Mosh-13: Yay! You're back. I'm sorry to hear you've been sick. Hope you feel better. They are nice chappies, huh? Glad to hear.
Chapter 11
It had been five days since Roxy had been found outside in the cold snow. No one had no idea what had happened to her for the young witch had remained asleep since then. The sixth year Hufflepuff's shuffled their feet into the Potions classroom and sat down. They had been awfully quiet ever since their fellow classmate had been taken to the infirmary. By now, Ernie had gotten over blaming himself.
The sixth year Slytherins didn't even bother messing with the Hufflepuffs. Now was certainly not the time to go at them when they were so down that they barely spoke. Professor Snape swept into the room and quickly assigned a potion for the day with instructions on the board. The Potions professor had been in a rather foul mood since the day Roxy had been sent to the infirmary. He had even take points from a second year Slytherin the other day!
Justin worked meticulously on his potion, making sure to do every direction just right. He felt guilty about getting Roxy to take his spot for prefect duty and knew that he should have tried harder to get another prefect to fill in for him. The Hufflepuff boy was working hard in his classes for Roxy. He could hear her voice now if he fell behind because of feeling guilty.
"Stopping feeling so bloody guilty. It's not yours or anyone else's fault. I was the one that went outside without Ernie. It was a decision I made. Now get those bloody grades up!"
Justin shook his head as he silently laughed to himself. He watched the potion turn blue and then waited to put in the unicorn hair in. Megan nudged him in the back with her quill. Justin threw a glance over his shoulder.
"What?" whispered Justin.
"Do you have any extra unicorn hair? I didn't grab enough," whispered back Megan.
Justin grabbed the small piece of unicorn hair that he didn't need and handed it to her. She mouthed 'thank you' and he nodded his head. Professor Snape had seen the exchange but didn't say anything as he graded the third years essays. Thanks to Roxy being in the infirmary, he had to grade the papers. Truthfully, he rather liked having her help him out.
Soon class was finished and everyone left. With Roxy in the infirmary, Ernie and Justin led the Hufflepuff group out of the dungeons instead.
"I have an idea. It's lunch time so why don't we go visit Roxy?" suggested Susan.
"We can't. Madame Pomfrey will only let us in to see before dinner," replied Wayne.
"This whole thing stinks! I hope Roxy wakes up soon," exclaimed Megan.
"Me too, Meg," murmured Ernie.
Little did the Hufflepuff's know that as they were entering the Great Hall, said Hufflepuff was awake and being checked by Madame Pomfrey. The medi-witch had her do a small series of tests before announcing that she was fully recovered.
"You gave us all quite a shock, Roxy," said Madame Pomfrey.
"I know I probably did. I'm sorry," apologized Roxy.
"It's okay. As long as you don't do it again," warned Madame Pomfrey.
"I won't. Next time I'll take Ernie with me."
"Next time?!"
Roxy smiled innocently as she grabbed her wand and jacket. Madame Pomfrey gave her a stern look when she put her jacket on.
"What?" asked Roxy.
"Do you really think I'm going to let you go outside?" inquired Madame Pomfrey.
"I was kind of hoping. Come on, Madame Pomfrey! I've been asleep for five days. I need some fresh air!" said Roxy.
"Fine. The day's almost over so I'll let the professors know that you're up and that you are dismissed from your classes for the day," reported Madame Pomfrey.
"Wicked. But could you tell them not to tell any of the students? I want to surprise them all at dinner," smirked Roxy.
Madame Pomfrey softly laughed and agreed to honor Roxy's request. Roxy left and walked into the entrance hall, taking special care to not be seen by any students. Thankfully, the Great Hall doors were closed when she passed them and went outside. Roxy happily jogged through the snow towards her destination.
She knew she was taking a huge risk by going in there but she wanted to visit her old friend. Carefully, Roxy opened the door to the Dark Forest and entered. It was a lot nicer in the Dark Forest when it wasn't nighttime. She was deep in the forest when she stopped and cupped her hands to her mouth.
"Lilith!" shouted Roxy.
At first, she heard nothing. Then out of the blue appeared Lilith in all her unicorn glory. The unicorn was happy to see her friend and rubbed her nose against Roxy's cheek.
