Woah, I've always wanted to host this thing but I never got to 'cos Heather always did it. Now I am I don't know what to say!
WE DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER (I hate disclaimers)
I WROTE THIS ONE! WOO HOO!
The Death Eaters Daughter- Chapter 8
Zev leaned back a little further in Guiseppe's worn, yet comfortable, chair. It was not the first time he had snuck into the boarding houses Loungeroom and sat in this chair, though Guiseppe had threatened him many a time with loss of privaledge to the muggle T.V, Zev found it hard not to sit in the chair and relax when he had the chance. Zev sighed almost blissfully it would seem as he picked up the strange thin little recangle box that Anna Maria had explained to the boarders worked the T.V. Zev still couldn't believe there was no magic in the box as he pressed the little red button on the top, Just as Anna Maria had shown him, and the screen burst to life with a small pop. Zev put his feet up on the worn ottoman that was placed in front of Guiseppe's chair and smiled. He had it all, A T.V, a comfy chair (Well, Guiseppes comfy chair, but a comfy chair nonetheless) and his solitude. No annoying Angelica and her psycho experiments, though at times they were good for a laugh. No Heather and her tarot cards and crystal balls trying to pair him up with anything that breathes. No Mr Blau trying to bribe him into telling weird men he's moved to Canada. Just Zev...and the T.V...Good time to bond...With himself. All alone...Forever and ever...just Zev and.....Zev.
Zev sighed as he absently watched the glare of the T.V on a nearby italian jar.
'It's not so great to be alone, especially since there's no Ethy about. Sure, there's Ginger but she's...Like a boy and she's not, well, she's not Ethy' Zev thought to himself as he repositioned his backside on the couch and watched as Svetlana dumped Petro for Jonas, but really it wansn't Jonas, it was his evil twin brother Ehab who was bent on taking over the world. He missed Ethy and he couldn't deny it. There was no-one there to tell his little twin brother and sister Andre and Claire that he didn't put sand in his pockets and had floated to the moon to get him out of playing dress up's with them. There was no-one there to get rid of Rotten Rose, who had come over no less than half a dozen times in the past few days to flirt with him. There was no-one there to sneak down to the kitchen and steal Angelica's beloved chocolate chip cookies that she kept under lock-and-key in the middle of the night, and then there was no-one around to snicker when Angelica screamed bloody murder in the morning when she found that they were gone. Sure, there was Ginger but she wasn't as fun as Ethy, she wasn't as Daring as Ethy
'She's not as pretty as Ethy' Zev found himself thinking and promtly snapped himself out of it. What was he thinking? The thought had come and gone quicker than a new Phoenix Spirit 6000 on the breeze. Zev's thoughts were cut short by a small tapping on the window, he looked over and spotted a rather fat barn owl tapping impatiently on the windowpane, a leather pouch attatched to it's left leg. A letter? The boarding house rarely ever got letters. He got out of Guiseppe's chair curiously and opened the window, the Barn Owl circled the room once before landing perfectly on the square of his shoulder. It shook it's leg irritably in Zev's face.
"Well geez, your a patient little thing, aren't you..." Zev grumbled as he fiddled with the leather bag until it snapped open and fell to the floor. The owl looked at the the broken leather bag and then at Zev with almost angry eyes.
"What are you looking at? Must have been an expensive thing if it broke, eh?" Zev mocked the bird and then looked down at what he had in his hand, a black box like thing. He turned it over in his hands curiously until he reached a small, engraved patch on one of the sides that simply said 'Tap me'. Zev raised an eyebrow at the owl on his shoulder before tapping the box awkwardly, rather embarrased at his motions. Immediately voices sprung to life.
"Uhmmm..Hello?" A voice that Zev immediately recognised as Heather's came from inside the box.
"Hello?...Angelica, your the invention expert, is this thing working?" Another voice, a male voice came from in the depths of the tiny box.
"It's on..."Angelica's unmistakable shrill tone said dully.
"It's on?" Heather's again.
"It's on..I thought you were the psychic"
"Oh, yes I knew that...Anyway, Guiseppe, Dave...Whoever this is, it's Heather Plume here. They call this silly box latest technology, I think apart from Angelica everyone will stick with Parchment and Ink. Anyway, we sent you this because we thought you'd like to know that Hermione woke up a little while ago"
There was a brief pause and a little whispering before she spoke up again.
"Ginger, Zev, Ethy's coping ok so don't worry about her...I knew that would be the first question you would ask us"
"Yeah, she's soooooo good! She's a psychic! All Hail the great Heather!"
"Angelica, shut up...Anyway, we really have to be going, we hope everythings well there"
"Oh yeah...Someone feed Teesha, the poor cat's probably starving"Angelica cried, Zev smiled, he had already thought of that and had been feeding Angelica's blue cat. Next he was thinking of going up to the roof and checking out Angelica's lightning rod
"And Don't even think about touching my stuff...I have my ways of making you pay!" Angelica laughed gleefully from inside the box, Zev was truly shocked. He thought Heather was the psychic.
"Well, anyway, must be going...Goodbye from Heather Plume, Angelica LeVinne and...err...Blau" With that there was a small squeaking sound and the box ceased to make noise. Zev smiled. Hermione was awake, he bet Ethy was extatic about that. He was glad too.
"Well Owl, thanks for bringing me the great news" He smiled at the owl who cocked it's head to the side intelligently. And it sat there, staring. After a few seconds Zev looked up at the bird again.
"What do you want, you overgrown sparrow" He laughed. The Owl looked down at it's pouch on the floor
"Oooh, so you want the..." Zev was cut off by a shuffling in the room.
"Boy, What shou do sit in my chair?" Zev immediately recognised Guiseppe's slurred english though he was bending over for the pouch.
"It's Zev, Guiseppe, and I didn't touch your chair" Zev was an expert liar and knew exactly how to fool an old italian retiree.
"Boy! Shou sit in my chair!No fool is Guiseppe Pellegrino!"Guiseppe growled as he plonked down on his chair, wiggling himself around a little.
"Shou sit in chair" He repeated. Zev was starting to think that Guiseppe was starting to loose his memory as well as his teeth.
"It's Zev...and anyway, for once can you forget the chair. I got this little box thing saying that Hermione's woken up. Thought you might wanna hear it" Zev said, slightly annoyed that after 9 years Guiseppe still couldn't remember his name. Guiseppe eyed the black box that Zev still held in his hand, and then looked up briefly at the Owl.
