The month of November arrived that week, bringing with it two things: a
very cold, wintry north wind, and the first inter-house quidditch game of
the year at Hogwarts. None of the professors at Hogwarts could remember
weather this cold so early in the year, not even Dumbledore.
The upcoming quidditch match was between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Both teams were practicing even more than usual not just because the match was coming up soon, but also so that they could get used to playing in the cold weather. Oliver was going absolutely insane trying to do everything that he needed to do. There were Hogwarts quidditch practices to oversee, his own quidditch practices to attend, classes to teach, and lessons to prepare. He didn't have time for anything else anymore. Adrianna came with him to a Ravenclaw practice one night so that they would have a little bit of time to talk, but even that didn't work very well because Oliver was trying to grade a stack of quizzes and watch quidditch practice at the same time.
"Oliver, you're going to burn yourself out," Adrianna told him. "You never take a minute to rest. You barely even sleep! You can't keep going like this."
"I know, and I hate having to do this. But I don't really have a choice. I have another year left on my contract with Scotland, and I can't leave my position here in the middle of the year."
"You're no good to your quidditch team if you can't give it your all, and you're no good to the students if your mind isn't on teaching. You're going to have to decide what's more important to you, Hogwarts or quidditch."
On Saturday, the entire school came out to watch the first quidditch game of the season, Hufflepuff v Ravenclaw. The cold weather hadn't lifted. If anything, it had gotten colder. Everyone was bundled up in several layers of clothes and their cloaks and scarves. Even the quidditch players were wearing their heavy winter cloaks underneath of their house quidditch uniforms. Oliver wore his long black cloak over top of his black and white striped referee's robes. He carried the wooden crate that contained the bludgers, quaffle and snitch onto the field. Sofie, in Ravenclaw robes, and Lauren, in Hufflepuff robes, both stepped forward.
"Shake hands," said Oliver and after they did, Lauren returned to her position as seeker.
Another Hufflepuff player came forward for the face off.
"Now mount your brooms. I want a nice, clean game from all of you," said Oliver, looking into the eyes of each of the 14 players. He released the snitch and the bludgers.
"Good luck, and may the best team win!" He threw the quaffle into the air, signaling the start of the game.
Oliver leapt onto his broom and flew into the air so that he could observe the game effectively. Sofie grabbed the quaffle with lightning speed and zoomed toward the Hufflepuff goal posts. She put a good distance between herself and the Hufflepuff chasers, dodged a bludger, and scored easily.
"Ten points for Ravenclaw!" Rob shouted into the magical megaphone.
The Hufflepuff chaser threw the quaffle to one of their chasers, but another Ravenclaw chaser intercepted it and scored again for Ravenclaw. Not 5 minutes later Lauren, who had been hovering above the game, took off after the snitch with the Ravenclaw seeker right behind her. Sofie saw what was happening.
"Go Emma, faster! Knock Lauren off her broom if you have to!"
The snitch suddenly changed it direction, and Emma responded faster than Lauren was able to. She stretched out her arm and grabbed the snitch.
"Ravenclaw wins in the shortest match that Hogwarts has seen in quite a while!" yelled Rob into the megaphone.
The Ravenclaw team touched down on the ground, where other students from their house were spilling onto the field. There were high fives and slaps on the back in every direction as the students slowly made their way off of the pitch.
Oliver spent the next three weeks trying to juggle all of his responsibilities. He had done a lot of thinking about what Adrianna had said to him at that quidditch practice a few weeks ago. He realized that she was right. He WAS burned out, and he didn't feel very useful anywhere because he was spreading himself so thin. He loved playing quidditch, but he knew that he couldn't do that forever. Right now he was on top of his game, but that wouldn't always be the case. One day, someone would come along who was younger, faster and stronger than him.
But Hogwarts, that was something more permanent. And he was still involved with quidditch at Hogwarts, he just wasn't playing anymore. In addition to that, he absolutely loved teaching. For the most part, he couldn't ask for better students. He had a special connection with his teammates, but he had a feeling that once he was gone then the connection would be gone as well. At Hogwarts, he had friends. Amazing friends. Real friends that would be his friends and support him no matter what he decided. And after considering everything, he knew that he didn't want to leave Hogwarts. If he had to give up something, it would have to be quidditch. He decided that he would talk to Leslie at practice the next day. Something had to give before he ended up suffering from a nervous breakdown.