"It's great to see you too, girl. I've really missed you," said Roxy.
Lilith whinnied and licked Roxy's face.
"Thanks. I always wanted a kiss from a unicorn," jokingly stated Roxy as she wiped her face off with her hand.
"You know I'm breaking a ton of school rules just by stepping near the Dark Forest," informed Roxy.
Lilith tilted her head as if to say 'So what?' Roxy smiled as she petted the unicorn's mane.
"You're such a sweet girl," whispered Roxy.
Lilith snorted and laid the front half of her body down. Roxy looked at her strangely. Lilith whinnied for her to get on.
"Okay. But no bucking me off," said Roxy as she climbed on.
As soon as she was situated, Lilith stood up and started galloping along through the forest. Roxy kept a tight grip on Lilith's mane but the more she rode, the more she relaxed and lessened her grip. Soon Lilith was up to trotting and moving quite swiftly through the Dark Forest. The young witch had read about unicorns being "so fleet of foot that it is very difficult to capture."
Finally, they came to a stop at a large lake. Roxy climbed down and sat down alongside the lake as Lilith drank some of the water.
"This is beautiful. I didn't think the Dark Forest could ever be so beautiful. I guess it's just more spooky at night," concluded Roxy.
Lilith finished drinking and without warning, whinnied loudly. The sudden sound nearly made Roxy jump. She stared at the unicorn strangely. Suddenly, strange creatures appeared from out of nowhere. A small bird-like creature landed on her shoulder. She looked at it closely then gasped.
"You're a snidget!" exclaimed Roxy.
The small completely round bird nodded its head. It had a very long, thin beak and glistening, jewel-like red eyes that made Roxy realize what it was.
"Such a cute little guy," muttered Roxy as she softly petted its head.
Then a creature appeared at her left but when she turned to look at it she immediately froze. Standing before her was a full grown hippogriff. Keeping eye contact with the hippogriff, Roxy stood up and then bowed. The hippogriff stared at her curiously before bowing in return. Roxy sighed in relief and stepped forward to pet the majestic creature.
A few more creatures appeared and Roxy found them quite fascinating. The creatures consisted of a jobberknoll, a jarvey, and some fairies. The young witch looked at Lilith who was laying down.
"These are your friends, huh?" asked Roxy.
Lilith nodded her head. Roxy enjoyed the time she spent talking to the animals as though they understood her.
"Do you guys mind if I borrow a few um feathers and stuff from you?" nervously asked Roxy.
Surprisingly, the animals all nodded their heads. The jobberknoll gave her some feathers, Lilith gave her some blood and hair, and the hippogriff gave her some blood. She put the blood in some vials she conjured up and put the rest of the stuff in a backpack she transfigured from a rock.
"I had a great time. But it's getting late so I better get going. The only problem is I don't know how to get back," confessed Roxy.
Lilith picked her up by the back of her jacket with her teeth and set her on the hippogriff's back. Roxy stared at Lilith and then the hippogriff.
"You're going to fly me back to the entrance of the Dark Forest?"
The hippogriff nodded before taking flight. Roxy couldn't believe the wonderful view she had while riding the giant creature. True, she flew a lot but when you're flying on a broom you have to concentrate on keeping it up so you do not really have much time to stop and take a look at the scenery. Before she knew it, the hippogriff was landing a few feet from the entrance to the Dark Forest.
"Thanks for the ride. It would have taken me forever to get back here. I guess I'll see you around," said Roxy.
The hippogriff made a sound of approval before flying away. Roxy stayed where she was, watching the animal fly away until she could no longer see it. Then she turned around and and walked towards the entrance door. Soon she left the Dark Forest and ran to the castle. Dinner had just begun when Roxy came jogging into the entrance hall.
Roxy put two fingers to her mouth and whistled. Satan flew in from the hallway that led to the Hufflepuff dorms. Roxy took her backpack off and handed it over to the Augurey.
"Take this back to the dorm and hide it under the bed. I do not want anyone to see what's inside this. Okay?"
