Chapter 7
"Mmmm. These sheets feel so good," I mumbled to myself.
"Cristina? Who are you talking to?" someone asked me.
I woke up. I was sleeping on my stomach with the sheets actually covering me (A.N. that never really happens; the sheets always fall off.) And I was, surprise, still in the Hospital Wing.
Wondering who had spoken to me, I turned over onto my back: Andrew was in the same bed as me.
"Oh shit!" I thought to myself.
Andrew must have seen my reaction in the dim light: "Don't worry Cristina. It's not what you think. You fell asleep, I pulled the covers over you, and then I fell asleep. No big deal."
Not knowing what else to do, I sat up on the bed and grabbed Andrew's watch from the night stand. It was almost 6 o'clock Wednesday morning.
We couldn't stay out of classes forever. Amazingly, my wand was still tucked inside my Quidditch robe, which I was still wearing for some reason. Can we say gross?
But anyway.....I pulled out my wand. "Lumos," I whispered, watching the tip of my wand light up.
I held my wand so that I could better see Andrew and he could better see me.
"I don't know about you, but I'm going back to the Common Room so I can get ready for the day's classes. We can't escape from them forever," I said, getting off of the bed.
"Well, since you're going back to classes, I guess I also have to. So let's leave now; it may take me a while," he said, slowly getting out of bed.
I was sitting on Oliver's bed, looking down at him and stroking his head, where he still lies silent. I then heard a noise behind me; something hollow hit something hard and solid.
I turned around and pointed my wand at Andrew, who I could hardly see in the early morning light. He was rubbing his forehead.
"What was that Andrew?" I asked him.
"I uh..... I hit my head," he said.
"I could tell; that's what the hollow sound was. And so you banged your head against the wall because you were too stupid to take out your wand and say "Lumos." Right?"
Andrew just nodded his head at me. I stood up, leaned over and kissed Oliver's forehead, and walked to the end of his bed. Andrew walked over to me.
"He'll be ok Cristina. All we can do is wait."
I looked up at Andrew. "Thanks."
He then put his right arm around my neck and let his right hand hang over my right shoulder. I felt his hand slowly move down.
"If your hand moves any lower, you'll be in the Hospital Wing for a week," I said, thus making his hand move up onto my shoulder. "That's better."
He just gave me one of his grins.
So, finally, after being in the Hospital Wing for 4 days, we went back to our Common Room to prepare for the up-coming school day. Thankfully, when we got into the room, no one was up yet. We walked up to our dorms rooms together; then I went right and he went left.
Quietly, I opened the door to my dorm room, walked in, and silently closed the door back. I went over to my bed and saw that someone had retrieved my Firebolt and placed it on my bed. I smiled. I then gathered my uniform and went to take a shower.
When I entered the bathroom, I locked the door behind me, even though no one else would be up for another hour. I arranged all of my clothes on a shelf next to the shower itself. Then I looked into the mirror.
"Well, you could look worse, Cristina, you really could. A good, long shower should help a lot," I said to myself, seeing just how dirty I was.
************************************************************************
"That felt so much better," I said to no one, as I got dressed in the bathroom.
Then I wrapped my hair in my towel; it's the only way I can get it to dry. Then I went back over to the mirror.
"Amazing what something as simple as a shower can do for you," I said to myself, though I did notice the few cuts and scrapes I had gotten, most likely from falling and skidding across the sand around the goals.
"You look much better, dear," the mirror replied to what I had said.
"Thanks," I mumbled as I walked out the door.
And what an ambush I encountered when I walked out. I couldn't make out what any one person was saying. It was chaotic! I could hear a few distinct words though.
".........got your Firebolt for you......"
".........glad you're back..........never want that to happen again......."
".........missed very little in class the past 2 days........"
I enjoyed the fact that they had all missed me, but I really did need to get myself ready.
"If you all don't mind, I really do need to get ready for the day's classes. So could everyone just, you know, disperse?" I said, attempting to make my way over to my bed.
And, thankfully, with that said, everyone in my dorm went about their own ways of getting ready, allowing me to breathe again.
Reaching my trunk, I opened it and removed my supplies for my classes for the day: Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, and then Divination.
Stuffing everything into my bag, I placed it all on top of my bed. I then let my hair down out of the towel and placed my brush into my bag; I'd need to brush my hair later, it still needed to dry some more. After doing that, I picked up my bag and went down into the Common Room to escape the crowd of happy friends.
I wasn't alone.
Sliding down onto the couch in front of the fire, I joined Andrew who was also sitting there.
"So. I'm guessing that you were ambushed by those who were happy to have you back, right?" I said, smirking.