"Shou give me Box, Boy" Guiseppe asked. Well, it wasn't really a question, more like a demand. Zev sighed overdramatically and handed the box into Guiseppe's wrinkly hands. Zev watched, slightly bemused, as Guiseppe fumbled with the Box clumsily with his stubby Leather-brown fingers. Finally Guiseppe threw the box down in a frustrated manner, which landed on Guiseppe's saggy couch.
"'Zis Impossible! Stupidos Nero Boxo!" Guiseppe finally resorted to his native language as he usually did when he was stressed out or incredibly angry. Zev found this the perfect moment to gloat and picked up the box simply, with a flick of his finger the voices in the box sprang to life. Guiseppe's wrinkled eyelids lowered and Between Angelica and Heather's voices he uttered.
"Shou get no-where being ze Oshky...How you say...Smart Alec, Boy", Zev just smiled ever so slightly. Guiseppe listened intently to the box, his temples throbbed as he tried to comprehend the English language used. As the box plunged into silence once more her looked at Zev then his chair, smiling slightly.
"Shou, Boy, Have job. Shou Sit in Guiseppe's chair so Shou go to everyone and to tell them about Hermione. Everyone, Boy" Zev's eye's widened. All he wanted to do was relax and this is what he gets.
"No way Guiseppe, that's just not fair" Zev cried angrily. Guiseppe looked over at the still blaring T.V, a smile formed on his wrinkly lips.
"Zat or no T.V 6 months"
Zev promtly shooed the owl out of the window and left the room in a hurry, Box in hand, without uttering another word.
Ethy looked around the room weirily. Her mother was sleeping, nothing unusual as she had been doing it the last 48 hours. Her Uncle Ron was talking to the lady all in black...what was her name again? Oh yes, Sabrina? Or was it Marina. Ethy couldn't remember. Ron was speaking in his low monotone barely above a whisper, Marina's higher voice was much easier to understand as it was a few tones higher and Ethy picked up whispers of words from her voice. The most frequently said was 'Jewel' and 'Hermione'. Bob, on the other hand, was silent. He was staring at one thing, then another, his dark eyes sliding over the room as if he was studying it for future reference. And herself? She had parked her butt on a cold, Green plastic chair by her mothers side and was busy plaiting one of the thin ringlets of her mothers hair. Heather, Angelica and Mr Blau had not yet returned. Ethy guessed they must have stopped for a coffee and cake, or In Angelica's case, A hot Milo and a pack of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. No-one had spoken much since Kevin Steel had left. Ethy had a strange feeling about that man, and what had he meant when he said
'You never mess with a reporter from the Daily Prophet'. Ethy just didn't like the tone in the mans voice as he said that.
"Ethy?" Ethy was stirred from her thoughts by her Uncles voice.
"Yeah" Was Ethy's reply as she yawned loudly. She hadn't slept for longer than she could remember and was suffering extreme exaustion.
"Ethy are you sure you don't know where the Jewel is? It's very important I find it.....it's a family heirloom" Ron said slowly and carefully, as if he was picking the right word before he actually saying it. Marina's eyes were also intently stuck on Ethy. She shrugged her shoulders.
"I haven't seen the jewel in ages...since before the train crash. I already told you I think she might have lost it on the train." Ethy replied, slightly sick of all this talk about the jewel. Ethy's eyes wandered over to Bob, although he looked as if he was studying outside the window of the high-rise building Ethy could immediately tell he was listening in to every word that escaped her mouth, and Ron's. Ethy had done it many a time when she was listening to her mother talking to herself in the other room. Marina stood up rather suddenly and as Ron looked at her she muttered 'Bathroom Break' before slinking out of the room with the silence of a cat. Ethy decided to rest her head for a little while as it was starting to feel as heavy as lead. Even though the hospital bed was hard as the plastic chair she was sitting on it felt nice against her cheek. Maybe she'd rest her eyes for just a bit...
"My name is Angela, hey, hello! You are welcome to my very own show! I'll introduce my friends to youuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!" Angelica's piercingly high pitched voice filled the room with the slightly familiar melody of a cartoon show. Bob shuddered and looked over at the door. Angelica entered in an old grey wheelchair, still shreaking, Heather and Mr Blau not far behind. They looked peaceful, Bob guessed they had a deafening spell of them. The lucky buggers. How he hated that Angelica girl, he hated her so much.
"Aah, I couldn't possibly forget Angelica, could I?" Ron smiled as he stood up to greet the trio. Angelica raised an eyebrow at the man and started rocking the wheelchair back and fowarth.
"If your from the peanut butter factory the mixer was broken before I even started messing around with it" Angelica trailed off, suddenly interested in trying to do a wheelie in the wheelchair, Ron smiled slightly.
"No, no, I'm Ron, Ron Green...Hermione's Brother. Remember me?"Ron laughed. Angelica squinted as if deep in thought before smiling.
"Oh yeah, I remember you! Your the one who helped me with my lightning rod calculations that time..some time ago" Ron nodded and turned to the auborn haired woman standing in the doorway.
"Ah yes, Heather Plume, is it? The psychic Chick" Ron smiled yet again as Heather nodded briskly, exchanging a small polite smile with the red-headed man before moving along to tend to Ethy, who was now fast asleep right by her mother. Mr Blau filled the doorway now. Yes, Ron remembered him well and immediately his cheeky smile turned to a grim line in his face. Ron shook Mr Blau's hand which was the kind of handshake that barely moved at all and pulled his hand away from the Asian man as if he was burned.
"Yes, Still Mr Blau, I presume" Ron said flatly with just as much bounce in his voice as a steel bar.
"Yes, and I guess your still Hermione's Overprotective brother" Mr Blau shot back cooly. Ron didn't bother to reply and sat back down in his chair. Mr Blau smiled as if he had won the victory and took a seat Beside Heather.
"Now everyone, please be quiet. Ethy's finally fallen asleep and you would'nt be able to guess how long it's been since she's had a good long sleep. Don't want her getting sick now, would we?" Heather whispered softly, looking over tenderly at Ethy and officially taking over her position as surrogate mother for the girl.
Heather looked over suspiciously at Bob, who was once again staring at the cold floor. She was curious about the man now, ever since that time outside the hospital room when she'd sworn she'd heared him say he was Harry Potter she no longer thought of him as just another bystander to Hermione. He was someone significant, someone important. With Heather's skill she could sense it in the air, taste it, feel the electricity and tension swirling in the room. She wanted to know who this man was...Was he Harry Potter? She couldn't tell, her ability's were failing her and she damned them like anything. But if you knew Heather as well as some you would know that she was a determined lady and this situation held no exception. She was determined to find this man's identity, his real identity and she knew something for sure...This man was not Bob Builder.
