Chapter 12

(Thanks to my reviewers: DimTwilight, HermioneGirl03, EVILMWHAA HA HA HAA and badmoony)

"Come on, lovebirds, rise and shine! It's morning time!" James ripped open the curtains, filling the common room with blinding sunshine. Roseline groaned, and opened her eyes. She was lying on the couch with Sirius' arms wrapped around her, and he too looked as though he had just been woken up.

"James, did you have to?" Roseline stretched, yawning. James grinned.

"You're lucky I did. Give it a few more minutes and the whole of Gryffindor will be down here."

Roseline looked around. Remus was sitting up in the armchair he'd slept in, tousle-haired and pale. James was standing by the window wearing his Quidditch robes and holding his broomstick.

"Quidditch practice?" Roseline asked.

"Yep," said a seventh-year as she entered the room. She was tall, with long red hair tied back in a ponytail, and she too was wearing Quidditch robes and carrying a broom. Roseline recognised her as Chassie Reynolds, one of the Gryffindor Chasers.

"Morning James," she continued. "Ready to go? Markus, Robert, Cillian and Pauric are all ready down at the pitch." James nodded, and the two of them disappeared down the staircase.

"Well," said Remus, looking around the room. "I suppose we'd better get up. Did you two get a good night's sleep?"

"Yeah, it was all right, I had a very comfy pillow" said Sirius with a yawn. Remus laughed and went to get dressed. Roseline shifted herself into a more upright position, noticing how Sirius flinched as she accidently knocked his leg.

"What was that?" She said sharply.

"What?" said Sirius.

"I'm not blind Sirius, I saw you wince."

"You're either still asleep or paranoid. I didn't."

In one swift movemet, Roseline lifted the hem of his robes, revealing a huge gash on Sirius' left shin. It looked deep, and the edges were tinged with green. She looked him in the eye.

"You didn't wince?"

Sirius yanked the robes out of her grip.

"No, I didn't."

"What happened to you?"

"Nothing."

"Why didn't you go to Madam Pomfrey?"

"I don't need to."

"Sirius," Roseline said firmly. "You are going to the hospital wing."

"I am not."

"Fine. Be like that. You don't have to go voluntarily. But you are going to go." She pointed her wand at him. "Petrificus totallis!" His body went as rigid as a board. She ran quickly up to the boys dormitory, which was empty, and opened James' trunk. She covered Sirius with the invisibility cloak, and whispered "Locomotor corpus."

Roseline was halfway to the hospital wing, with Sirius' invisible body floating before her, when she heard someone calling her name.

"Roseline! Roseline!" She turned, to see one of the fourth-year girls running towards her. She was wearing Quidditch robes. She skidded to a halt beside her, almost impaling the invisible Sirius on her broomstick as she stopped and swept her long light brown hair back off her face.

"Thank goodness, another Gryffindor," she panted. It was Ellen Hennessey, another of the Gryffindor Chasers, and the youngest player on the team. "Everyone's gone down to breakfast. You don't know where the rest of the team are, do you? Only I overslept and I'm late for practise."

Roseline smiled. "They're down on the pitch. And don't worry, Chassie and James only went down a few minutes ago."

"Thanks Roseline," called Ellen as she dashed off down the corridor.

.........................................................................................................

"Miss Kehst! What in Merlin's name are you doing?" Madam Pomfrey glared at Roseline as she entered the hospital wing, holding her wand in front of her like a conductor's baton. Roseline gulped. She had meant to remove the cloak and unfreeze Sirius before she met Madam Pomfrey, but she had forgotten.

"Er.....Oh, sorry Madam Pomfrey, there's something I forgot. I'll be back in a minute." She dodged out the door again and pulled off the cloak. "Restorer traverses." Sirius got to his feet, looking furious.

"Roseline Kehst-"he began.

"Sorry Sirius. You have to do this." She shoved him back in the door.

"Sorry Madam Pomfrey. I think there's something you should see."

Madam Pomfrey fitted a pair of tiny silver spectacles onto the bridge of her nose.

"What is it?"

"Sirius injured his leg, and I think you should have a look at it. It doesn't look to good."

"Alright then. Sit up on the bed there and show me your leg."

Glowering horribly, Sirius did what he was told. Madam Pomfrey bent down and examined his leg carefully.

"I see."

She straightened up, glaring at Sirius. "Mr. Black, would you mind telling us how you came to have acromantula venom in your leg?"

Behind Madam Pomfrey's back, Roseline gasped and quickly clapped her hand over her mouth. Sirius shot her a look that plainly said: Now look what you've done.

Turning back to the nurse, Sirius replied. "I didn't know that was what it was. I broke a bottle of something in the dungeons and cut my leg on the glass."

Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips, and it was quite obvious she didn't believe him. "Well Mr. Black," she said. "I could have fixed this much easier if you'd come to me earlier. As it is you'll be in the hospital wing for at least three days. And the healing process will be by no means painless. You can take that bed down the end there, now go and get changed."

The moment Madam Pomfrey was out of earshot, Roseline turned on Sirius.

"Why didn't you tell me you still had injuries from that?" she hissed.

"When was I supposed to tell you? When you had jinxed me and were floating me round the school?" He retorted.

Roseline opened her mouth to argue back but Sirius interrupted her before she got started.

"Look Roseline, I'm not being stupid, I have my own reasons, okay? I can take care of myself."

"You lived with that for two months and still think you were doing the right thing? You're crazy."

Sirius scowled. "I can think for myself. I have reasons for doing things, even if I don't share them with you."

He turned his back on her and yanked the curtains shut around his bed.

Roseline glared at the curtains for a moment, before giving a snort of disgust and marching out of the room.