Disclaimer: I don't own HP or any of these characters. That belongs to JKR, Scholastic Books, Warner Brothers, etc.
Chapter Seven
Rules were there for a purpose. Especially the rules she set in place. People need peace and quiet in order to get better. Yet somehow, some way, someone always managed to break her rules. Over time, she learned to accept what she could not change. After all, people only disobeyed her out of worry for her patients. She could understand that. She usually let them stay for a few minutes before kicking them out.
But there are limits! And today, it's like I'm running a menagerie instead of an infirmary, thought Poppy Pomfrey.
The day had started off normally enough. She sent the two Slytherins who had been injured in Quidditch practice yesterday back to their dorms after making sure that they had completely healed. There had been one young Hufflepuff who had injured his ankle in Care of Magical Creatures. All in all, her day had been going well.
Unfortunately, today was also the day that the Gryffindors had Potions with the Slytherins. Throughout the years, Poppy had learned all too well that particular combination could be nigh fatal. Her misgivings about that class were only reinforced today when Hermione Granger had come in leading a stunned Neville Longbottom.
There was an explosion, Ms. Granger had said, and Neville was in the middle of it. Poppy had nodded and quickly examined Mr. Longbottom. By some miracle, the boy was only shocked. The only cure he needed was peace and quiet for a couple hours. Out of habit, she checked Ms. Granger as well. The girl was all right—not even a bit dazed—and Poppy was ready to send her on her way.
That was when that cat had come in.
Evidently it was Ms. Granger's cat. She had run up to it and assured it that she was feeling all right.
Then she did something that Poppy could not approve of. She ran out of the infirmary, saying she was late for Charms.
But she did not take her cat.
To be fair, Hermione had told her cat to be good and go home before she left. If it had done so, that would have been the end of it. While Pomfrey did not appreciate animals entering her domain, she could understand that an exceptionally intelligent familiar could be worried about its owner.
But the cat being a cat had decided to be contrary and insisted upon remaining. And just like a cat, it was impossible to move. It ignored all her threats and pleas, and simply refused to leave.
But just now, a large black dog had come in. Dumbledore had introduced the dog to the staff as Snuffles. Dogs at Hogwarts were fine, just not within the hospital wing. Especially when there was a cat already residing there, though not with her approval. The ensuing ruckus would not improve the health of anyone—it would more likely just cause additional injury to the convalescing students. Poppy had her limits like everyone else and right now, her patience was at an end.
At least she knew the dog's name and so could tell it to leave directly.
"Get out, Snuffles," she said. "This is no place for animals."
The dog ignored her. Instead, Snuffles looked around as if he owned the place. He caught sight of the cat and went up to it.
The cat and the dog stared at each other for a while, as if communicating. Finally, the dog shook his head and turned around to leave. Poppy sighed in relief. One out of two down. Now if only she could get the cat to go.
"I think you've stayed here long enough, don't you?" she said to the cat. "Why don't you be a good kitty and leave?"
Yet again, the cat ignored her. Poppy decided to give it up. The cat would leave when it felt like it and not a moment before. It wasn't bothering anyone and as long as that continued, she had better things to worry about.
Such as what she would say to Professor Snape tonight. Potions and Care of Magical Creatures were the two most dangerous classes to her students—the only exception to that rule came a few years back, when that idiot Lockhart had been teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. As such, Pomfrey would occasionally rebuke the professors of those two subjects, importuning them to take better care of their students.
Rubeus Hagrid always reacted to her suggestions rather shamefacedly. He would apologize profusely and promise to watch over his classes more vigilantly. While there were times that Poppy suspected that Hagrid cared more about the welfare of his creatures rather than his students, at least his reaction was satisfactory.
The same could not be said about Professor Snape. He would listen to her lecture, but look down at her all the while. When she finished, he would merely nod his head at her to indicate that he had heard what she had said.
If Poppy Pomfrey would accuse Hagrid of caring too much about the wrong things, she would accuse Snape of not caring at all. There was no doubt in her mind which of the two conditions was worse.
Really, would it hurt Snape at all to structure his lessons differently? Would his students not learn better if they spent less time in the infirmary? She had pointed out these considerations to him many a time, yet nary a difference was to be seen in his teaching style. Students still came to her all to often after being injured by an accident in Potions.
It frustrated her to no end when she was unable to do her job. The other professors at Hogwarts were all engaged in teaching students a particular subject. She was supposed to keep them well. And she could not keep them well so long as other professors consistently and unashamedly ignored the welfare of the students.
While she worried about all her students, there were some students she worried more about than others. Hermione Granger and her friends were prime examples of this. The three of them managed to spend an inordinate amount of time in the infirmary. Every year, at least one of them managed to find their way into one of the beds for a significant period of time. She had not kept track of the time they had spent there, but she was willing to bet that if she added everything up, the three of them had spent at least a year in the infirmary.
She truly did not know what to do about those three. Trouble came looking for Harry Potter and his two friends would not be told to leave. Too many times the end result was all of them wound up being hurt, in one fashion or another. The ones that did not lie in the hospital bed often kept watch over their friends that did. It broke her heart to see children so young keeping a vigil like that. When she threw them out of the infirmary, it was usually more for their own good than for that of their injured friend.
Yet seeing them together like that was also good for her heart. So long as true friendship like theirs still existed, the dark would not hold sway over this world.
Author's note—Sorry that there's not much H/H in this chapter. If it makes you feel better, I've always thought that chapters six and eight were about the most rabid of H/H supporters. Anyway, I would really like to know what you think about this chapter. Please review! Thanks!
And for previous reviews:
alexz—Thanks for the review! Am happy to hear you like
the fic.
equasar—Thanks so much for the compliments. Currently,
this fic is supposed to be sixteen chapters long. One more to go
before being half way done. I don't think I'll make it any longer
than that. It would get boring if I tried to write about every single
character even named in the books.
Max—You always take the time to review my fics. I can't
tell you how much I appreciate it. =) BTW, I saw your review
for Five Minutes. Don't you think torture is too strong of
a word? It does have a happy ending (hint: first line = end).
*sigh* If that's not enough comfort, then let me assure you I'm working
on the continuation to Candlelit and it's as fluffy as a bunny. That
should make up for any torture. ^_^