"Ok, this is freaky, too silent...I'm outta here...I think I might have a Wheelchair rally with the Crazy old Lady in room 675" With that Angelica 360'ed the Wheelchair and sped out of the room, closing the door with a slam behind her. Heather Sighed. Angelica had never been silent in her whole life, how could Heather have expected her to be silent now? It was one of the world's most impossible phrases. Angelica and silent in the same sentence.
All was quiet for a few minutes, all that was heared was Ethy's deep, relaxed breathing from her position next to her mother with Heather's dusky pink cloak draped over her petite figure. Heather was looking curiously at Bob, trying with every fibre of her senses to identify the man, to no avail. Bob was aware of her piercing stare but was trying to avoid it with all his might. Ron was scanning the room with his Dark brown eyes, looking for any clue as to the whereabouts of the jewel. He knew Hermione was in danger and being her overprotective friend, He watched over her like a big brother (Hence his alias), he was determined to keep her out of danger. Mr Blau had a firm frown affixed on his face, his arms were crossed over his chest and he didn't utter a single word.
"Heather?" Ron's voice cut through the silence of the room like a knife, Heather snapped out of her trance-like state and looked over at Ron with her heavily eyelined eyes.
"Yes?" Ron faultered as Heather put her full attention and set her gaze apon him. He seemed to be picking his sentence carefully, like he had with Ethy, as if to make sure he didn't mention anything he didn't want them to know.
"Heather, I suppose you haven't seen the jewel Hermione wears around her neck, have you?" He said slowly and carefully in his british accent, similar to those of Bob and Hermione, faultering only slightly on the word jewel. Heather thought about this briefly, for only a second, before shaking her head full of dark hair.
"Sorry Ron, haven't seen it in ages, since before the accident" Heather paused, turning her thoughts over in her mind for a second before spotting the look on Bob's face. Heather could immediately tell the look on Bob's face. It looked like he wasn't interested in the conversation, but underneath his bored exterior Heather could sense his inquisitive, almost jittery interior. She could sense he was listening to every word.
"Why?" She asked, turning to face the red-headed man once more. He stayed silent for a few seconds before replying
"It's a femily heirloom, after Hermione was in the accident I thought I'd better take it into my care...If you see it, can you give it to me please" Heather nodded. Bob was looking now. She wanted desperately to know the thoughts that were running through his head. She damned her divination abilities as she was unable to figure it out. She looked over at Mr Blau, who was still scowling. She sighed. Heather had never understood why Ron and Mr Blau had never liked eachother at all, but she wasn't game enough to ask. Her eyes wandered across the room. She looked around at the dull green walls, then at the bedside table which was adorned with hand-drawn pictures that Claire and Andre Germaine had done for Hermione. Then her eye caught something she hadn't seen before. Between a get well card and a picture of Hermione eating cookies (She had a feeling it wasn't Claire or Andre who had done this one) there was a mangled box made of Blue velveteen but was covered in dust. It was sitting in an odd position and Heather was immediately curious. Spending time with her cousin was definently starting to pay off.
Bob saw Heathers eyes wander to the box and tensed immediately. His tanned fingers curled on the chair arm and his legs wandered underneath the chair. He was ready to pounce if necessary. Heather picked up the Box. Bob sat ready. She turned it over curiously in her hands. Bob noticed Ron's eyes had attracted the blue box in Heathers hands also and was staring at it curiously. Why oh why hadn't Bob put it in his pocket? He could have hit himself now that he could see his awful mistake. Ron got up and sat on the other side of Heather, peering at the box as she forced the lid open. Bob crouched readily.
"It's the jewel!" Ron cried quietly as the jewels sinister light reflected on his face. Bob then took his chance to pounce. Heather gasped with fright as the Velveteen box left her fingers. Bob stood there from only a brief second, uttered 'You wouldn't understand' in a quick, breathy voice that was hardly distinguishable before he bolted out of the room. Heather, Ron and Mr Blau stood up promptly and ran to the door.
"You go that way" Ron cried and pointed down the corridor to the right at Mr Blau, who wasn't in the mood to argue at this point of time with the man.
"Heather, go down the stairs, I'll take the Other way" Heather merely nodded and dashed down the steps. Mr Blau was long gone. Ron took his path, pushing away a few nurses that muttered after him not to run In a hospital. What was with that Bob guy? Why Did he take the Jewel? Why did he say we wouldn't understand?. A million questions hurtled through his head, the same way his body was hurtling along the halls. He saw Marina briefly, looking at him with a raised eyebrow as he hurtled past. He simply uttered
"Find Bob, get Bob" before hr turned the corner. Then he spotted the dark head turning the corner. He had to catch up.
Mr Blau hadn't seen the Bob dude yet but he continued to run. He scanned the hallways with his Dark eyes, searching for the familiar clump of Black hair among all the ladies in White coats. He didn't see Bob but he did see someone else. Powerwalking along the corridor the opposite way as him was a lady dressed all in Black. Her short shiny bob of black hair was flowing out beind her and her heavily eyelined eyes were scanning her surroundings tentatively. As she spotted Mr Blau, who had slowed to a jog, her eyes widened in surprise as she came to a complete halt a few inches from him. Her eyes studied him for a few seconds before she opened her mouth and was about to cry out. Mr Blau grabbed her right before she yelled out loud and pushed her into a nearby supplies closet. Marina pulled his hand off her mouth in indignation.
"What was that for!?" She cried softly at the asian man.
"Well gee, could it possibly be because I've been hiding my identity for over 14 years and your about to just go and scream it out" Mr Blau cried half in sarcasm, half in sarcastic anger.
"Well what do you expect me to do when I suddenly see my Brother standing right in front of me in a public witches hospital 10 years after the last time I've seen him" Marina shot back with the same sarcastic tone. Mr Blau sighed.
"Well..I guess it is kind of a shock..." Mr Blau's voice trailed off.
"Shock!? I could have died out there when I saw you." She cried silently, shaking her head half to herself.
"Hmm...Hang on, what are you doing in Australia, I thought you would still be in Asia in the camp" As Mr Blau said this Marina put her hands on her hips and sighed.
"I'm not that stupid you know...I passed Auror school, I'm a full Auror now." She said proudly, Mr Blau nodded in approval.
