Chapter 6- In Which I Am Recovered And I Have A Chat With Harry
I woke up late the next morning, and the first thing I remembered once I returned fully to a conscious state was the expression in Blaise's eyes as he'd parted the curtain and left the hospital, flicking the invisibility cloak deftly over his shoulders. They'd held a mixture of what seemed to be satisfaction, worry, and perhaps even…love? I shook my head. How could he possibly consider kissing me? I was the unattractive, intellectual type, two years younger than Blaise, and a half-blood to boot.
But hadn't Blaise hinted that that didn't matter to him? I rolled off the bed onto my feet and straightened the bed sheets half-heartedly. I peeked down my pajamas and found that the bruising was entirely gone. Aside from a bit of stiffness, nothing felt particularly out of the ordinary. I reached up and felt the bandage on my head. Turning around, I noticed a mirror on my bedside table that I hadn't noticed before. I picked it up and looked into it, taking in the wide-eyed girl staring back.
My skin was a bit pale, so my few freckles stood out slightly. I looked farther up the reflection and noticed that my hair was a complete disaster. the bandage stood way out on my forehead, of course, sort of like the injured soldier extras from old John Wayne war movies. Ick. Is this what I'd looked like last night? And Blaise had still bothered to kiss me. I looked at the mirror, disbelief rising in my eyes. Either I didn't look as bad as the mirror was telling me, or Blaise was playing some sort of game I hadn't received the rules too. Very odd, either way. Soon, Madam Pomfrey bustled in.
"Why didn't you say something, dear?" Madam Pomfrey inquired kindly. "I would have come in earlier! Let me check my handiwork…"
"Oh!" I said. "Yeah. Um, yeah." I lifted my shirt up a very tiny bit and she nodded happily.
"Very good. And your head?" She removed the bandage gently. "Lovely! You'll have marks until tomorrow, but then all signs will be gone." The nurse snapped her fingers, and a house elf appeared at her side. "Loby, please fetch a light breakfast tray for Miss MacGillian." The house elf disappeared as quickly as she had arrived, but was back before I could blink twice, steadily holding a silver tray laden with food.
"Thanks," I said, as Loby slid the tray onto the bedside table. I realized that the mirror had vanished.
"You're welcome, miss," squeaked the house elf tinnily, looking very uncomfortable. Madam Pomfrey nodded at her, and Loby dissolved with a small pop.
I ate my breakfast quickly, and with Madam Pomfrey's permission, I left the hospital and headed for Gryffindor tower. Luckily, not many people were hanging around the hallways, but the ones that were looked at me very strangely. It wasn't until I reached the common room that I noticed the light green pajamas that I still wore. I sighed and shook my head, but before I could open the portrait, someone else opened it from the other side.
"Oh, hey Erin!" It was Keana, a third year girl, originally from somewhere south of England. She wore a turban loosely on her head, and under her robes, I knew she was dressed in bright fabric filled with lively patterns. "Feeling better?"
"Yeah, thanks." I said, smiling in a dazed sort of way. "What are you still hanging around for?"
"Classes got postponed," Keana informed me seriously. "I thought you'd heard! They caught an intruder on the grounds last night. A dangerous one. Some people are saying it's one of you-know-who's inside men!" I gasped inwardly. If they were sneaking around again…several people I knew could be in danger. No, were in danger!
Keana hurried off o the library, hoping to get ahead on a homework assignment, and I entered the tower, thinking worriedly to myself. Harry, Hermione, Ron, possibly Ginny: they were all on the danger list. Harry's encounters with the Dark Lord were definitely getting more dangerous. Last year, he'd again almost died again when you-know-who recovered enough from Harry's fifth year attack on him. There'd been a whole lot of speculation afterwards, but I never really got the details. This year, it was bound to be even more dangerous, with the possible downfall of either or both of the great wizards.
thinking about this as I made my way slowly to my dorm, I realized that with so many students at Slytherin with evilly-influenced parents, there could be some danger for Blaise's "few students" who didn't see exactly eye-to-eye with Draco Malfoy's views. Did he know? Probably, but nonetheless. After I'd dressed, and had an amiable chat with Eunice, who was reading on her bed, I began to compose a note to Blaise.
"Eunice," I began, thinking of something. "Do you know of a secluded spot where one could meet someone to swap information?"
"Ooh," she said with interest. "Does it involve a boy?"
"Perhaps," I answered with a straight face.
"Hmmm. Well, you could always try the laundry chambers. They're empty every day after 10 in the morning. It's a perfect spot for a meeting…or whatever." She raised her eyebrows at me suggestively.
"Very funny," I scowled. "How does one actually get to the said laundry chambers?" I asked.
