Rounding the stairs to the hospital wing, Will swiped at his cheek again, staring down darkly at the smear of blood on his hand.
"Does it hurt too much?" Ginny asked worriedly, reaching into her pocket and offering Will a plain-white handkerchief.
"I have had worse," Will muttered, he took the kerchief and pressed it to the wound.
"That . . . that vile – loathsome -- evil little cockroach!" Ginny blurted, kicking the base of a stone column in a burst of anger.
A portrait of an elderly witch doing needle point jumped and scolded, "Honestly!", while a portrait of a kindly looking wizard with an abnormally large nose chided, "Temper my dear girl, temper". Ginny paid them no mind as she briskly walked the remainder of the way down the hall and reached for the door of the hospital wing, only to have Will take the handle first and pull the door open. He stared down at her wide eyed in surprise. Ginny ducked her head and shrugged apologetically, stepping through the threshold. Will half-grinned behind the edge of the kerchief and followed.
The length of the hospital wing was filled with empty beds covered in crisp-white linens. Walking down the long aisle, Ginny glanced over to one bed in particular; she had a sudden flash of memory of a time that felt like the distant past. Ginny stared at the empty bed, now filled with the memory of a thirteen year old Harry, looking almost horror struck as he opened a get well card she had taken extra care to make for him. She recalled working so very hard on that card to make sure it was extra nice; she had even gone so far as to bewitch the card to sing with a special spell the twins had given her. Fred and George had sworn to her the card would play a soothing get well tune. "Of course it will, Ginny! Harry's going to simply looove this card!" She had vowed to get even with Fred and George after that and soon repaid them for their kindness with their first taste of her now infamous Bat-Boogey Hex.
"Can I help you?"
Ginny blinked, and the vision vanished, leaving behind only the echoes of memories still in the back of her mind. She found herself staring at an empty bed once more and realized she was over half way down the hospital wing with Madam Pomfrey walking out the office. Will stepped forward and pulled aside the handkerchief to show a thin slice on his high cheek bone. Madam Pomfrey took one quick glance at the wound and led Will to the nearest bed to sit while she rushed about gathering supplies, all the while making tutting sounds.
"I knew something like this would come about, I just knew it! I tried to tell him that it would be unadvisable, but he didn't listen," Madam Pomfrey grumbled, not realizing her voice was loud enough to carry.
Ginny walked around the side of the bed and stood back as Madam Pomfrey hurried over with a mortar and pestle and some bits of cloth.
"How did it happen?" Madam Pomfrey demanded, she went back to the cabinet and retrieved a few jars from a shelf.
"He used that stick of his," Will answered, taking the handkerchief away from his cheek and glancing at it before putting it back to his bleeding wound once more.
"Keep that against you," Madam Pomfrey ordered, setting the items down on a tray at the foot of the bed.
Ginny sank down on the bed across from Will and watched.
"Though I do not know who this he is. I can only assume that you mean he used his wand?" asked Madam Pomfrey.
"It was Draco Malfoy," Ginny supplied.
Will glanced at Ginny before looking out of the corner of his eye to Madam Pomfrey; she hesitated for only a moment while opening a jar before continuing to pour the ingredients into the mortar.
"Now, if you would . . ." said Madam Pomfrey, reaching for Will's make shift bandage. "Ah, yes -- just as I thought. This will be easy enough to tend to." Madam Pomfrey placed the handkerchief back over the wound which had begun to slow in bleeding. Will automatically reached up and held the kerchief to his cheek.
Madam Pomfrey began to pour more herbs and other various items from different jars she had collected, into the mortar. Ginny watched the nurse uncork a bottle of aloe gel and add a small dollop; she glanced over to find Will staring at the floor, his gaze traveled up to meet hers.
Madam Pomfrey clanked the glass stopper back onto the bottle causing them both to glance up. She began to grind the ingredients in the mortar with a bit more force than necessary, at least in Ginny's opinion; but Ginny had the sense of mind to keep quiet, thinking that it was best the herbs in the bowl receive the brunt of Madam Pomfrey's apparent frustration than have it turned on herself.