"Run's in the family, I guess" Mr Blau trailed off yet again. Marina nodded.
Bob ran with all his might down the halls of the hospital, clasping the velveteen box tightly in his hand as not to drop it. He knew Ron was only a heartbeat behind him and knew he couldn't stop for anything. His shoes pounded against the vinyl ground heavily as his breath escaped in ragged drawls. He turned one corner, then another, trying desperately for Ron to loose his trail, but on the wall has he turned sideways he could still see Ron's persisting shadow slowly gaining on his own. Oh god, why did Ron have to think he knew it all, he didn't understand, Bob knew that. Why did he have to think he was doing something right. He wasn't, if anything he was making things worse. And just when Bob had thought nothing could possibly get any worse. He sped around a corner fast, still looking at Ron's shadow haunting him on the wall, not looking where he was going. Bob gasped as he felt his feet lift off the floor, his body stop dead, a sharp pain in his side, a high pitched girly scream, metal poking into his skin and the blue velveteen box leave his hand. Minutes later he opened his eyes painfully, the whole world was a blazing blur that hurt his eyes to look at, but as he came around properly and his eyes adjusted to the light the first thing he saw was Angelica leaning in close to his face on hands and knees...and a wheelchair sitting not far from her, tipped on it's side. Anger boiled up inside him as he put two and two together and realised what must have happened. He sat up painfully, just as he saw Ron place the velveteen box into his pocket in a quick, no nonsense movement. Bob could have screamed on the spot.
"What were you doing!!!" He screamed at Angelica, rubbing his head weirely, her eyebrows raised almost angrily.
"WHAT! what was I doing?! Your the one running in a hospital. Geez, you could of killed yourself, and worse still. I could have lost the race to the Crazy lady in room 675. Running in a public hospital, it was only a matter of time before you became roadkill" She yelled close to the mans face in her high pitched voice. Bob shook his head, the anger simmered.
"What are you doing Wheelchair Racing in the first place! You almost killed me once, now you almost kill me again! I hate you!" He screamed.
"Yeah well I hate you too and nothings ever gonna change that!" With that Angelica stood up in jerky movements, brushed herself off and stomped away. Bob growled in a low menacing kind of way, the kind where anyone who happened to witness the incident wouldn't dare breathe a word to anyone about it for fear Bob would pursue them with a scalpel or a garder hoe, as he realised that Ron was long gone...with the Jewel
Heather stopped dead as she heared a deafening crash coming from the mouth of the staircase she was about to climb. She stopped for a second, as silent as she could possibly be before she heared a high pitched voice that she immediately recognised as Angelica's coming from up there. How could she have possibly not thought Angelica was responsible for the accident. Moment's later Angelica appeared at the top of the stairwell, her face affixed in a deep frown. She saw Heather and brushed past sulkily, doing nothing but muttering 'I need a cookie' and heading for the cafeteria in a sulk. Heather sighed and rolled her eyes before heading upstairs to see if she could stop whoever Angelica had obviously collided with from contacting the Ministry Of Magic (Like the last time Angelica had been in a public place) But as she reached to top of the stairs she found Bob sitting there on the floor, rubbing his head and swearing more than Heather had heared ever in one sentence. A scene flashed across Heather's mind, she grimaced as she saw Bob do a complete backflip over Angelica and her wheelchair. Oh well, serves the bugger right for trying to pinch Hermione's jewel. She leaned over Bob nonetheless, the accident looked mighty painful in her vision.
"You alright?" She said simply, offering him a hand, he accepted as he stood up with her help and rubbed his head.
"Alright? Are you serious? That Angelica Woman's almost killed me two times in two days alone! I don't know how anyone could possibly put up with that brat" He muttered, spitting out anger. Heather sighed.
"You know she can't help being the way she is..." Heather trailed off, Bob raised an eyebrow, his full attention on Heather.
"I remember when I was little, only about 3 I think, when Angelica was about 6 months old, my Aunt Zaidee was a Charms Teacher. She'd been working on a charm that would reduce the swelling of Brain tumors so that Witches that developed it would be able to live normal lives again. She was testing it on a pair of Blast Ended Skrewts with the disease. Well, with Angelica's inquisitive mind she played around with the skrewts when Aunt Zaidee was rustling up her dinner, or at least that's the way I heared it. The charm was very catchy and spread to Angelica almost immediately. The charm hadn't been as Aunt Zaidee wanted it, in fact, it was the exact opposite. Angelica's brain swelled where the imaginative, Hyperactive, curious, childlike and inquisitive parts of her brain were. That meaned these parts of her brain were at least six times stronger than the rest. Hence giving her her attitude" Heather stopped for a second to breathe. Bob was still paying full attention, his eyebrows arched.
"The Nurses had never seen anything like it when Aunt Zaidee brought her into the hospital, and there was nothing they could do about it either. So Angelica had to remain with her swollen Imaginative side and shrunken rational side, she probably will for the rest of her life. By the way, they named the charm the Curious Curse, because that's what it did to Angelica, made her Extremely Imaginative, Extremely Hyperactive, Extremely Curious" Heather trailed off, looking up at Bob, who let his breath out of his lungs in a loud whoosh.
"Are you serious?" He muttered finally, Heather nodded. Bob shook his head in amazement as he looked up at Heather.
"I think I'm going to check on Hermione now" He said, looking up the brightly lit hallway.
"Thankyou for talling me the whole story" Heather nodded and Bob slunk down the hallway, almost ashamed of himself.
"Oh, and Bob...Why did you take that jewel" Heather called from him from down the hall, putting her hands on her hips and Bob was immediately reminded of Marsha, his boss. He sighed openly and turned.
"You wouldn't understand, Ron doesn't understand....Not even Hermione understands..." Bob Trailed off before turning again and leaving the woman damning her abilities once more as she tried to solve the strange puzzle Bob had answered her with. Bob's thoughts immediately turned to Angelica once more. He had screamed at the woman, abused her for something that was completely out of her hands, hardly her fault. The Curious Curse? He thought about how he would feel if he was abused by someone who didn't even know the real story about him. Though it was an everyday thing for him, people not knowing his whole story, he felt bad, despite his attitude and cold exterior he did have a heart. First Ron had taken the jewel now this. Everything was going wrong for him, things got better and better and now they were getting worse and worse. And in that hallway, among the bright glaring lights, nurses in white dresses and the sickly green walls adorned with pictures of people he'd never even seen before, his opinion of his life, his mission for the jewel....and Angelica, changed dramatically from what it had been only minutes before.