"Ah, they got you too? I'm not surprised though. And I won't be surprised if everyone in this House ambushes you together fairly soon," he said, looking around to see if anyone else was there with us.
He was right. In a matter of minutes, everyone in our House would be coming through the Common Room to go to breakfast and then class. And I would be the center of attention.
"Well in that case, you want to get a head start to breakfast with me?" I asked, getting up and reaching for my bag.
"Yeah, that would be a really good idea, so let's go," he replied, also standing and getting his bag.
And with that, we were out of our Common Room and on our way to the Great Hall. Thankfully, we made it there without anyone seeing us, since it was still a little earlier than when most students came.
Then, what a surprise; the rest of the Gryffindor House came down, one giant mass of talking students. That's how I knew when to hide under the table.
After everyone was seated without noticing me, Andrew stuck his head under the table and said, "You can come out now, I don't believe that you'll be mobbed at the time."
So I came out to find the rest of our Quidditch team seated around us, with the exception of Andrew, Rebecca, and Brian.
And then there was that empty space next to me where Oliver always sits.
"So how long do the two of you have to be 'bandage heads'?" Rebecca asked me.
"Oh, uh, until the bruise goes away, which may be a while," I replied.
"I'd love to see you brush your hair now," Robin said to me, laughing as usual.
"Speaking of that, I completely forgot I still need to brush my hair!" I said, pulling out my brush and doing my hair. "Oh shit, I forgot a hair tie. Oh well, I'll just leave it down today," I added, putting my brush away.
Looking at my watch, I realized that it was time for me to head up to Arithmancy; it takes a while to get up there.
So I grabbed my bag and said, "If anyone else wishes to get to class on time, I suggest that we leave now."
With that said, Rebecca, Lillie, Andrew, Tommy, Krista, and Bianca stood and walked out the door with me. On the way there, I had them inform Andrew and myself about what we had missed. Thankfully, we hadn't missed much.
So that class passed by without any trouble.
Then it was time to head down for Care of Magical Creatures. Rebecca came with us; Andrew, myself, and Tommy. She had Herbology; we all had to go outside, so why not go together?
At the entrance of the school, we met up with Harry, Hermione, and Adrianna.
Looking around and not seeing any flaming red hair, I asked, "Harry, where's Ron? You always have the same classes."
"He had his schedule changed so he could have every class with Alli," he replied.
"When did this happen?" I asked further.
"Monday. You were still out."
"Oh." Not wanting to make this a bad day, I said, "Vamos a Care of Magical Creatures o Herbology!"
That got everyone to lighten up. We ran outside, though I still wasn't up to my usual standards, but neither was Andrew, so I didn't feel too bad. Reaching Hagrid's hut, Rebecca left us for Herbology. The rest of us went to the fenced-in area, waiting to see what the creature of the day would be.
Not seeing anything there, Andrew and I went to find Hagrid so we could ask about what we had missed. I didn't expect that we had missed much though. We found him coming from an edge of the Forbidden Forest, carrying a large, wooden crate.
"I won't even ask about what's in there," I whispered to Andrew, who was still eyeing that crate uneasily.
"Well, hello thar Cristina, Andrew. Glad ter sees the two of yeh back. But where's yer friend, Mr. Wood, at?" he said.
At hearing that, I was yet again reminded that Oliver was still in the Hospital Wing. I just looked down at the ground.
"Oh, er, I'm sorry Cristina," Hagrid said putting the crate down, which was covered by a heavy lid. "Yeh know what? Wer' not doin' much today, so if yeh wants, Andrew here could stay an' take notes for yeh while ye's visits Mr. Wood. Just don' tell none o yer other teacher's I let yeh do this, righ'?"
Looking up, I gave a weak smile and said, "Thanks Hagrid. No one else will know."
Getting my bag off of the ground, I started walking back towards the castle. Then I stopped to say one last thing: "Andrew, you better take good notes. I can't afford to get behind anymore than I already am." Then I walked off.
************************************************************************
Upon reaching the Hospital Wing, I walked over to Oliver's bed and set my bag next to it.
"Hey Oliver, I'm back," I said, sitting on an edge of his bed and taking his hands in mine. "I was able to get out of class to come and see you, but I can't say how; it's a secret that I promised I'd keep. Seems like you haven't changed since I left you this morning. It's been too long. I can't stand seeing you like this. Everyone was happy that Andrew and I were out of here and back in classes, but they don't like to mention you around me. And I appreciate that. But for now, I'm here with you."
When I get emotional sometimes, it seems that I become a bit drowsy. So, with that, I soon fell asleep.