Will watched warily while Madam Pomfrey set the pestle aside and picked up a small decanter of yellowish liquid. She held a strip of cloth to the mouth of the decanter and tipped it over. The nurse then ordered Will to remove the handkerchief so she could dab the cloth to his wound. Will cringed but held still as Madam Pomfrey tended to the injury.
Ginny watched sympathetically, her nose wrinkling as the pungent smell of the yellowish liquid reached her. Her prior burst of anger returned to slowly burn in the pit of her stomach. Draco Malfoy would pay dearly for this latest act, she would see to that. This wasn't the first time over the course of her years at Hogwarts that she'd crossed paths with the arrogant Slytherin; but if she could help it, she'd make sure the next thing she did to him would make her Bat Boogey Hex look like mere child's play in comparison.
Madam Pomfrey took another strip of cloth and folded it before slathering on a large bit of the poultice from the mortar. She pressed this cloth against Will's cheek and used magical medical tape to hold it in place. She wiped her hands on her apron and bent close to inspect her handy work. "Everything seems in order. Sit here for a bit so I can be sure that you don't have an allergic reaction to any of the ingredients," Madam Pomfrey ordered, turning to collect items to put away.
"Thank you, ma'am," said Will, nodding his head.
Madam Pomfrey's stern demeanor softened slightly. "You're welcome." She lightly patted Will's shoulder before walking towards the cabinet with the bottles and jars she had picked up.
"I am sorry that you had to miss the rest of the demonstration," said Will, his voice low and quiet. Ginny could sense the edge of Will's anger tucked back for now.
"It's alright. I would have probably ended up expelled had I stayed," said Ginny with a shrug.
Will looked at her curiously and glimpsed to Madam Pomfrey as she returned to collect the remaining items on the tray. Madam Pomfrey glanced at Ginny and pursed her lips, clearly wanting to say something but deciding to hold her tongue.
Ominous clouds could be seen through the open windows of the hospital wing. A gust of wind blew the starch white curtains carrying with it a paper plane. It swirled and twirled lazily until it arrived before Madam Pomfrey, where it stopped and hovered.
Will watched in amazement as the nurse set the items in her hand back onto the tray and plucked the paper plane from mid air.
Madam Pomfrey's eyebrows rose while skimming over the page. She promptly folded the parchment and pocketed it. Without a word she picked up the mortal and pestle and took them into the other room. Will turned to Ginny, but she only shook her head and shrugged, knowing no more than him as to what was going on.
A thought struck Ginny. Will had reacted calmly to the sight of a piece of parchment simply floating in the air; as he seemed to have handled many of the oddities of Hogwarts these past few days. She realized how adaptable he had been to it all, being ripped from his home and familiar surroundings only to be thrust into an unknown world full of strange and wondrous things with no real knowledge of if, or when, he would be able to return home again. A sense of overwhelming guilt settled onto Ginny's shoulders. All this time she had been so selfish to think about herself and her silly whims, she never properly stopped to really think about exactly what both Will and Jack must be going through.
Madam Pomfrey returned with a cloth covered tray and set it down. "Captain Sparrow should be along in a moment. I'll simply wait for his arrival and be done with it at the same time," she said vaguely, picking up the last scraps left from tending to Will's wound.
"Be done with what, ma'am?" asked Will.
"I have been requested to obtain a vial of blood from both you and Captain Sparrow," Madam Pomfrey informed him. She glanced at his bandage before asking, "Are you feeling anything strange?"
Ginny swallowed, imagining that if it were her being asked that question, she'd be pointing out how absolutely everything about the entire experience was strange.
Will shook his head. "I do feel a coolness . . . and a slight tingling."
Madam Pomfrey nodded approvingly. "That is to be expected. Let me know if there is anything else. I will be back out in a moment." She turned on her heels and returned to her office.
Several minutes stretched by. Ginny could hear the scratching of a quill on parchment coming from Madam Pomfrey's office. She felt at a loss for anything to say, the sudden guilt of realization eating away at her along with the simmering anger she held against Malfoy; so Ginny resigned herself to simply sit across from Will and keep him quiet company.
"I am fine, Ginny," said Will quietly, as to not bring attention from the nurse.
Surprised, Ginny looked up from the spot of flooring she had been starring at for the past few minutes; she hadn't believed herself to be so transparent. Moving to the edge of the bed, Will reached across and took her hand from her lap.