WE DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER (I hate disclaimers)
I WROTE THIS ONE! WOO HOO!
The Death Eaters Daughter- Chapter 8
Zev leaned back a little further in Guiseppe's worn, yet comfortable, chair. It was not the first time he had snuck into the boarding houses Loungeroom and sat in this chair, though Guiseppe had threatened him many a time with loss of privaledge to the muggle T.V, Zev found it hard not to sit in the chair and relax when he had the chance. Zev sighed almost blissfully it would seem as he picked up the strange thin little recangle box that Anna Maria had explained to the boarders worked the T.V. Zev still couldn't believe there was no magic in the box as he pressed the little red button on the top, Just as Anna Maria had shown him, and the screen burst to life with a small pop. Zev put his feet up on the worn ottoman that was placed in front of Guiseppe's chair and smiled. He had it all, A T.V, a comfy chair (Well, Guiseppes comfy chair, but a comfy chair nonetheless) and his solitude. No annoying Angelica and her psycho experiments, though at times they were good for a laugh. No Heather and her tarot cards and crystal balls trying to pair him up with anything that breathes. No Mr Blau trying to bribe him into telling weird men he's moved to Canada. Just Zev...and the T.V...Good time to bond...With himself. All alone...Forever and ever...just Zev and.....Zev.
Zev sighed as he absently watched the glare of the T.V on a nearby italian jar.
'It's not so great to be alone, especially since there's no Ethy about. Sure, there's Ginger but she's...Like a boy and she's not, well, she's not Ethy' Zev thought to himself as he repositioned his backside on the couch and watched as Svetlana dumped Petro for Jonas, but really it wansn't Jonas, it was his evil twin brother Ehab who was bent on taking over the world. He missed Ethy and he couldn't deny it. There was no-one there to tell his little twin brother and sister Andre and Claire that he didn't put sand in his pockets and had floated to the moon to get him out of playing dress up's with them. There was no-one there to get rid of Rotten Rose, who had come over no less than half a dozen times in the past few days to flirt with him. There was no-one there to sneak down to the kitchen and steal Angelica's beloved chocolate chip cookies that she kept under lock-and-key in the middle of the night, and then there was no-one around to snicker when Angelica screamed bloody murder in the morning when she found that they were gone. Sure, there was Ginger but she wasn't as fun as Ethy, she wasn't as Daring as Ethy
'She's not as pretty as Ethy' Zev found himself thinking and promtly snapped himself out of it. What was he thinking? The thought had come and gone quicker than a new Phoenix Spirit 6000 on the breeze. Zev's thoughts were cut short by a small tapping on the window, he looked over and spotted a rather fat barn owl tapping impatiently on the windowpane, a leather pouch attatched to it's left leg. A letter? The boarding house rarely ever got letters. He got out of Guiseppe's chair curiously and opened the window, the Barn Owl circled the room once before landing perfectly on the square of his shoulder. It shook it's leg irritably in Zev's face.
"Well geez, your a patient little thing, aren't you..." Zev grumbled as he fiddled with the leather bag until it snapped open and fell to the floor. The owl looked at the the broken leather bag and then at Zev with almost angry eyes.
"What are you looking at? Must have been an expensive thing if it broke, eh?" Zev mocked the bird and then looked down at what he had in his hand, a black box like thing. He turned it over in his hands curiously until he reached a small, engraved patch on one of the sides that simply said 'Tap me'. Zev raised an eyebrow at the owl on his shoulder before tapping the box awkwardly, rather embarrased at his motions. Immediately voices sprung to life.
"Uhmmm..Hello?" A voice that Zev immediately recognised as Heather's came from inside the box.
"Hello?...Angelica, your the invention expert, is this thing working?" Another voice, a male voice came from in the depths of the tiny box.
"It's on..."Angelica's unmistakable shrill tone said dully.
"It's on?" Heather's again.
"It's on..I thought you were the psychic"
"Oh, yes I knew that...Anyway, Guiseppe, Dave...Whoever this is, it's Heather Plume here. They call this silly box latest technology, I think apart from Angelica everyone will stick with Parchment and Ink. Anyway, we sent you this because we thought you'd like to know that Hermione woke up a little while ago"
There was a brief pause and a little whispering before she spoke up again.
"Ginger, Zev, Ethy's coping ok so don't worry about her...I knew that would be the first question you would ask us"
"Yeah, she's soooooo good! She's a psychic! All Hail the great Heather!"
"Angelica, shut up...Anyway, we really have to be going, we hope everythings well there"
"Oh yeah...Someone feed Teesha, the poor cat's probably starving"Angelica cried, Zev smiled, he had already thought of that and had been feeding Angelica's blue cat. Next he was thinking of going up to the roof and checking out Angelica's lightning rod
"And Don't even think about touching my stuff...I have my ways of making you pay!" Angelica laughed gleefully from inside the box, Zev was truly shocked. He thought Heather was the psychic.
"Well, anyway, must be going...Goodbye from Heather Plume, Angelica LeVinne and...err...Blau" With that there was a small squeaking sound and the box ceased to make noise. Zev smiled. Hermione was awake, he bet Ethy was extatic about that. He was glad too.
"Well Owl, thanks for bringing me the great news" He smiled at the owl who cocked it's head to the side intelligently. And it sat there, staring. After a few seconds Zev looked up at the bird again.
"What do you want, you overgrown sparrow" He laughed. The Owl looked down at it's pouch on the floor
"Oooh, so you want the..." Zev was cut off by a shuffling in the room.
"Boy, What shou do sit in my chair?" Zev immediately recognised Guiseppe's slurred english though he was bending over for the pouch.
"It's Zev, Guiseppe, and I didn't touch your chair" Zev was an expert liar and knew exactly how to fool an old italian retiree.
"Boy! Shou sit in my chair!No fool is Guiseppe Pellegrino!"Guiseppe growled as he plonked down on his chair, wiggling himself around a little.
"Shou sit in chair" He repeated. Zev was starting to think that Guiseppe was starting to loose his memory as well as his teeth.
"It's Zev...and anyway, for once can you forget the chair. I got this little box thing saying that Hermione's woken up. Thought you might wanna hear it" Zev said, slightly annoyed that after 9 years Guiseppe still couldn't remember his name. Guiseppe eyed the black box that Zev still held in his hand, and then looked up briefly at the Owl.