************************************************************************
"Cristina? Cristina, wake up. We've gotta get to Charms now. Come on, get up," someone said to me, shaking me until I got up.
"I'm up, I'm up," I said warily, looking to see who it was; oh, Tommy had come to get me. "¿Por qué tú eres aquí?"
"What? I have no idea what you just said, but I came to find you since you weren't at lunch. Andrew said I would find you here. So get up and let's get to class," he said, handing me my bag and dragging me off the bed. Taking one last look at Oliver, I was gone.
We met up with Andrew, Rebecca, Lillie, Kevin, Taylor, Becca, Ken, Robin, and Bethany outside of our Charms classroom. No one said anything as we walked in and took our seats. I sat between Rebecca and Bethany.
"Today class, we will be learning the spell, Spongify. This spell will turn solid objects, such as a floor tile, into a spongy surface which you can bounce quite high on," Professor Flitwick said to us, causing us to all become more attentive.
************************************************************************
"That was a really fun class!" Robin said, pulling out her wand and pointing it at a floor tile a few feet from us. "Spongify!"
She couldn't resist. She jumped on the now spongy surface and flew through the air until she came down, which was quite funny. Then we all did the same, just wanting to experience that weightless sensation.
"Ok, time to get serious now," I said, trying to stop my own laughing, "some of us have to get to Divination now, unfortunately."
And that we did; myself, Andrew, Kevin, and Rebecca. When we got to the trapdoor that would take us to our class, we found Harry, Ron and Alli waiting for us. Then we all ascended into that stuffy, asthmatic's-nightmare of a room.
As soon as I got in there, I made sure to stake my claim on the table next to the window, so I could open the window and breathe.
I've learned before to never disturb a teacher if they happen to be in a 'trance,' so I just sat back down at my table, which was now occupied by Kevin, Andrew and Harry, while the table next to us was occupied by Ron, Alli, and Rebecca.
"Great. I get to end my day in torture," I said, trying to force the window open. "Well would you look at that," I mumbled, getting the boys' attention, "our Professor Trelawney is trying to stop us from breathing. She's put a lock on the window. Alright, then I'll just have to get even. Alohomora."
And saying that caused the window to swing open, relieving us with the fresh air. That's also when we saw our teacher come out of her 'trance.'
"Well, guess this means we won't have a free class today," Kevin said, causing us to laugh.
************************************************************************
"I really don't know if that class could be any more boring than it already is," Rebecca said, yawning and stretching her arms.
"I'm sure it could be, but let's not 'jinx' ourselves, ok?" I said, causing everyone else to laugh at my little pun.
"Since we're near the Common Room, let's go put our stuff up before heading down to dinner," Ron said, taking Alli's arm.
So we all went to the Common Room, dropped off our bags in our dorms, and left for dinner.
************************************************************************
Dinner over, we returned to the Common Room, nicely full of food and ready for the weekend.
An hour later, while everyone else was busy doing whatever they wanted, mostly talking, I snuck into the Fifth year boy's dorm room and went over to Oliver's trunk.
"Alohomora," I whispered, so no one downstairs could hear me.
His trunk popped open and I grabbed what I was in there for. I quickly closed and locked it back. Then I went back to my own dorm room, climbed into my bed, pulled the curtains closed, and pretended to sleep.
"Alright everyone, lights out," I heard Rebecca tell our House. Minutes later, she walked into our room, got into her bed, and was soon sleeping.
I waited at least thirty minutes, just to make sure that everyone was sleeping. Then I got out of bed, still wearing my uniform, and grabbed what I'd had on my bed with me; my wand, my Invisibility Cloak, and the item from Oliver's trunk.
Making my way down to the Common Room, I made sure to be as quiet as I could. As soon as I was outside of the Common Room, I heard the portrait of the Fat Lady close behind me.
Throwing on my Invisibility Cloak, I silently made my way to the Hospital Wing. Upon reaching it, I pulled out my wand and removed my cloak.
"Lumos," I whispered as the tip of my wand lit up.
Using my wand as a light, I made my way over to Oliver's bed. Reaching him, I sat down next to him on his bed. Then I pulled out what I had taken from his trunk; Oliver's Quidditch playbook, full of plays that he made up for our team.
Stroking his head with one hand, I used my other hand to look through his play book. He'd said that I could borrow it anytime I wanted to. He'd also made me the team's second Captain, so I've seen every play in here, except for any new ones, which, knowing him, there should be at least 15 new plays right now. So I flipped through every play, just to review them, when I got to the new ones.