Oliver approached Leslie the next day when practice was over. "Leslie, there's something I need to talk to you about," he said a little nervously.
"What is it, Oliver?"
"I- I can't do this anymore. I can't play quidditch and teach at the same time. It's taking too much out of me. I can't properly concentrate on anything anymore."
"You have another year left on your contract. Your binding, magical contract."
"I know." Oliver said. The frustration that he felt was evident in his voice. "Could you put me on the reserve team for the rest of the year?"
"You're the best keeper Scotland has had for a long time, Oliver. A lot of people would be upset if I put you on the reserve team for no good reason."
"So what? You want what's best for the team, right? And I'm no good for the team like this. People can say what they want, but they'll get over it. The Americans weren't too pleased to hear that Brighton isn't going to renew her contract, but there's nothing they can do. That was her decision, and this is my decision."
"Let's say, for the sake of argument, that I do put you on the reserve team. What am I supposed to tell the Daily Prophet and everyone else?"
"Tell then that you had to do it for personal reasons. Tell them that I'm losing my touch. Tell them that you wanted to try out your reserve keeper and see what she's got. I don't really care. You could make up just about anything as long as it sounds convincing."
"What happened to the Oliver I used to know? The one who was passionate about quidditch? The one who wouldn't have given up quidditch for a million galleons?"
"Things change, Leslie. People change."
"You're absolutely sure that you want to give it up? I'm not going to let my reserve keeper think that she's on the quidditch team, only for you to change your mind later and bump her out of the position."
Oliver took a deep breath. "I'm sure."
"Alright, it's done. I'll put you on the reserve team. The only practices you'll need to attend are the Sunday morning practices that I have just for the reserve team."
"Thank you so much Leslie. You don't know how much I appreciate it."
The next week, it was already the beginning of December. Oliver missed spending time with Adrianna and Fleur, so the three of them decided to spend the entire day hanging out together on Saturday. After having lunch together, they went outside and spent the day playing in the snow that came up to their knees. Friday had been an unusually warm day compared to the weather that they'd been having, but Saturday was frigid once again.
They didn't let the cold didn't bother them though. They made snow angels all over the grounds and built a snow fort down near the lake. Then they had a snow battle. They threw snowballs at each other and tackled each other, laughing and tumbling in the snow. Adrianna hid behind a large bush to catch her breath, but Oliver saw her and waited on the other side until she came out. He barreled into her, knocking her over backwards and landing right beside her. He sat up and looked at her. Her cheeks were rosy from the cold. Her long golden hair was spread out around her on the snow, shining in the setting winter sun. Her big, denim blue eyes stared into his, and for a few moments neither of them moved.
They just stayed there, staring at each other like that until they hear Fleur saying "We should go back to ze castle soon. It is almost time for dinner."
Oliver reluctantly stood up and helped Adrianna to her feet. He looked at the castle and realized that they were all the way on the other side of the lake.
"We could walk back across the lake so we're not late," Adrianna suggested.
"Are you sure that's a good idea? It was a pretty warm day yesterday," Oliver cautioned.
"It was one warm day in an entire month of frigid temperatures. I'll bet that lake is frozen solid the whole way the bottom," she countered. She slid down the bank onto the lake, walked out about 10 feet, and jumped up and down a few times. "See? Frozen."
Oliver and Fleur slid down the bank and started across the lake. Adrianna was still walking farther ahead of them. She turned around.
"Come on, slowpokes!"
They walked for about five minutes. Oliver and Fleur were just past the middle of the lake, and Adrianna was a little bit ahead of them. She came to a sudden halt where she was standing, then turned around.
"Go back!" she yelled frantically. "There's a cr..."
Her sentence ended abruptly as she disappeared. There was a large, dark, jagged hole in the ice where she had been standing just a moment ago.