"Shou give me Box, Boy" Guiseppe asked. Well, it wasn't really a question, more like a demand. Zev sighed overdramatically and handed the box into Guiseppe's wrinkly hands. Zev watched, slightly bemused, as Guiseppe fumbled with the Box clumsily with his stubby Leather-brown fingers. Finally Guiseppe threw the box down in a frustrated manner, which landed on Guiseppe's saggy couch.
"'Zis Impossible! Stupidos Nero Boxo!" Guiseppe finally resorted to his native language as he usually did when he was stressed out or incredibly angry. Zev found this the perfect moment to gloat and picked up the box simply, with a flick of his finger the voices in the box sprang to life. Guiseppe's wrinkled eyelids lowered and Between Angelica and Heather's voices he uttered.
"Shou get no-where being ze Oshky...How you say...Smart Alec, Boy", Zev just smiled ever so slightly. Guiseppe listened intently to the box, his temples throbbed as he tried to comprehend the English language used. As the box plunged into silence once more her looked at Zev then his chair, smiling slightly.
"Shou, Boy, Have job. Shou Sit in Guiseppe's chair so Shou go to everyone and to tell them about Hermione. Everyone, Boy" Zev's eye's widened. All he wanted to do was relax and this is what he gets.
"No way Guiseppe, that's just not fair" Zev cried angrily. Guiseppe looked over at the still blaring T.V, a smile formed on his wrinkly lips.
"Zat or no T.V 6 months"
Zev promtly shooed the owl out of the window and left the room in a hurry, Box in hand, without uttering another word.
Ethy looked around the room weirily. Her mother was sleeping, nothing unusual as she had been doing it the last 48 hours. Her Uncle Ron was talking to the lady all in black...what was her name again? Oh yes, Sabrina? Or was it Marina. Ethy couldn't remember. Ron was speaking in his low monotone barely above a whisper, Marina's higher voice was much easier to understand as it was a few tones higher and Ethy picked up whispers of words from her voice. The most frequently said was 'Jewel' and 'Hermione'. Bob, on the other hand, was silent. He was staring at one thing, then another, his dark eyes sliding over the room as if he was studying it for future reference. And herself? She had parked her butt on a cold, Green plastic chair by her mothers side and was busy plaiting one of the thin ringlets of her mothers hair. Heather, Angelica and Mr Blau had not yet returned. Ethy guessed they must have stopped for a coffee and cake, or In Angelica's case, A hot Milo and a pack of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. No-one had spoken much since Kevin Steel had left. Ethy had a strange feeling about that man, and what had he meant when he said
'You never mess with a reporter from the Daily Prophet'. Ethy just didn't like the tone in the mans voice as he said that.
"Ethy?" Ethy was stirred from her thoughts by her Uncles voice.
"Yeah" Was Ethy's reply as she yawned loudly. She hadn't slept for longer than she could remember and was suffering extreme exaustion.
"Ethy are you sure you don't know where the Jewel is? It's very important I find it.....it's a family heirloom" Ron said slowly and carefully, as if he was picking the right word before he actually saying it. Marina's eyes were also intently stuck on Ethy. She shrugged her shoulders.
"I haven't seen the jewel in ages...since before the train crash. I already told you I think she might have lost it on the train." Ethy replied, slightly sick of all this talk about the jewel. Ethy's eyes wandered over to Bob, although he looked as if he was studying outside the window of the high-rise building Ethy could immediately tell he was listening in to every word that escaped her mouth, and Ron's. Ethy had done it many a time when she was listening to her mother talking to herself in the other room. Marina stood up rather suddenly and as Ron looked at her she muttered 'Bathroom Break' before slinking out of the room with the silence of a cat. Ethy decided to rest her head for a little while as it was starting to feel as heavy as lead. Even though the hospital bed was hard as the plastic chair she was sitting on it felt nice against her cheek. Maybe she'd rest her eyes for just a bit...
"My name is Angela, hey, hello! You are welcome to my very own show! I'll introduce my friends to youuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!" Angelica's piercingly high pitched voice filled the room with the slightly familiar melody of a cartoon show. Bob shuddered and looked over at the door. Angelica entered in an old grey wheelchair, still shreaking, Heather and Mr Blau not far behind. They looked peaceful, Bob guessed they had a deafening spell of them. The lucky buggers. How he hated that Angelica girl, he hated her so much.
"Aah, I couldn't possibly forget Angelica, could I?" Ron smiled as he stood up to greet the trio. Angelica raised an eyebrow at the man and started rocking the wheelchair back and fowarth.
"If your from the peanut butter factory the mixer was broken before I even started messing around with it" Angelica trailed off, suddenly interested in trying to do a wheelie in the wheelchair, Ron smiled slightly.
"No, no, I'm Ron, Ron Green...Hermione's Brother. Remember me?"Ron laughed. Angelica squinted as if deep in thought before smiling.
"Oh yeah, I remember you! Your the one who helped me with my lightning rod calculations that time..some time ago" Ron nodded and turned to the auborn haired woman standing in the doorway.
"Ah yes, Heather Plume, is it? The psychic Chick" Ron smiled yet again as Heather nodded briskly, exchanging a small polite smile with the red-headed man before moving along to tend to Ethy, who was now fast asleep right by her mother. Mr Blau filled the doorway now. Yes, Ron remembered him well and immediately his cheeky smile turned to a grim line in his face. Ron shook Mr Blau's hand which was the kind of handshake that barely moved at all and pulled his hand away from the Asian man as if he was burned.
"Yes, Still Mr Blau, I presume" Ron said flatly with just as much bounce in his voice as a steel bar.
"Yes, and I guess your still Hermione's Overprotective brother" Mr Blau shot back cooly. Ron didn't bother to reply and sat back down in his chair. Mr Blau smiled as if he had won the victory and took a seat Beside Heather.
"Now everyone, please be quiet. Ethy's finally fallen asleep and you would'nt be able to guess how long it's been since she's had a good long sleep. Don't want her getting sick now, would we?" Heather whispered softly, looking over tenderly at Ethy and officially taking over her position as surrogate mother for the girl.
Heather looked over suspiciously at Bob, who was once again staring at the cold floor. She was curious about the man now, ever since that time outside the hospital room when she'd sworn she'd heared him say he was Harry Potter she no longer thought of him as just another bystander to Hermione. He was someone significant, someone important. With Heather's skill she could sense it in the air, taste it, feel the electricity and tension swirling in the room. She wanted to know who this man was...Was he Harry Potter? She couldn't tell, her ability's were failing her and she damned them like anything. But if you knew Heather as well as some you would know that she was a determined lady and this situation held no exception. She was determined to find this man's identity, his real identity and she knew something for sure...This man was not Bob Builder.
