Chapter Thirty-nine
Araminta made the boys leave while she got dressed. When the curtains were pulled tight around her bed, she hugged a pillow and tried to think about what to do next.
If she just told Draco and Harry straight out about their futures, they might not believe her. Draco might even turn out to have really strong elf magic, since he was part elf, that he didn't know about and he could hurt someone by accident. The best thing to do would be to get Draco and Hermione together and deal with Harry separately, she decided.
She rang a bell on a little cord next to her bed to bring a house-elf to her side, and arranged to have a picnic basket made for the picnic. She knew the boys' tastes very well, having grown up with them, and knew that the fastest way to a man's heart was through his stomach. She'd just have to be careful not to give them heartburn in the process.
Madam Pomfrey came to check her pulse and temperate. "Are you sure you should be up and about, Araminta? You've hardly regained consciousness, and you don't want to go fainting all over the place. It seems there's been a fainting frenzy lately," she said regretfully. "I don't know what's causing it."
"I'm going to be fine," Araminta reassured her. "I won't faint again, I promise. I'm feeling much better. See?" She hopped back and forth and gave the nurse a big grin.
"Oh, all right," said Madam Pomfrey fondly. "Just fill out this form so that I can keep our medical records up to date."
Araminta took the clipboard Madam Pomfrey handed her and scribbled down her medical history on the form. "All done, Madam Pomfrey. Madam Pomfrey?"
She poked her head out from between the bed curtains, but Madam Pomfrey was checking on another patient, a Slytherin from what Araminta could tell, who had just been floated into the hospital wing.
"She's busy, I think. I'll take that to her desk," Harry said.
"Oh, thanks so much, Harry!" Araminta said.
"Suck up," muttered Draco under his breath.
"Oh, Draco," said Araminta. She smiled fondly at him. "Don't worry about it."
"Who said I was worried?" said Draco, sneering. "I just hate dorks like him, always pretending they're better than anyone else."
This actually made Araminta feel relieved. If Draco didn't already like Harry, the chances of getting him back together with Hermione were looking better and better.