"Adrianna!" Oliver yelled. He felt as though he had just been hit by a stunning charm. He desperately wanted to help Adrianna, but didn't seem capable of moving. Fleur fumbled with her robes for a moment and pulled out her wand.
"Wingardium leviosa!" she shouted, aiming her wand at the hole in the ice. Adrianna's body emerged from the lake and hovered over the hole.
"Accio!" cried Fleur, summoning Adrianna across the ice to them. "Finite incantatem," said Fleur, and Adrianna fell to the ice in front of them.
"We will 'ave to go back ze way we came," Fleur said to Oliver as he helped Adrianna up.
Fleur and Oliver put one of her arms around each of their shoulders to support her. Adrianna was dripping wet and shivering uncontrollably. She could barely walk and kept stumbling. She wasn't very alert, and couldn't talk because her teeth were chattering so much. She stumbled across the lake with their help, but as they reached the edge of the lake she collapsed and fell into the snow.
"You will 'ave to carry 'er ze rest of ze way. I am going to go ahead and get Poppy," said Fleur, and broke into a run in the direction of the castle.
Oliver noticed that Adrianna's clothes and hair had a thin coating of ice. He took off her icy cloak and wrapped his own dry cloak around her, then lifted her limp body into his arms and headed toward the castle. She was now shaking violently. She was still conscious, but just barely. She rested her head against his shoulder.
"Hang in there, Adrianna. Don't die on me," he said desperately as he went as quickly as his legs would take him back to the castle.
By the time Oliver made it back to the castle, Adrianna had lost consciousness. Her lips were blue, and she had stopped shivering. She was still breathing, but her breath was very slow and shallow. As he reached the doors he saw Lauren coming outside.
"Lauren hold the door!" he yelled as he climbed the stairs. Lauren's eyes grew wide when she saw who Oliver was carrying, but she held the door open for him. He ran through the corridors toward the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey had piled thick woolen blankets high on one of the hospital beds, and there was a stretcher hovering next to the bed. She and Fleur were filling hot water bottles.
"Put her on the stretcher," Madam Pomfrey instructed without turning around. Oliver did so, and Poppy bustled over.
"Help Professor Delacour fill those hot water bottles," she said as she drew a curtain around herself and Adrianna. Oliver heard Poppy use a severing charm to remove Adrianna's icy, wet robes. Then Poppy moved her into the hospital bed.
"Are the hot water bottles ready yet?" she called from behind the curtain.
"Yes," Fleur responded.
"Bring them here quickly," said Poppy. Fleur gathered them in her arms and disappeared behind the curtain around Adrianna's bed.
"Run downstairs and ask Severus for a warming potion. If he has any questions, tell him to come and see me," Oliver heard Poppy telling Fleur.
Fleur emerged from behind the curtain and jogged out of the Hospital wing. Poppy stuck her head out from behind the curtain.
"Oliver, I'll need you to get me a thermometer from my office," she instructed. Oliver did as he was told. Poppy took the thermometer from him and emerged a few minutes later.
"It's a miracle that she's still alive," she said. "That girl should be dead."
"She's going to be OK though, right Poppy?"
"It is too soon to tell, Oliver. I can only hope for the best and monitor her throughout the night."
Fleur returned a few minutes later with Severus Snape and a bottle filled with warming potion.
"What's going on?" asked Snape.
"Professor Brighton fell in the lake and has hypothermia. Without this potion she will probably die. I can't give it to her unless she regains consciousness, though," Poppy explained. "Do any of you know the password for Professor Brighton's rooms? She will probably want her pajamas if she wakes up."
Snape and Fleur both shook their heads.
"I do," said Oliver.
"Would you be kind enough to go and get her pajamas? Bring the warmest ones you can find."
Oliver nodded and left the hospital wing. He stood in front of the bookcase.
"Can you hear me now? Good."
The door swung open. Oliver walked through Adrianna's living room into the bedroom and opened up her wardrobe. He found a pair of one-piece fleece pajamas that zipped up the front. He also grabbed a pair of regular flannel pajamas and some warm woolen socks. On his way out he saw Chip lying on the rug in front of the fireplace, where the fire had burned out.
