8.
When Vivian came to she was lying in a pleasant room with large windows and a small fireplace where a friendly fire was burning. She realised that she must be in the medical wing. Gingerly she sat up, and realised that her head was bandaged.
Madam Pomfrey bustled over to her with a smile.
"Awake at last are you?" she said kindly. "You had us all worried!"
"What happened?" asked Vivian dazedly.
"You fainted yesterday evening." Replied Madam Pomfrey, "You didn't forget to take your potion did you?"
"No," Vivian said, "I'd already taken in when I fainted."
Madam Pomfrey looked faintly concerned.
"Well anyway," she said "you'd better get some rest; you certainly chose a bad time to be ill, you'll miss the Quidditch match."
Vivian sighed. She had never seen Quidditch before, and had been looking forward to the match between Griffindor and Slytherin.
"There'll be plenty more." Said Madam Pomfrey consolingly, "Now drink this, it'll make you sleep."
Vivian drank obediently, and lay back on the soft pillows. In a few seconds she was asleep.
*
"I must say I am very concerned." Said Snape. He was pacing the floor in Dumbledore's study. Dumbledore himself was sitting at his desk; Fawkes perched on the back of his chair.
"The mark, you say, was the sign of a curse?" Dumbledore asked.
"Yes. " Snape replied shortly.
"You've seen it before then?"
"Yes." Snape said with an effort, "I saw it before when I was -" - for a second he hesitated - " a death eater. But those who bore this mark were always dead."
Dumbledore said nothing. Only the intensity of his gaze betrayed that he was interested and indeed alarmed.
"What was the nature of this curse?" he asked Snape softly.
*
Vivian slept for hours. When she awoke again she was lying, not in the hospital wing, but in her dormitory.
She looked around her dazedly, trying to work out what had happened. She heard someone say, "She's awake!" and looking up she saw Harriet bending over her.
"I thought I was in the hospital wing." Vivian said confusedly.
" You were," replied Harriet, "but they had to move you - " she broke off as Diana approached.
"Madam Pomfrey said you're not supposed to talk to her!" Diana scolded, "She needs to rest. You go and get Madam Pomfrey."
"Fine!" said Harriet, looking slightly disgruntled, and she hurried off.
"How do you feel?" Diana asked, "Do you need another pillow?"
"I'm alright," Vivian said, remembering that Diana had once said she wanted to work at St Mungo's as a mediwizard; no doubt this was an excellent opportunity for her to practise her bedside manner.
"So why was I moved?" Vivian asked.
"I'm not supposed to talk to you." Said Diana reluctantly; Vivian could tell she was struggling between the urge to be the first to tell Vivian the news (which must be pretty interesting, judging from Diana's look of suppressed excitement) and Madam Pomfrey's instructions. Finally she said:
"Well I'll tell you what happened. But don't blame me if you have a relapse!"
"Get on with it!" Vivian replied.
"Well," Diana said importantly, "after the Quidditch match (which Griffindor won, thank god)-"
"-Hang on!" Vivian interrupted, "The Quidditch match is tomorrow!"
"Yesterday." Diana corrected. "That's what comes of being unconscious. You miss stuff. Anyway don't interrupt or I won't finish. The night after the match, they found that first year Colin Creevy Petrified!"
"What!" Vivian exclaimed, sitting up in bed. Diana gave her a stern look.
"Lie down or I won't finish!" she said with mock severity.
"Get on with it!" Vivian said again. "Do they know who did it?"
"No idea." Diana replied, "Everyone's talking about the heir of Slytherin. But it's only a matter of time before Dumbledore catches the weirdo who did it and expels them."
Vivian lay silently for a few minutes thinking. She had only known Colin by sight, but she was still rather shocked to hear that he was Petrified. Then something else occurred to her. If there had been another attack whilst she was unconscious, she couldn't possibly have done it. Therefore Snape couldn't suspect her any more. "Hope he feels really stupid." She thought to herself with a twisted smile.
"So why was I moved?" she asked at last.
"Well you were having convulsions." Diana said "moaning and twitching like mad, it really freaked me out having you in here, but Madam Pomfrey said you would disturb the other sick people (you disturbed us as well, but no one seems to care about that!) And anyway she said you're not to get up until further notice, so you might as well be somewhere comfortable."
"I don't believe it!" Vivian said, "I have to stay in bed?! That's ridiculous, I don't even feel ill!"
"Shh!" said Diana, as footsteps sounded on the staircase outside the dormitory, "Act like I haven't been talking to you!"
Vivian lay limply back on the pillow as Madam Pomfrey followed, with Harriet behind her.
Madam Pomfrey examined her and took her temperature. She also gave Vivian a goblet of the Bene Liquidas potion to drink, extra concentrated to make up for the doses Vivian had missed, which Vivian drank with a grimace and a couple of words Madam Pomfrey pretended not to hear. Despite Vivian's protests that she felt completely normal, her plea to be allowed to get up was flatly refused. It was not until Madam Pomfrey had left, leaving a hot water bottle, a small goblet of sleeping potion and a bowl of chicken soup that Vivian thought to ask:
"Where's Lorna?"
Diana and Harriet looked at each other.
"We're not sure."