Satan nodded his head and flew off back to the dorms. Roxy smiled. Satan was a loyal and caring friend. He was there for her when she needed him and she liked that. She made sure she looked okay before entering the Great Hall quietly without being noticed by anyone. They were all too busy chatting about her as she stood near the front doors. The professors were the only ones that saw her.
"Did you hear?"
"Hear what?"
"The Hufflepuff's went to visit Roxy but when they got there Madame Pomfrey told them that Roxy wasn't to be disturbed."
"Really? I thought they were allowed to see her before dinner."
"They are. But word around the school is that she got worse and they're having to move her to St. Mungo's tonight."
Roxy put a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughs. She stayed where she was to see what others were saying.
"I bet you she did get better but the Minister came and got her."
"Yeah and he probably had her transferred back to her old school."
"Most definitely!"
Even the headmaster had to lightly chuckle at the Ravenclaw's way of thinking. It was then that Roxy heard the next words leave the words of a certain Slytherin.
"You want to know what I heard?"
"Tell us, Draco."
"I heard Madame Pomfrey couldn't get her temperature up and Ro died. Pomfrey's just keeping the Hufflepuff's away so they won't find out about their expired friend."
Many of the students heard Malfoy and began whispering about what he had said. This was when Roxy decided to let her presence be known.
"Expired, huh?" shouted Roxy.
The students eyes flew to her and everyone went quiet. You could hear a pin drop in that room.
"I know I'm a little pale but do I look dead to you?" sarcastically asked Roxy.
"That's our Roxy!" hollered Megan.
It was as if the half of the room had exploded. The Hufflepuff's cheered louder than they had ever done. When Roxy had reached her spot at the table, the Hufflepuff Quidditch team was hugging their Keeper to death. Other students began to cheer and clap for the return of Roxy. The whole people not cheering or clapping would be the moping Slytherins who had hoped Roxy had at least been transferred back to her old school by her father.
All through dinner Roxy was bombarded with all sorts of questions. She avoided answering any questions of what had happened that night Ron had found her buried under the snow or that had to do with what she had done the whole afternoon.
"We sure did miss you, Roxy," said Kevin.
"I know. Madame Pomfrey told me you guys hadn't been talking much and Justin has apparently brought his grades up higher than usual," smirked Roxy.
Justin blushed Gryffindor red as he bit into an apple. The Hufflepuff's happily talked and rejoiced. Soon everyone left the Great Hall but when it was time to go back to the dorms Roxy headed for the dungeons.
"Yo Roxy! Where ya going? Dorms are this way," spoke up Owen.
"I know that. But I've been asleep for five days and I need to go chat with Professor Snape. I need to see what he wants me to do about missing the last few days," explained Roxy.
"Oh. Well, I'll tell the others you'll be back in a little while."
"Sure. Thanks, Owen."
"Got to make sure they don't start worrying about you over nothing."
Silently, Roxy agreed as she walked down into the dark, eerie dungeons. She entered the Potions classroom and found Professor Snape working over a boiling cauldron.
"Nice to see you're awake, Miss Fudge."
Roxy froze where she was and looked at Professor Snape like he was suicidal.
"Excuse me? Didn't I basically blow up at you the last time you called me that when we were sort of talking?" hinted Roxy.
"I'm well aware, Roxy."
"Thank you."
Professor Snape gave her a stern look that told her not to push it. Roxy moved closer to see what her professor was brewing. It appeared to be the wolfsbane potion.
"I used a few of your ideas on the wolfsbane the last time I made it. The person I supply these potions to said the potion made quite a difference. It was less painful to transform and tasted much better than the usual crap," said Professor Snape.
"Glad to hear. Be sure to tell Remus next time who made those suggestions," replied Roxy.
Professor Snape raised an eyebrow at her as he added the next ingredient.
"You know Lupin? How?" inquired Professor Snape.
"I ran into him at the Ministry one day. I literally ran into him. He helped me up and apologized. We started talking and soon he asked me if I wanted to go with him to Diagon Alley. I made sure my dad knew before I left. Later on, after a lot of convincing that I could be trusted, he told me about the bite. That's how I know him and about the bite."
"Interesting tale, Roxy. Now you best get back to your dormitory before curfew," advised the Potions professor.