"Come on, Chip. Adrianna might not be back for a while."
Chip got up and followed Oliver out of Adrianna's rooms. Oliver went back to the hospital wing with the pajamas and gave them to Madam Pomfrey.
"Please Poppy, can we see her?" asked Oliver.
"I suppose, but try not to open the curtains too far. I want to keep out the draft."
Oliver, Fleur and Severus slipped through the opening in the curtains and gathered around her bed. Oliver's breath caught in his throat when he saw her. Poppy had tucked the blankets tightly around her so that the only part of her that wasn't covered was her face. Her skin was so pale that it was almost white. Her lips were still a pale shade of blue. If it weren't for her shallow but even breathing, Oliver would have thought that she was dead. Oliver had forgotten about Chip until now, when he jumped up on the bed and curled up on Adrianna's stomach.
"What is that and how did it get in here?" yelled Snape.
"It's Chip, her pet kneazle. I brought him with me because I thought that he might get lonely if Adrianna is here for a while," said Oliver.
After hearing Snape yell, Madam Pomfrey came through the curtain. She spotted Chip lying on Adrianna's stomach. "Brilliant," she said. "That kneazle will help bring up her body temperature."
She looked at the small group gathered around Adrianna's bed. "I am sorry, but you'll all have to at least wait outside the curtain. If she wakes up I'll need room to work."
Severus and Fleur shuffled out of the curtained area. Oliver waited until they were gone, then kissed Adrianna gently on the forehead and emerged from the partition behind them. Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore had entered the hospital wing while he'd been inside the curtain. Both wore very anxious looks on their faces.
"How is she?" asked Dumbledore.
"It doesn't look good," said Snape. "She's barely alive now. If she doesn't wake, Poppy won't be able to administer the potion. She might not make it through the night."
One by one, other teachers made their way into the hospital wing. Even Professor Trelawney put in an appearance. "I saw it happening when I was crystal gazing earlier," she said. "The poor girl..."
"Oh, shove it Sybil!" shouted Professor McGonagall, to everyone's surprise. "We don't want to hear it. All will reveal itself in good time."
The upcoming quidditch match was between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Both teams were practicing even more than usual not just because the match was coming up soon, but also so that they could get used to playing in the cold weather. Oliver was going absolutely insane trying to do everything that he needed to do. There were Hogwarts quidditch practices to oversee, his own quidditch practices to attend, classes to teach, and lessons to prepare. He didn't have time for anything else anymore. Adrianna came with him to a Ravenclaw practice one night so that they would have a little bit of time to talk, but even that didn't work very well because Oliver was trying to grade a stack of quizzes and watch quidditch practice at the same time.
"Oliver, you're going to burn yourself out," Adrianna told him. "You never take a minute to rest. You barely even sleep! You can't keep going like this."
"I know, and I hate having to do this. But I don't really have a choice. I have another year left on my contract with Scotland, and I can't leave my position here in the middle of the year."
"You're no good to your quidditch team if you can't give it your all, and you're no good to the students if your mind isn't on teaching. You're going to have to decide what's more important to you, Hogwarts or quidditch."
On Saturday, the entire school came out to watch the first quidditch game of the season, Hufflepuff v Ravenclaw. The cold weather hadn't lifted. If anything, it had gotten colder. Everyone was bundled up in several layers of clothes and their cloaks and scarves. Even the quidditch players were wearing their heavy winter cloaks underneath of their house quidditch uniforms. Oliver wore his long black cloak over top of his black and white striped referee's robes. He carried the wooden crate that contained the bludgers, quaffle and snitch onto the field. Sofie, in Ravenclaw robes, and Lauren, in Hufflepuff robes, both stepped forward.
"Shake hands," said Oliver and after they did, Lauren returned to her position as seeker.
Another Hufflepuff player came forward for the face off.
"Now mount your brooms. I want a nice, clean game from all of you," said Oliver, looking into the eyes of each of the 14 players. He released the snitch and the bludgers.
"Good luck, and may the best team win!" He threw the quaffle into the air, signaling the start of the game.