"You know where the portrait of the fruit bowl is, the entrance to the kitchens?" When I nodded, she continued. "Okay, well if you turn left from there and walk a little ways, you come to an apparent dead-end. It's sort of like a round-about, cuz' there's a statue of Agrippa or whoever in the center. If you walk clockwise around the statue three times and stop by her left pinky toe. Tug it gently, and a door should appear on the wall behind you. Is that precise enough?" she joked.
"Thanks," I said gratefully, and hurried to write it into the note. Seeking to make sure my directions were clear, I read the note to myself.
Blaise,
I have to talk to you. It's urgent! Please meet me in the laundry rooms around 11:30 tonight. Find the statue of Agrippa, and walk clockwise three times round it. tug her left toe and go through the door. You might want to bring your invisibility cloak.
~ Erin ~
Pleased, I folded the note and sealed it, then headed up to the owlery where I sent the note with a small tawny owl that hooted happily at me when I entered the musty tower. I watched the owl swoop out of the window, and I sighed. What-ifs began to fog my brain. What if he never showed up? What if he was just playing with me? What if something happened before I could find him? I left the owlery troubled.
As I wandered the halls aimlessly, I came upon Harry, also wandering. He seemed to be lost in thought, and I paused near him, wondering if I should say anything to him. But in the end, my need to talk overcame doubts about interrupting anything, partly because he noticed I was looking at him and smiled.
"Erin," he said warmly. "How are you?"
"Better than last night," I said, smiling a little in return. "Where's Ron and Hermione?"
"Off together," he told me with a lopsided smile. "What's bothering you?" he inquired. "You look upset."
"Well," I paused, unsure if he really wanted to know, or was just asking to be polite.
"Come on," he said, reaching out and touching my arm. "Let's go to the common room where we can talk." We walked together, relatively silent, reaching the tower quickly.
"So," he said as we sank into squashy red armchairs. "Tell me about it."
"There's this guy," I began. "I haven't known him long, but he says he's known me for ages. He's been watching me. I know, cuz'' he said so. Anyway, he's been really nice to me, but I didn't know if he's really interested or just being nice or being a jerk! It's so utterly confusing! And now with the whole intruder thing, a bunch of people I know might be in danger and I'm worried that he's one of them and…"
"Whoa!" Harry said, raising his eyebrows and leaning back. "You sound pretty stressed! Could I have some specifics perhaps? Like, who exactly are you worried about. And who's the guy?"
"Well, you and Hermione and Ron and Ginny, mostly. But Blaise said there were people in Slytherin who don't think that being half-blood is bad, and I'm worried about them too!" I said. "In fact, I'm not quite sure why I'm worried about most of them, because I don't even know who they are!"
"Blaise?" Harry asked. "As in Blaise Zabini, the Slytherin seventh year?"
"Yeah," I said with a small laugh. I hadn't meant to let that one out so soon, but too late. He sorta saved my butt at the Quidditch game on Saturday. And again at Hogsmeade." I explained about Blaise, carefully omitting the encounter in the hospital and the owl I'd just sent. "It's almost like he's following me around, but I don't know why!" Harry whistled under his breath.
"Why exactly are you worried about Ginny, Hermione, and Ron?" Harry asked.
"And you," I added. "Because eof the intruder on the grounds! Keana told me that she'd heard he was one of the Dark Lord's people, and if they're trying to sneak in here again, that means the Dream Team is in danger, and all of their friends and relations, too!"
"But you didn't mention yourself at all," Harry said, watching me seriously. "In your list of people you're worried about," he clarified when I looked confused.
"I guess I never thought about myself," I said, after thinking for a minute. "Gee. Now that you mention it, every non-pure-blood in the place is in a bad spot!" Harry considered this.
"I think your fears are well-placed," he told me. "But I don't think you need to take it quite so far. We don't know for sure yet who exactly the person they captured is yet, or any details about them. It's true that people could be in danger eventually, but until we know, you should try not to stress about it. I assume Blaise is one of the people who doesn't share the opinion that half-bloods are snot?" I nodded. "He sounds like someone worthy of your thoughts. And I'll see if I can't find out about his intentions toward you, okay?" I smiled weakly at Harry.
"Thanks," I said. "I think I really needed to hear that."
"No problem," Harry said, standing up. "I'll see what I can find out, and you keep me informed on what you're thinking, okay? I better be off to the library, now, so I'll see you around." No sooner had Harry left the room, then I heard a tapping at the window across the common room. I hurried to open the window, letting in an excited owl, the same one I'd sent to Blaise. I opened the paper hurriedly, nearly desperate to see what his reply would be. Beneath my own message from before, I saw three words scrawled in silver ink.
Nice try, Mudblood.
