully and winking rather exaggeratedly.
"No. . . I really need to talk to him," responded Alice, somewhat annoyed.
"Yeah, uh huh. You go 'talk' to him then," (wink, nudge) said Hypothia.
Claire rolled her eyes and giggled. "He was here about an hour ago asking about you. Said he'd be in his common room and asked me to tell you to go tell the portrait you wanted to see him, in case you woke up."
"Thanks," said Alice, making a conscious effort not to start running. She finally made it to the Gryffindor portrait and told the woman that Seamus had asked Alice to come meet him. The portrait turned around and called his name, and the door opened moments later. Seamus appeared, as wonderful as ever, wearing a pair of well-worn jeans with a hole in the right knee and the cuffs torn up, a studded belt, black chuck taylors and a red-and-blue striped t-shirt that he'd probably had since he was ten. It was far too small on him but Alice didn't mind (quite the opposite, in fact). The scratch on his cheek had healed and was now only a thin, pale scar. His hair was in a state of beautiful disarray. It looked as if he'd simply put gel in it then rubbed it around a little. The most startling aspect was that it was now a shade of bright cobalt blue. And she was even more attracted to him than ever, probably because she'd been deprived of him for so long. When he saw her, he smiled bigger than she'd ever seen him smile before and gave her a huge hug. She hugged him back, smiling almost as big.
"I'm so glad to see you," he whispered into her ear.
"Me too," she replied. "But what happened to your hair?"
"Oh. . . yeah, this was a little spell gone wrong. Does it look okay?" he asked, concerned, suddenly looking very self-conscious, something Alice had never seen him as before.
"It's fine!" she giggled. "I like it a lot, actually."
"Well that's good. . . because I can't figure out how to turn it back," he confessed. "Hey, let's go somewhere. I need to talk to you," he said, stepping back, holding her hands in his, and looking into her eyes.
"Sure," she said. Gods, he was wonderful. . .
. . .
They walked out into the field where they had first met and sat down on the grass, looking up at the sky for a while. He pulled her toward him, into his warm embrace. She rested her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat, until he leaned down and kissed her lips - a favor which she gladly returned. After some time, Seamus broke the kiss, looked at her for a long time and said softly, "You're really beautiful, you know that?"
Alice broke her gaze and looked down at the grass, sighing almost disappointedly. Looking back up at him, she said, "Don't say things just because you know they're what I want to hear."
He smiled at her proudly and hugged her. "This is why I love you, Alice. You're not like most girls," he said into her ear. "You're. . . you're wonderful."
Alice could have just melted in his arms. Instead, she replied, "I think I love you, Seamus. . .", as if she'd finally been defeated.
"Oh come on. It can't be THAT bad." He turned to look at her and brushed a strand of hair out of her eye, kissing her on the cheek.
"Shut up!" she said playfully, pushing him away while at the same time kissing the tip of his nose.
"No, YOU shut up!" he said, knocking her softly onto her back. He leaned over her and they kissed for quite a while, until Alice suddenly sat up, wiped off her mouth, and announced, "Okay, this is getting corny."
"Couldn't agree more," said Seamus, straightening his shirt out. "Shall we move on to something that actually advances the plot?"
"Good idea!" agreed Alice, fastening her bra (No! just kidding. . .) "Now, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?"
"Oh, right. Listen, on the same day and at the same time that you had herbology on Monday, I was in the greenhouse next door with Draco, working on that project I told you about. Well things were going just fine until all of a sudden he started asking about you. I said we were just friends, but he kept insisting that he knew we were more than that and that we'd better end it or he'd tell your dad. So I said that he didn't have the right to choose your friends for you and he got all pissed off - put on his cloak and ran out the door like a five-year-old. Next thing I knew, there were screams coming from next door and I went over to see what was going on. You were lying on the floor with that dart in your arm and I helped carry you up to the hospital."
"So. . ." Alice said, piecing together the puzzle, "you think Draco had something to do with. . . this?" she asked, nodding her head at the bandage on her arm. Then she said to herself, "That WOULD explain the person I saw running away. . ."
"Maybe," he said quietly. For the first time ever, she thought she heard fear in his voice, and she was scared too.