Oliver leapt onto his broom and flew into the air so that he could observe the game effectively. Sofie grabbed the quaffle with lightning speed and zoomed toward the Hufflepuff goal posts. She put a good distance between herself and the Hufflepuff chasers, dodged a bludger, and scored easily.
"Ten points for Ravenclaw!" Rob shouted into the magical megaphone.
The Hufflepuff chaser threw the quaffle to one of their chasers, but another Ravenclaw chaser intercepted it and scored again for Ravenclaw. Not 5 minutes later Lauren, who had been hovering above the game, took off after the snitch with the Ravenclaw seeker right behind her. Sofie saw what was happening.
"Go Emma, faster! Knock Lauren off her broom if you have to!"
The snitch suddenly changed it direction, and Emma responded faster than Lauren was able to. She stretched out her arm and grabbed the snitch.
"Ravenclaw wins in the shortest match that Hogwarts has seen in quite a while!" yelled Rob into the megaphone.
The Ravenclaw team touched down on the ground, where other students from their house were spilling onto the field. There were high fives and slaps on the back in every direction as the students slowly made their way off of the pitch.
Oliver spent the next three weeks trying to juggle all of his responsibilities. He had done a lot of thinking about what Adrianna had said to him at that quidditch practice a few weeks ago. He realized that she was right. He WAS burned out, and he didn't feel very useful anywhere because he was spreading himself so thin. He loved playing quidditch, but he knew that he couldn't do that forever. Right now he was on top of his game, but that wouldn't always be the case. One day, someone would come along who was younger, faster and stronger than him.
But Hogwarts, that was something more permanent. And he was still involved with quidditch at Hogwarts, he just wasn't playing anymore. In addition to that, he absolutely loved teaching. For the most part, he couldn't ask for better students. He had a special connection with his teammates, but he had a feeling that once he was gone then the connection would be gone as well. At Hogwarts, he had friends. Amazing friends. Real friends that would be his friends and support him no matter what he decided. And after considering everything, he knew that he didn't want to leave Hogwarts. If he had to give up something, it would have to be quidditch. He decided that he would talk to Leslie at practice the next day. Something had to give before he ended up suffering from a nervous breakdown.
Oliver approached Leslie the next day when practice was over. "Leslie, there's something I need to talk to you about," he said a little nervously.
"What is it, Oliver?"
"I- I can't do this anymore. I can't play quidditch and teach at the same time. It's taking too much out of me. I can't properly concentrate on anything anymore."
"You have another year left on your contract. Your binding, magical contract."
"I know." Oliver said. The frustration that he felt was evident in his voice. "Could you put me on the reserve team for the rest of the year?"
"You're the best keeper Scotland has had for a long time, Oliver. A lot of people would be upset if I put you on the reserve team for no good reason."
"So what? You want what's best for the team, right? And I'm no good for the team like this. People can say what they want, but they'll get over it. The Americans weren't too pleased to hear that Brighton isn't going to renew her contract, but there's nothing they can do. That was her decision, and this is my decision."
"Let's say, for the sake of argument, that I do put you on the reserve team. What am I supposed to tell the Daily Prophet and everyone else?"
"Tell then that you had to do it for personal reasons. Tell them that I'm losing my touch. Tell them that you wanted to try out your reserve keeper and see what she's got. I don't really care. You could make up just about anything as long as it sounds convincing."
"What happened to the Oliver I used to know? The one who was passionate about quidditch? The one who wouldn't have given up quidditch for a million galleons?"
"Things change, Leslie. People change."
"You're absolutely sure that you want to give it up? I'm not going to let my reserve keeper think that she's on the quidditch team, only for you to change your mind later and bump her out of the position."
Oliver took a deep breath. "I'm sure."
"Alright, it's done. I'll put you on the reserve team. The only practices you'll need to attend are the Sunday morning practices that I have just for the reserve team."
"Thank you so much Leslie. You don't know how much I appreciate it."