When Vivian came to she was lying in a pleasant room with large windows and a small fireplace where a friendly fire was burning. She realised that she must be in the medical wing. Gingerly she sat up, and realised that her head was bandaged.
Madam Pomfrey bustled over to her with a smile.
"Awake at last are you?" she said kindly. "You had us all worried!"
"What happened?" asked Vivian dazedly.
"You fainted yesterday evening." Replied Madam Pomfrey, "You didn't forget to take your potion did you?"
"No," Vivian said, "I'd already taken in when I fainted."
Madam Pomfrey looked faintly concerned.
"Well anyway," she said "you'd better get some rest; you certainly chose a bad time to be ill, you'll miss the Quidditch match."
Vivian sighed. She had never seen Quidditch before, and had been looking forward to the match between Griffindor and Slytherin.
"There'll be plenty more." Said Madam Pomfrey consolingly, "Now drink this, it'll make you sleep."
Vivian drank obediently, and lay back on the soft pillows. In a few seconds she was asleep.
*
"I must say I am very concerned." Said Snape. He was pacing the floor in Dumbledore's study. Dumbledore himself was sitting at his desk; Fawkes perched on the back of his chair.
"The mark, you say, was the sign of a curse?" Dumbledore asked.
"Yes. " Snape replied shortly.
"You've seen it before then?"
"Yes." Snape said with an effort, "I saw it before when I was -" - for a second he hesitated - " a death eater. But those who bore this mark were always dead."
Dumbledore said nothing. Only the intensity of his gaze betrayed that he was interested and indeed alarmed.
"What was the nature of this curse?" he asked Snape softly.
*
Vivian slept for hours. When she awoke again she was lying, not in the hospital wing, but in her dormitory.
She looked around her dazedly, trying to work out what had happened. She heard someone say, "She's awake!" and looking up she saw Harriet bending over her.
"I thought I was in the hospital wing." Vivian said confusedly.
" You were," replied Harriet, "but they had to move you - " she broke off as Diana approached.
"Madam Pomfrey said you're not supposed to talk to her!" Diana scolded, "She needs to rest. You go and get Madam Pomfrey."
"Fine!" said Harriet, looking slightly disgruntled, and she hurried off.
"How do you feel?" Diana asked, "Do you need another pillow?"
"I'm alright," Vivian said, remembering that Diana had once said she wanted to work at St Mungo's as a mediwizard; no doubt this was an excellent opportunity for her to practise her bedside manner.
"So why was I moved?" Vivian asked.
"I'm not supposed to talk to you." Said Diana reluctantly; Vivian could tell she was struggling between the urge to be the first to tell Vivian the news (which must be pretty interesting, judging from Diana's look of suppressed excitement) and Madam Pomfrey's instructions. Finally she said:
"Well I'll tell you what happened. But don't blame me if you have a relapse!"
"Get on with it!" Vivian replied.
"Well," Diana said importantly, "after the Quidditch match (which Griffindor won, thank god)-"
"-Hang on!" Vivian interrupted, "The Quidditch match is tomorrow!"
"Yesterday." Diana corrected. "That's what comes of being unconscious. You miss stuff. Anyway don't interrupt or I won't finish. The night after the match, they found that first year Colin Creevy Petrified!"
"What!" Vivian exclaimed, sitting up in bed. Diana gave her a stern look.
"Lie down or I won't finish!" she said with mock severity.
"Get on with it!" Vivian said again. "Do they know who did it?"
"No idea." Diana replied, "Everyone's talking about the heir of Slytherin. But it's only a matter of time before Dumbledore catches the weirdo who did it and expels them."
Vivian lay silently for a few minutes thinking. She had only known Colin by sight, but she was still rather shocked to hear that he was Petrified. Then something else occurred to her. If there had been another attack whilst she was unconscious, she couldn't possibly have done it. Therefore Snape couldn't suspect her any more. "Hope he feels really stupid." She thought to herself with a twisted smile.
"So why was I moved?" she asked at last.
"Well you were having convulsions." Diana said "moaning and twitching like mad, it really freaked me out having you in here, but Madam Pomfrey said you would disturb the other sick people (you disturbed us as well, but no one seems to care about that!) And anyway she said you're not to get up until further notice, so you might as well be somewhere comfortable."
"I don't believe it!" Vivian said, "I have to stay in bed?! That's ridiculous, I don't even feel ill!"
"Shh!" said Diana, as footsteps sounded on the staircase outside the dormitory, "Act like I haven't been talking to you!"
Vivian lay limply back on the pillow as Madam Pomfrey followed, with Harriet behind her.
Madam Pomfrey examined her and took her temperature. She also gave Vivian a goblet of the Bene Liquidas potion to drink, extra concentrated to make up for the doses Vivian had missed, which Vivian drank with a grimace and a couple of words Madam Pomfrey pretended not to hear. Despite Vivian's protests that she felt completely normal, her plea to be allowed to get up was flatly refused. It was not until Madam Pomfrey had left, leaving a hot water bottle, a small goblet of sleeping potion and a bowl of chicken soup that Vivian thought to ask:
"Where's Lorna?"
Diana and Harriet looked at each other.
"We're not sure."