"Ok, this is freaky, too silent...I'm outta here...I think I might have a Wheelchair rally with the Crazy old Lady in room 675" With that Angelica 360'ed the Wheelchair and sped out of the room, closing the door with a slam behind her. Heather Sighed. Angelica had never been silent in her whole life, how could Heather have expected her to be silent now? It was one of the world's most impossible phrases. Angelica and silent in the same sentence.
All was quiet for a few minutes, all that was heared was Ethy's deep, relaxed breathing from her position next to her mother with Heather's dusky pink cloak draped over her petite figure. Heather was looking curiously at Bob, trying with every fibre of her senses to identify the man, to no avail. Bob was aware of her piercing stare but was trying to avoid it with all his might. Ron was scanning the room with his Dark brown eyes, looking for any clue as to the whereabouts of the jewel. He knew Hermione was in danger and being her overprotective friend, He watched over her like a big brother (Hence his alias), he was determined to keep her out of danger. Mr Blau had a firm frown affixed on his face, his arms were crossed over his chest and he didn't utter a single word.
"Heather?" Ron's voice cut through the silence of the room like a knife, Heather snapped out of her trance-like state and looked over at Ron with her heavily eyelined eyes.
"Yes?" Ron faultered as Heather put her full attention and set her gaze apon him. He seemed to be picking his sentence carefully, like he had with Ethy, as if to make sure he didn't mention anything he didn't want them to know.
"Heather, I suppose you haven't seen the jewel Hermione wears around her neck, have you?" He said slowly and carefully in his british accent, similar to those of Bob and Hermione, faultering only slightly on the word jewel. Heather thought about this briefly, for only a second, before shaking her head full of dark hair.
"Sorry Ron, haven't seen it in ages, since before the accident" Heather paused, turning her thoughts over in her mind for a second before spotting the look on Bob's face. Heather could immediately tell the look on Bob's face. It looked like he wasn't interested in the conversation, but underneath his bored exterior Heather could sense his inquisitive, almost jittery interior. She could sense he was listening to every word.
"Why?" She asked, turning to face the red-headed man once more. He stayed silent for a few seconds before replying
"It's a femily heirloom, after Hermione was in the accident I thought I'd better take it into my care...If you see it, can you give it to me please" Heather nodded. Bob was looking now. She wanted desperately to know the thoughts that were running through his head. She damned her divination abilities as she was unable to figure it out. She looked over at Mr Blau, who was still scowling. She sighed. Heather had never understood why Ron and Mr Blau had never liked eachother at all, but she wasn't game enough to ask. Her eyes wandered across the room. She looked around at the dull green walls, then at the bedside table which was adorned with hand-drawn pictures that Claire and Andre Germaine had done for Hermione. Then her eye caught something she hadn't seen before. Between a get well card and a picture of Hermione eating cookies (She had a feeling it wasn't Claire or Andre who had done this one) there was a mangled box made of Blue velveteen but was covered in dust. It was sitting in an odd position and Heather was immediately curious. Spending time with her cousin was definently starting to pay off.
Bob saw Heathers eyes wander to the box and tensed immediately. His tanned fingers curled on the chair arm and his legs wandered underneath the chair. He was ready to pounce if necessary. Heather picked up the Box. Bob sat ready. She turned it over curiously in her hands. Bob noticed Ron's eyes had attracted the blue box in Heathers hands also and was staring at it curiously. Why oh why hadn't Bob put it in his pocket? He could have hit himself now that he could see his awful mistake. Ron got up and sat on the other side of Heather, peering at the box as she forced the lid open. Bob crouched readily.
"It's the jewel!" Ron cried quietly as the jewels sinister light reflected on his face. Bob then took his chance to pounce. Heather gasped with fright as the Velveteen box left her fingers. Bob stood there from only a brief second, uttered 'You wouldn't understand' in a quick, breathy voice that was hardly distinguishable before he bolted out of the room. Heather, Ron and Mr Blau stood up promptly and ran to the door.
"You go that way" Ron cried and pointed down the corridor to the right at Mr Blau, who wasn't in the mood to argue at this point of time with the man.
"Heather, go down the stairs, I'll take the Other way" Heather merely nodded and dashed down the steps. Mr Blau was long gone. Ron took his path, pushing away a few nurses that muttered after him not to run In a hospital. What was with that Bob guy? Why Did he take the Jewel? Why did he say we wouldn't understand?. A million questions hurtled through his head, the same way his body was hurtling along the halls. He saw Marina briefly, looking at him with a raised eyebrow as he hurtled past. He simply uttered
"Find Bob, get Bob" before hr turned the corner. Then he spotted the dark head turning the corner. He had to catch up.
Mr Blau hadn't seen the Bob dude yet but he continued to run. He scanned the hallways with his Dark eyes, searching for the familiar clump of Black hair among all the ladies in White coats. He didn't see Bob but he did see someone else. Powerwalking along the corridor the opposite way as him was a lady dressed all in Black. Her short shiny bob of black hair was flowing out beind her and her heavily eyelined eyes were scanning her surroundings tentatively. As she spotted Mr Blau, who had slowed to a jog, her eyes widened in surprise as she came to a complete halt a few inches from him. Her eyes studied him for a few seconds before she opened her mouth and was about to cry out. Mr Blau grabbed her right before she yelled out loud and pushed her into a nearby supplies closet. Marina pulled his hand off her mouth in indignation.
"What was that for!?" She cried softly at the asian man.
"Well gee, could it possibly be because I've been hiding my identity for over 14 years and your about to just go and scream it out" Mr Blau cried half in sarcasm, half in sarcastic anger.
"Well what do you expect me to do when I suddenly see my Brother standing right in front of me in a public witches hospital 10 years after the last time I've seen him" Marina shot back with the same sarcastic tone. Mr Blau sighed.
"Well..I guess it is kind of a shock..." Mr Blau's voice trailed off.
"Shock!? I could have died out there when I saw you." She cried silently, shaking her head half to herself.
"Hmm...Hang on, what are you doing in Australia, I thought you would still be in Asia in the camp" As Mr Blau said this Marina put her hands on her hips and sighed.
"I'm not that stupid you know...I passed Auror school, I'm a full Auror now." She said proudly, Mr Blau nodded in approval.
"Run's in the family, I guess" Mr Blau trailed off yet again. Marina nodded.