The next week, it was already the beginning of December. Oliver missed spending time with Adrianna and Fleur, so the three of them decided to spend the entire day hanging out together on Saturday. After having lunch together, they went outside and spent the day playing in the snow that came up to their knees. Friday had been an unusually warm day compared to the weather that they'd been having, but Saturday was frigid once again.
They didn't let the cold didn't bother them though. They made snow angels all over the grounds and built a snow fort down near the lake. Then they had a snow battle. They threw snowballs at each other and tackled each other, laughing and tumbling in the snow. Adrianna hid behind a large bush to catch her breath, but Oliver saw her and waited on the other side until she came out. He barreled into her, knocking her over backwards and landing right beside her. He sat up and looked at her. Her cheeks were rosy from the cold. Her long golden hair was spread out around her on the snow, shining in the setting winter sun. Her big, denim blue eyes stared into his, and for a few moments neither of them moved.
They just stayed there, staring at each other like that until they hear Fleur saying "We should go back to ze castle soon. It is almost time for dinner."
Oliver reluctantly stood up and helped Adrianna to her feet. He looked at the castle and realized that they were all the way on the other side of the lake.
"We could walk back across the lake so we're not late," Adrianna suggested.
"Are you sure that's a good idea? It was a pretty warm day yesterday," Oliver cautioned.
"It was one warm day in an entire month of frigid temperatures. I'll bet that lake is frozen solid the whole way the bottom," she countered. She slid down the bank onto the lake, walked out about 10 feet, and jumped up and down a few times. "See? Frozen."
Oliver and Fleur slid down the bank and started across the lake. Adrianna was still walking farther ahead of them. She turned around.
"Come on, slowpokes!"
They walked for about five minutes. Oliver and Fleur were just past the middle of the lake, and Adrianna was a little bit ahead of them. She came to a sudden halt where she was standing, then turned around.
"Go back!" she yelled frantically. "There's a cr..."
Her sentence ended abruptly as she disappeared. There was a large, dark, jagged hole in the ice where she had been standing just a moment ago.
"Adrianna!" Oliver yelled. He felt as though he had just been hit by a stunning charm. He desperately wanted to help Adrianna, but didn't seem capable of moving. Fleur fumbled with her robes for a moment and pulled out her wand.
"Wingardium leviosa!" she shouted, aiming her wand at the hole in the ice. Adrianna's body emerged from the lake and hovered over the hole.
"Accio!" cried Fleur, summoning Adrianna across the ice to them. "Finite incantatem," said Fleur, and Adrianna fell to the ice in front of them.
"We will 'ave to go back ze way we came," Fleur said to Oliver as he helped Adrianna up.
Fleur and Oliver put one of her arms around each of their shoulders to support her. Adrianna was dripping wet and shivering uncontrollably. She could barely walk and kept stumbling. She wasn't very alert, and couldn't talk because her teeth were chattering so much. She stumbled across the lake with their help, but as they reached the edge of the lake she collapsed and fell into the snow.
"You will 'ave to carry 'er ze rest of ze way. I am going to go ahead and get Poppy," said Fleur, and broke into a run in the direction of the castle.
Oliver noticed that Adrianna's clothes and hair had a thin coating of ice. He took off her icy cloak and wrapped his own dry cloak around her, then lifted her limp body into his arms and headed toward the castle. She was now shaking violently. She was still conscious, but just barely. She rested her head against his shoulder.
"Hang in there, Adrianna. Don't die on me," he said desperately as he went as quickly as his legs would take him back to the castle.
By the time Oliver made it back to the castle, Adrianna had lost consciousness. Her lips were blue, and she had stopped shivering. She was still breathing, but her breath was very slow and shallow. As he reached the doors he saw Lauren coming outside.
"Lauren hold the door!" he yelled as he climbed the stairs. Lauren's eyes grew wide when she saw who Oliver was carrying, but she held the door open for him. He ran through the corridors toward the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey had piled thick woolen blankets high on one of the hospital beds, and there was a stretcher hovering next to the bed. She and Fleur were filling hot water bottles.
"Put her on the stretcher," Madam Pomfrey instructed without turning around. Oliver did so, and Poppy bustled over.
