She skidded to a halt in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady.
"Fizzing Whizbees," she panted, and the Fat Lady, looking somewhat concerned, swung open to admit her.
However, Jessica had just started to climb through, when she collided very hard with someone. Next thing she knew, she was flat on her back in the Common Room, looking up at two boys who could only be Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas. Oddly enough, they were smiling.
"Sorry," she mumbled, rubbing her arm where she had landed on it.
"No problem," Dean said, a slight laugh in his voice.
Jessica sat up, her head throbbing and her arm stinging. Looking down, she saw blood soaking the arm of her shirt.
Seamus suddenly stopped smiling.
"Here," he said, taking his wand out of his robes. "Remedero," he muttered, pointing at her arm.
Instantly, she felt the cut heal.
"Thank you," she said, standing up, "How did you learn that?"
He smiled and tucked the wand back in his pocket.
"Just a little thing I picked up from Madame Pomfrey," he replied.
Jessica nodded. There was an awkward silence.
"Well," she said, "I'd better be going." Dean and Seamus exchanged glances.
"Wait a minute," Seamus said suddenly, "Jessica, are you going to the Ball with anyone?"
She was struck dumb. Ball? What Ball? Then it hit her; he was talking about the Spring Ball.
"Oh, oh," she said, stumbling for the words, "Well, no. I guess I'm not."
"Well, would you want to go with me?" Seamus asked.
Jessica felt her mouth drop open. Realizing that it must have seemed rude, she shut it quickly.
"Oh…ok," she managed to stutter.
"Great," he smiled, "Well, we'd better go. Don't want to be late."
"Right," she said, still startled, "So…so I'll see you later."
"Bye," he said, and with that, he and Dean climbed through the portrait hole and out of sight.
It took her a full minute to regain herself. She had barely ever talked to Seamus, what made him think she would go with him?
She shook her head. Why wasn't she happy? She never thought someone would ask her, especially Seamus.
Jessica sighed, glancing down at her watch. Only five minutes left before Herbology. After picking up her books, she left the Common room more confused than she had been when she first arrived.
"Come on, Jess! We're going to be late!" Amanda scolded as they ran down the sloping lawn toward the greenhouses. Jessica had decided not to tell Amanda about what happened with Seamus. She wasn't sure why, but she was sort of uneasy about it.
After what felt like forever, Amanda skidded to a halt in front of the greenhouse and flung open the door. Jessica ambled up slowly behind her, clutching a stitch in her side. She walked in slowly, taking in the smell of the hundreds of plants, which were situated all over the room. She coughed, the pungent aroma being a little too much for her to handle.
"Come on now, Miss Ciccone. Close the door. We're ready to begin," Professor Sprout called from where she was standing, surrounded by Jessica's classmates.
Jessica nodded, and was just pulling the door shut when the bell rang to start class.
She hurried over and set down her bag.
"Told you we'd be late," Amanda whispered as Jessica took her place beside her.
"I wasn't late!" Jessica snapped.
Professor Sprout cleared her throat loudly, giving them a pointed look.
Jessica felt herself turn red. She didn't need another detention today. "Sorry, Professor."
Professor Sprout nodded. "Now," she continued, "Today we will be watering the sleeping Doleflower. It is far safer to water while it is asleep."
Somehow, Jessica didn't like the sound of that.
"Follow me please," Professor Sprout said, beckoning them over to a row of brilliant yellow plants.
Once the class had reassembled itself in the specified spot, Professor Sprout turned to address them, pulling on a pair of thick, brown gloves.
"Now, if you will all pull on your dragon hide gloves, I will demonstrate what you will be doing today," she instructed.
Jessica reached into her bag, feeling around until she finally felt the scaly surface of the gloves beneath her fingertips.
She pulled them on, somewhat reluctantly. The smell of them was quite distinctive. Her mind, however, was taken off the smell the moment her hands slipped inside them. For a minute, all seemed fine, but then she had the distinct impression that she had shoved her hands in a bucket full of mud.
The weight of the gloves suddenly became too intense, jerking her arms into a vertical position, dangling uselessly from their sockets. She winced, trying to bring them back up.
Harry, who was now pulling his own gloves on, glanced over at her.
"What's wrong?" he whispered, after making sure Professor Sprout wasn't looking.
"I don't know," Jessica said through gritted teeth. "It's…these…stupid…gloves," she added, straining against the weight of them. "Why didn't you tell me they were so heavy?" Jessica demanded.
"What?" Harry asked, bewildered.
"Just look at me!" Jessica said irritably, jerking her head (the best that she could) down at her arms.
"What the…" Harry began, but at that exact moment, the weight of Jessica's gloves got the better of her, and she fell to the ground with a loud thud.
Professor Sprout stopped dead in the middle of her lecture.
"Is there a problem back there?" she called, a yellow plant dangling lazily from her hand, snoring.
Harry nudged Jessica with his foot.
"No Professor!" Jessica yelled, "I just…er…dropped my book."
Professor Sprout looked unbelieving.
"Alright, Miss, but do hurry and stand up. I wouldn't want you to miss the demonstration."