"Okay. But is there anyting I can do to help you out? You must have been delayed on some things 'cause I wasn't here."
"Yes, Roxy, I've been delayed on a few things. Come in tomorrow after breakfast and I'll put you to work."
"See you then. Pleasant dreams, professor," said Roxy as she left.
"Same to you, Miss Fudge."
Roxy stuck her head back in the door with a smirk on her face.
"Good night, Severus."
Professor Snape's head snapped up but Roxy was already gone before he could take any points away. But if she had not left so early she would not have missed the tiny smile formed on the professor's face.
I suppose I asked for that when I called her Miss Fudge, thought Professor Snape.
Roxy jogged down the hallway until she was halfway to the entrance hall. From there she walked.
"That was so much fun. I don't think he'll take points off. Of course, this is the "greasy git" we're talking about," said Roxy out loud to herself.
Roxy rounded the corner, almost to the entrance hall, when she stopped dead. Laying on the floor with a pool of blood around him was Kevin. It was then that Roxy saw something on the wall but it was too dark to see.
"Lumos."
The end of Roxy's wand lit up and she held it up. On the wall read a message written in the fresh blood that surrounded Kevin. It read, The impure will be purged from this world and those that get in the way shall share the same fate. Beware of the burning Mark. Roxy dropped her wand, her hand flying to her mouth. Then she dropped to her knees beside Kevin.
First, she checked for a pulse. She sang Merlin's name when she found a faint pulse. The bleeding was coming from the side of his head where he had obviously hit it on something. Roxy
quickly yanked her bandana out of her pocket and applied pressure to the wound. The Hufflepuff girl gazed down both ends of the hallway but saw no one. She wasn't that far from the Potions classroom and knew that Professor Snape was still there working on his potion.
"Help! Professor Snape! Help!" screamed Roxy, her scream echoing down the hallway.
Professor Snape shook his head as he shredded up some wartroot and added it to the potion. It had been one of Roxy's ideas. For some odd reason, the shredded wartroot was what made the potion taste better. Why, Professor Snape had no earthly idea. He was stirring the mixture when the Headmaster's head appeared in his fireplace.
"What can I do for you, Albus?" sneered Professor Snape.
"Now, Severus, what makes you think I want something of you? I simply wish to talk with you," said Professor Dumbledore.
"Then talk. I'm busy making this potion for your wolf. Thanks to Miss Roxy, the potion is much improved."
"She is a good potions maker."
"I'm sure you didn't wish to talk about Hogwarts' new celebrity."
"No, I didn't."
The two talked on for a few minutes before Professor Dumbledore said good-bye to his colleague and disappeared from the fireplace.
"Thank Merlin. One can only take so much of that enthusiastic old man," grumbled Professor Snape.
It was only a few seconds after this that Professor Snape heard someone shouting.
"Help! Professor Snape! Help!"
Recognizing the owner of the voice, he put the stirrer down on the table and swept out of the room in a flurry. The end of his wand was lit with the Lumos spell as he hurried down the dungeon hallway. Roxy's voice had sounded very off and he knew that something was wrong. He didn't care if the potion exploded or if a Slytherin snuck in to grab some ingredient. All he cared about for that brief moment was the well being of his student.
He rushed around the corner and saw Roxy kneeling on the ground beside a younger student. Professor Snape hurried over and looked around. He saw no one else around and didn't sense any dark magic either.
"What happened?" demanded Professor Snape.
"I think he was attacked. He has mild burn marks on his arm and shoulder. I think the blast may have sent him against the wall where he hit his head. But, professor there's a-," Roxy's voice drifted off as she stared speechless at the wall.
Professor Snape followed her gaze and held up his wand. This was where the message was and he read it. The writing was familiar, alerting him of who had written it. He conjured up a stretcher and levitated Kevin onto it.
"Keep applying pressure to his head wound. He seems to have lost enough blood already. It wouldn't do good for him to lose anymore."
Professor Snape walked toward the infirmary with the floating stretcher and Roxy following. Unknown to Roxy, her wand lay forgotten on the dungeon floor.
End of Chapter 11