But then I noticed something: he had written my name in his playbook, many, many times over. I went straight to the back of it; he had a picture of the two of us together in the back of his playbook, holding the Quidditch Cup after we had won it the year before. I also saw where I had signed his book:
'Oliver,
You're the most amazing Keeper. EVER! And you're an even more amazing friend. Don't you forget that either. I really like being with you. Never change who you are.
Tu numero una amiga,
Cristina'
I sat there, stroking his head and flipping between plays and our picture for who-knows-how-long. All I knew was that it was really late, and if I was caught, I was in deep trouble.
I was really tired. That explains why I started to doze off until I finally did fall asleep.
The next thing I knew, I was moving, but I wasn't walking. Someone was carrying me. I didn't care who it was, but I did feel that I was still holding my wand and Oliver's playbook. I barely opened my eyes and saw, through the darkness, that there was a fabric-like covering over me and whoever was carrying me.
"Good, I have everything," I said to myself.
With that, I was asleep again.
************************************************************************
"Rise and shine Cristina," I heard someone say to me.
"¿Qué? ¿Quien eres?" I asked groggily while opening my eyes.
"It's me silly; Rebecca," she said.
Getting up out of bed, I saw that I was still in my uniform from yesterday.
"Glad to see you're up now. Did you forget that you promised to hold practise today?" Rebecca said to me, handing me my sport outfit (A.N. If you can't remember, I'm talking about the tight black bike-shorts and tight white tank-top.)
"Yeah, thanks," I said, heading into the bathroom to change.
************************************************************************
I found the rest of the team at breakfast.
"Hola team," I said, getting their attention. "Alli, I see you're ready, since you have to be our temporary Keeper."
We were soon on the pitch, practising all of our usual plays and some of the new ones I had looked over.
We were out there pretty much all day. Alli wasn't like Oliver, but she wasn't bad. If we ever had to have a new Keeper for a match, she'd be my first choice.
By the time we finished, it was time for dinner. So we went up to the Great Hall. As soon as we were done, we raced back to the Common Room, me bringing up the rear because I wasn't in the mood.
Reaching the dorm, I found the bathroom to be empty, so I went and cleaned myself up with a nice long shower.
************************************************************************
Plopping down onto my bed afterwards, I just stared up at the top of my bed, which I had enchanted to show the night sky, yet show the stars every night.
I tried to fall asleep, but I just couldn't stop thinking about Oliver. I had to go and see him again.
Peeking out of my curtains, I saw that everyone was asleep, and not about to wake up anytime soon.
I grabbed a small bag that I use for carrying my Invisibility Cloak in and I grabbed my wand. Of course I also had my Invisibility Cloak. I didn't have the playbook with me though; I had put it back into Oliver's trunk.
Since I had all I needed, I went down into the Common Room, the second night in a row, but this time I wasn't alone.
As I was about to walk out of the portrait, I heard a boy say, "Will I have to come and retrieve you again?"
I turned and came face-to-face with Andrew.
"Last night......it was you? You carried me all the way here?"
"Yeah, I knew you had left. And I knew where you would be. So I had to sneak around, just in case anyone was lurking for loose students. But I found you, and I carried you here, placed you in your bed, and let you sleep."
"Thanks for caring Andrew," I said, giving him another kiss before running out the through the portrait.
************************************************************************
Reaching the Hospital Wing again, I did the same as I had the night before. But this time, instead of sitting next to Oliver, I put my cloak into my bag, as well as my wand, but my bag on the floor, and kissed his forehead.
Then, not really caring what I did or if I got caught, I pulled back the covers and got into his bed with him, pulling the covers back up, only now over the two of us.
Before I fell asleep for the night, I put my right arm over his chest, so I could still feel him next to me all night.
Then, I fell asleep.
************************************************************************
A.N.) Sorry, but that's it for this long chapter. Yes, I, the author of this fic, have decided to speak. Sorry that it took this long to get the chapter out, but it was worth the wait. And I do owe some of you a word or two of thanks:
Becca Black and Twilight~ I owe the two of you a lot, for first reading this during Hellth (hehe) and wanting me to write more. The two of you are awesome! Keep reading, I know you will, especially since I have a surprise coming, and I won't tell what.
Rebecca~ Every time I talk to you, you always want to know if I have added more, and for that I'm grateful. What would I do without you all these years?
Everyone else~ Spread the word of my fic, PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'd love for people to see my writing. Keep reading!!!!!!!!
Oh yeah, just in case anyone asks, I don't own any characters here, except for Cristina. I made her up from the top of my imagination after personalities taken from myself. Some, not all personalities. All the others are from, duh, Harry Potter, with the exception of those from various other books and movies (and I'm not naming all of them).
What I wouldn't do to actually own Oliver Wood...........!!!! *drools and dies*