Jessica nodded, but she knew no one could see her. From her position lying on her side, the only thing she could see was a forest of ankles and black shoes.
"Harry," she whispered, "Help me!"
Harry kept his eyes on Professor Sprout, but slowly sank down to her level.
"Give me you hand," he whispered.
Jessica glared at him.
"Sorry, sorry," he said quickly, "Here." He reached down to grab her hand.
For a moment it seemed like his plan would work.
"My hand!" he exclaimed.
"What now?" Jessica whispered.
"I'm stuck!" he said through gritted teeth, trying desperately to detach his fingers.
"Son of a…"Jessica began, but that second Professor noticed Harry was gone too.
"Now really!" she scolded. Before Jessica could react, she was storming through the crowd of students, making her way to Jessica and Harry.
She stopped dead in front of them, a puzzled look on her face.
"Sorry Professor," Harry mumbled, still trying to disconnect his fingers from the glove.
Ron, who had been talking to Amanda, turned around.
"What are you doing down there, Harry?" he said, puzzled.
Amanda had just noticed too.
"Jess…" she said slowly.
Jessica jerked her head, blowing a strand of hair out of her eyes. "We're not down here by choice! It's these gloves! I don't know what's wrong with them! They pulled me down, and when Harry tried to help me back up, he got stuck too."
Professor Sprout reached inside her robes and took out her wand. "Hold still," she commanded.
She leaned over them, waving her wand over the gloves and muttering strange spells Jessica had never heard before. After a minute or so, she stood up.
"Go to the hospital wing," she said, "I can't fix this by myself."
"Professor," Jessica said, "How are we supposed to get up there? We can't even stand up."
Professor Sprout turned back to the yellow plants.
"Lucky for you," she said, stripping a few leafs off, "That the Doleflower is a weight vanisher. It will make anything weightless," she stopped and turned to them, "But it is only temporary. So be sure you don't doddle, or the effects of the leaves will disappear."
She turned and shoved a handful of leaves in to the mouth of one of the gloves. Instantly, Jessica's hands, still connected to Harry's fingertips, floated high above her head. For a moment, she was sure her arms had been pulled from their sockets.
Harry stood up quickly, pulling her up with him.
"There now," Professor Sprout said, "Off you go. You will need to get the assignment from someone when you get back."
Jessica and Harry nodded, their hands still floating an inch above their heads, and turned to leave.
(A/N) Oh my goodness! This site was flaking out on me! ARGH! But its working again! Hooray! So, here's the next chapter, more soon. And you know the drill!
REVIEW PPPLLLLLLEEEEEAAASSSSEEEEE!!!!!
"Fizzing Whizbees," she panted, and the Fat Lady, looking somewhat concerned, swung open to admit her.
However, Jessica had just started to climb through, when she collided very hard with someone. Next thing she knew, she was flat on her back in the Common Room, looking up at two boys who could only be Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas. Oddly enough, they were smiling.
"Sorry," she mumbled, rubbing her arm where she had landed on it.
"No problem," Dean said, a slight laugh in his voice.
Jessica sat up, her head throbbing and her arm stinging. Looking down, she saw blood soaking the arm of her shirt.
Seamus suddenly stopped smiling.
"Here," he said, taking his wand out of his robes. "Remedero," he muttered, pointing at her arm.
Instantly, she felt the cut heal.
"Thank you," she said, standing up, "How did you learn that?"
He smiled and tucked the wand back in his pocket.
"Just a little thing I picked up from Madame Pomfrey," he replied.
Jessica nodded. There was an awkward silence.
"Well," she said, "I'd better be going." Dean and Seamus exchanged glances.
"Wait a minute," Seamus said suddenly, "Jessica, are you going to the Ball with anyone?"
She was struck dumb. Ball? What Ball? Then it hit her; he was talking about the Spring Ball.
"Oh, oh," she said, stumbling for the words, "Well, no. I guess I'm not."
"Well, would you want to go with me?" Seamus asked.
Jessica felt her mouth drop open. Realizing that it must have seemed rude, she shut it quickly.
"Oh…ok," she managed to stutter.
"Great," he smiled, "Well, we'd better go. Don't want to be late."
"Right," she said, still startled, "So…so I'll see you later."
"Bye," he said, and with that, he and Dean climbed through the portrait hole and out of sight.
It took her a full minute to regain herself. She had barely ever talked to Seamus, what made him think she would go with him?
She shook her head. Why wasn't she happy? She never thought someone would ask her, especially Seamus.
Jessica sighed, glancing down at her watch. Only five minutes left before Herbology. After picking up her books, she left the Common room more confused than she had been when she first arrived.
"Come on, Jess! We're going to be late!" Amanda scolded as they ran down the sloping lawn toward the greenhouses. Jessica had decided not to tell Amanda about what happened with Seamus. She wasn't sure why, but she was sort of uneasy about it.
After what felt like forever, Amanda skidded to a halt in front of the greenhouse and flung open the door. Jessica ambled up slowly behind her, clutching a stitch in her side. She walked in slowly, taking in the smell of the hundreds of plants, which were situated all over the room. She coughed, the pungent aroma being a little too much for her to handle.