"Help Professor Delacour fill those hot water bottles," she said as she drew a curtain around herself and Adrianna. Oliver heard Poppy use a severing charm to remove Adrianna's icy, wet robes. Then Poppy moved her into the hospital bed.
"Are the hot water bottles ready yet?" she called from behind the curtain.
"Yes," Fleur responded.
"Bring them here quickly," said Poppy. Fleur gathered them in her arms and disappeared behind the curtain around Adrianna's bed.
"Run downstairs and ask Severus for a warming potion. If he has any questions, tell him to come and see me," Oliver heard Poppy telling Fleur.
Fleur emerged from behind the curtain and jogged out of the Hospital wing. Poppy stuck her head out from behind the curtain.
"Oliver, I'll need you to get me a thermometer from my office," she instructed. Oliver did as he was told. Poppy took the thermometer from him and emerged a few minutes later.
"It's a miracle that she's still alive," she said. "That girl should be dead."
"She's going to be OK though, right Poppy?"
"It is too soon to tell, Oliver. I can only hope for the best and monitor her throughout the night."
Fleur returned a few minutes later with Severus Snape and a bottle filled with warming potion.
"What's going on?" asked Snape.
"Professor Brighton fell in the lake and has hypothermia. Without this potion she will probably die. I can't give it to her unless she regains consciousness, though," Poppy explained. "Do any of you know the password for Professor Brighton's rooms? She will probably want her pajamas if she wakes up."
Snape and Fleur both shook their heads.
"I do," said Oliver.
"Would you be kind enough to go and get her pajamas? Bring the warmest ones you can find."
Oliver nodded and left the hospital wing. He stood in front of the bookcase.
"Can you hear me now? Good."
The door swung open. Oliver walked through Adrianna's living room into the bedroom and opened up her wardrobe. He found a pair of one-piece fleece pajamas that zipped up the front. He also grabbed a pair of regular flannel pajamas and some warm woolen socks. On his way out he saw Chip lying on the rug in front of the fireplace, where the fire had burned out.
"Come on, Chip. Adrianna might not be back for a while."
Chip got up and followed Oliver out of Adrianna's rooms. Oliver went back to the hospital wing with the pajamas and gave them to Madam Pomfrey.
"Please Poppy, can we see her?" asked Oliver.
"I suppose, but try not to open the curtains too far. I want to keep out the draft."
Oliver, Fleur and Severus slipped through the opening in the curtains and gathered around her bed. Oliver's breath caught in his throat when he saw her. Poppy had tucked the blankets tightly around her so that the only part of her that wasn't covered was her face. Her skin was so pale that it was almost white. Her lips were still a pale shade of blue. If it weren't for her shallow but even breathing, Oliver would have thought that she was dead. Oliver had forgotten about Chip until now, when he jumped up on the bed and curled up on Adrianna's stomach.
"What is that and how did it get in here?" yelled Snape.
"It's Chip, her pet kneazle. I brought him with me because I thought that he might get lonely if Adrianna is here for a while," said Oliver.
After hearing Snape yell, Madam Pomfrey came through the curtain. She spotted Chip lying on Adrianna's stomach. "Brilliant," she said. "That kneazle will help bring up her body temperature."
She looked at the small group gathered around Adrianna's bed. "I am sorry, but you'll all have to at least wait outside the curtain. If she wakes up I'll need room to work."
Severus and Fleur shuffled out of the curtained area. Oliver waited until they were gone, then kissed Adrianna gently on the forehead and emerged from the partition behind them. Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore had entered the hospital wing while he'd been inside the curtain. Both wore very anxious looks on their faces.
"How is she?" asked Dumbledore.
"It doesn't look good," said Snape. "She's barely alive now. If she doesn't wake, Poppy won't be able to administer the potion. She might not make it through the night."
One by one, other teachers made their way into the hospital wing. Even Professor Trelawney put in an appearance. "I saw it happening when I was crystal gazing earlier," she said. "The poor girl..."
"Oh, shove it Sybil!" shouted Professor McGonagall, to everyone's surprise. "We don't want to hear it. All will reveal itself in good time."