Bob ran with all his might down the halls of the hospital, clasping the velveteen box tightly in his hand as not to drop it. He knew Ron was only a heartbeat behind him and knew he couldn't stop for anything. His shoes pounded against the vinyl ground heavily as his breath escaped in ragged drawls. He turned one corner, then another, trying desperately for Ron to loose his trail, but on the wall has he turned sideways he could still see Ron's persisting shadow slowly gaining on his own. Oh god, why did Ron have to think he knew it all, he didn't understand, Bob knew that. Why did he have to think he was doing something right. He wasn't, if anything he was making things worse. And just when Bob had thought nothing could possibly get any worse. He sped around a corner fast, still looking at Ron's shadow haunting him on the wall, not looking where he was going. Bob gasped as he felt his feet lift off the floor, his body stop dead, a sharp pain in his side, a high pitched girly scream, metal poking into his skin and the blue velveteen box leave his hand. Minutes later he opened his eyes painfully, the whole world was a blazing blur that hurt his eyes to look at, but as he came around properly and his eyes adjusted to the light the first thing he saw was Angelica leaning in close to his face on hands and knees...and a wheelchair sitting not far from her, tipped on it's side. Anger boiled up inside him as he put two and two together and realised what must have happened. He sat up painfully, just as he saw Ron place the velveteen box into his pocket in a quick, no nonsense movement. Bob could have screamed on the spot.
"What were you doing!!!" He screamed at Angelica, rubbing his head weirely, her eyebrows raised almost angrily.
"WHAT! what was I doing?! Your the one running in a hospital. Geez, you could of killed yourself, and worse still. I could have lost the race to the Crazy lady in room 675. Running in a public hospital, it was only a matter of time before you became roadkill" She yelled close to the mans face in her high pitched voice. Bob shook his head, the anger simmered.
"What are you doing Wheelchair Racing in the first place! You almost killed me once, now you almost kill me again! I hate you!" He screamed.
"Yeah well I hate you too and nothings ever gonna change that!" With that Angelica stood up in jerky movements, brushed herself off and stomped away. Bob growled in a low menacing kind of way, the kind where anyone who happened to witness the incident wouldn't dare breathe a word to anyone about it for fear Bob would pursue them with a scalpel or a garder hoe, as he realised that Ron was long gone...with the Jewel
Heather stopped dead as she heared a deafening crash coming from the mouth of the staircase she was about to climb. She stopped for a second, as silent as she could possibly be before she heared a high pitched voice that she immediately recognised as Angelica's coming from up there. How could she have possibly not thought Angelica was responsible for the accident. Moment's later Angelica appeared at the top of the stairwell, her face affixed in a deep frown. She saw Heather and brushed past sulkily, doing nothing but muttering 'I need a cookie' and heading for the cafeteria in a sulk. Heather sighed and rolled her eyes before heading upstairs to see if she could stop whoever Angelica had obviously collided with from contacting the Ministry Of Magic (Like the last time Angelica had been in a public place) But as she reached to top of the stairs she found Bob sitting there on the floor, rubbing his head and swearing more than Heather had heared ever in one sentence. A scene flashed across Heather's mind, she grimaced as she saw Bob do a complete backflip over Angelica and her wheelchair. Oh well, serves the bugger right for trying to pinch Hermione's jewel. She leaned over Bob nonetheless, the accident looked mighty painful in her vision.
"You alright?" She said simply, offering him a hand, he accepted as he stood up with her help and rubbed his head.
"Alright? Are you serious? That Angelica Woman's almost killed me two times in two days alone! I don't know how anyone could possibly put up with that brat" He muttered, spitting out anger. Heather sighed.
"You know she can't help being the way she is..." Heather trailed off, Bob raised an eyebrow, his full attention on Heather.
"I remember when I was little, only about 3 I think, when Angelica was about 6 months old, my Aunt Zaidee was a Charms Teacher. She'd been working on a charm that would reduce the swelling of Brain tumors so that Witches that developed it would be able to live normal lives again. She was testing it on a pair of Blast Ended Skrewts with the disease. Well, with Angelica's inquisitive mind she played around with the skrewts when Aunt Zaidee was rustling up her dinner, or at least that's the way I heared it. The charm was very catchy and spread to Angelica almost immediately. The charm hadn't been as Aunt Zaidee wanted it, in fact, it was the exact opposite. Angelica's brain swelled where the imaginative, Hyperactive, curious, childlike and inquisitive parts of her brain were. That meaned these parts of her brain were at least six times stronger than the rest. Hence giving her her attitude" Heather stopped for a second to breathe. Bob was still paying full attention, his eyebrows arched.
"The Nurses had never seen anything like it when Aunt Zaidee brought her into the hospital, and there was nothing they could do about it either. So Angelica had to remain with her swollen Imaginative side and shrunken rational side, she probably will for the rest of her life. By the way, they named the charm the Curious Curse, because that's what it did to Angelica, made her Extremely Imaginative, Extremely Hyperactive, Extremely Curious" Heather trailed off, looking up at Bob, who let his breath out of his lungs in a loud whoosh.
"Are you serious?" He muttered finally, Heather nodded. Bob shook his head in amazement as he looked up at Heather.
"I think I'm going to check on Hermione now" He said, looking up the brightly lit hallway.
"Thankyou for talling me the whole story" Heather nodded and Bob slunk down the hallway, almost ashamed of himself.
"Oh, and Bob...Why did you take that jewel" Heather called from him from down the hall, putting her hands on her hips and Bob was immediately reminded of Marsha, his boss. He sighed openly and turned.
"You wouldn't understand, Ron doesn't understand....Not even Hermione understands..." Bob Trailed off before turning again and leaving the woman damning her abilities once more as she tried to solve the strange puzzle Bob had answered her with. Bob's thoughts immediately turned to Angelica once more. He had screamed at the woman, abused her for something that was completely out of her hands, hardly her fault. The Curious Curse? He thought about how he would feel if he was abused by someone who didn't even know the real story about him. Though it was an everyday thing for him, people not knowing his whole story, he felt bad, despite his attitude and cold exterior he did have a heart. First Ron had taken the jewel now this. Everything was going wrong for him, things got better and better and now they were getting worse and worse. And in that hallway, among the bright glaring lights, nurses in white dresses and the sickly green walls adorned with pictures of people he'd never even seen before, his opinion of his life, his mission for the jewel....and Angelica, changed dramatically from what it had been only minutes before.