"Come on now, Miss Ciccone. Close the door. We're ready to begin," Professor Sprout called from where she was standing, surrounded by Jessica's classmates.
Jessica nodded, and was just pulling the door shut when the bell rang to start class.
She hurried over and set down her bag.
"Told you we'd be late," Amanda whispered as Jessica took her place beside her.
"I wasn't late!" Jessica snapped.
Professor Sprout cleared her throat loudly, giving them a pointed look.
Jessica felt herself turn red. She didn't need another detention today. "Sorry, Professor."
Professor Sprout nodded. "Now," she continued, "Today we will be watering the sleeping Doleflower. It is far safer to water while it is asleep."
Somehow, Jessica didn't like the sound of that.
"Follow me please," Professor Sprout said, beckoning them over to a row of brilliant yellow plants.
Once the class had reassembled itself in the specified spot, Professor Sprout turned to address them, pulling on a pair of thick, brown gloves.
"Now, if you will all pull on your dragon hide gloves, I will demonstrate what you will be doing today," she instructed.
Jessica reached into her bag, feeling around until she finally felt the scaly surface of the gloves beneath her fingertips.
She pulled them on, somewhat reluctantly. The smell of them was quite distinctive. Her mind, however, was taken off the smell the moment her hands slipped inside them. For a minute, all seemed fine, but then she had the distinct impression that she had shoved her hands in a bucket full of mud.
The weight of the gloves suddenly became too intense, jerking her arms into a vertical position, dangling uselessly from their sockets. She winced, trying to bring them back up.
Harry, who was now pulling his own gloves on, glanced over at her.
"What's wrong?" he whispered, after making sure Professor Sprout wasn't looking.
"I don't know," Jessica said through gritted teeth. "It's…these…stupid…gloves," she added, straining against the weight of them. "Why didn't you tell me they were so heavy?" Jessica demanded.
"What?" Harry asked, bewildered.
"Just look at me!" Jessica said irritably, jerking her head (the best that she could) down at her arms.
"What the…" Harry began, but at that exact moment, the weight of Jessica's gloves got the better of her, and she fell to the ground with a loud thud.
Professor Sprout stopped dead in the middle of her lecture.
"Is there a problem back there?" she called, a yellow plant dangling lazily from her hand, snoring.
Harry nudged Jessica with his foot.
"No Professor!" Jessica yelled, "I just…er…dropped my book."
Professor Sprout looked unbelieving.
"Alright, Miss, but do hurry and stand up. I wouldn't want you to miss the demonstration."
Jessica nodded, but she knew no one could see her. From her position lying on her side, the only thing she could see was a forest of ankles and black shoes.
"Harry," she whispered, "Help me!"
Harry kept his eyes on Professor Sprout, but slowly sank down to her level.
"Give me you hand," he whispered.
Jessica glared at him.
"Sorry, sorry," he said quickly, "Here." He reached down to grab her hand.
For a moment it seemed like his plan would work.
"My hand!" he exclaimed.
"What now?" Jessica whispered.
"I'm stuck!" he said through gritted teeth, trying desperately to detach his fingers.
"Son of a…"Jessica began, but that second Professor noticed Harry was gone too.
"Now really!" she scolded. Before Jessica could react, she was storming through the crowd of students, making her way to Jessica and Harry.
She stopped dead in front of them, a puzzled look on her face.
"Sorry Professor," Harry mumbled, still trying to disconnect his fingers from the glove.
Ron, who had been talking to Amanda, turned around.
"What are you doing down there, Harry?" he said, puzzled.
Amanda had just noticed too.
"Jess…" she said slowly.
Jessica jerked her head, blowing a strand of hair out of her eyes. "We're not down here by choice! It's these gloves! I don't know what's wrong with them! They pulled me down, and when Harry tried to help me back up, he got stuck too."
Professor Sprout reached inside her robes and took out her wand. "Hold still," she commanded.
She leaned over them, waving her wand over the gloves and muttering strange spells Jessica had never heard before. After a minute or so, she stood up.
"Go to the hospital wing," she said, "I can't fix this by myself."
"Professor," Jessica said, "How are we supposed to get up there? We can't even stand up."
Professor Sprout turned back to the yellow plants.
"Lucky for you," she said, stripping a few leafs off, "That the Doleflower is a weight vanisher. It will make anything weightless," she stopped and turned to them, "But it is only temporary. So be sure you don't doddle, or the effects of the leaves will disappear."
She turned and shoved a handful of leaves in to the mouth of one of the gloves. Instantly, Jessica's hands, still connected to Harry's fingertips, floated high above her head. For a moment, she was sure her arms had been pulled from their sockets.
Harry stood up quickly, pulling her up with him.
"There now," Professor Sprout said, "Off you go. You will need to get the assignment from someone when you get back."
Jessica and Harry nodded, their hands still floating an inch above their heads, and turned to leave.
(A/N) Oh my goodness! This site was flaking out on me! ARGH! But its working again! Hooray! So, here's the next chapter, more soon. And you know the drill!
REVIEW PPPLLLLLLEEEEEAAASSSSEEEEE!!!!!