"It is but a mere scratch, really. Nothing to merit such concern."
The double doors of the hospital wing swung open widely. Ginny glanced beyond Will's shoulder to watch Captain Jack Sparrow swagger casually down the length of the hospital wing. Will allowed Ginny's hand slip out of his when, at the same moment, Madam Pomfrey walked out of her office. The nurse stopped dead in her tracks, looking startled as she watched the pirate's approach. Jack surveyed the room, reaching out to barely touch the end tray of one of the beds before pulling his hand back as he made is way down the aisle.
"Ah, good eve fair maid," said Jack, with a sweeping hand gesture as he took in his surroundings.
Madam Pomfrey stared incredulously. A flicker of a grin teased the corner of Ginny's mouth. The stark white bandage seemed to gleam off of Will's cheek. Jack arrived at their side in short time.
"Ah! Sweet Ginny! So I see you are tendin' to our dear William," said Jack with a grin, he slyly glanced over at the nurse, who seemed to be slow in recovering herself.
"You were able to find your way through the castle and to the hospital wing, all by yourself?" asked Will, looking beyond Jack and finding no escort.
"You've seemed to have forgotten one important thing mate . . ." said Jack, holding up an index finger to mark his point.
"You're Captain Jack Sparrow?" Ginny found herself cutting in.
Jack took a deep breath, about to continue, and paused as if thrown off. He glanced at Ginny with a tilt of his head. After a beat, a crooked grin grew and he nodded. "Aye, too right you are."
Madam Pomfrey sniffed, coming to her senses, she bustled over and uncovered the tray at the foot of the bed, displaying an odd metal instrument of sorts, none the likes that Ginny had ever seen, and two small, glass vials. Jack's eyes widened and the corners of his mouth turned down into a frown.
"I don't be believin' I like the looks of that contraption," said Jack, eyeing the instrument warily. Will also started at the tray with uncertainty.
"Nonsense," scoffed Madam Pomfrey, opening a small jar and rubbing a square of cloth over the top of the creamy contents. "Now sit right down and this will be over in a moment. Unless you wish me to do it the Muggle way, which will be far more painful. Now, if you would -- your sleeve."
Jack sat down quickly, forcing Will to make room for him on the hospital bed and hastened to roll up his sleeve. Jack flashed a wary smile at the nurse and Ginny's eye was drawn to the glint of candlelight reflected off of his few golden teeth.
Madam Pomfrey made quick work of rubbing the cream into the crook of Jack's elbow. She then took the odd metal instrument and attached the vial to the end of it. The pointed end, she pressed into the spot of skin she had just cleaned on Jack's arm.
Jack's eyes widened as he watched the vial at the end of the instrument begin to fill with his bright red blood.
"See, not painful at all," said Madam Pomfrey, straightening and stepping back to the tray to remove the vial of Jack's blood and properly label it.
"Excuse me, but why, exactly, do they want out blood?" asked Will.
The three sat expectantly, waiting for the nurse to answer.
"I was not given complete details on the matter. I was only requested to obtain a vial of blood from each of you as soon as possible and then to personally deliver them to Professor Snape," said Madam Pomfrey, setting down her quill and carefully pocketing the first vial of blood, then preparing the instrument for the next empty vial. "Now, Captain Sparrow, you are free to go. Miss Weasley, you as well, there is no point in you being here any longer."
Will turned to Ginny before looking back at the nurse again. "She cannot stay?"
Madam Pomfrey clucked her tongue and attached the empty vial to the end of the instrument. "Your sleeve, please." She stood back and pointedly looked at Jack, appearing to be waiting on him to rise and move out of her way.
Jack stood and smoothly side stepped out of her way, even going so far as to give her a slight bow.
"But, why can't I stay?" demanded Ginny.
"I want Mr. Turner to stay a bit longer, so that I can be sure that he doesn't have an allergic reaction. With the prior blood loss from his wound and with me now drawing a sample of blood, I also need to make sure that a restorative draught isn't necessary," said Madam Pomfrey, who now had a fresh square of cloth with cream on it in one hand, the ready instrument in another. "Now, no arguments. I will be sure he returns to the Gryffindor tower, in due time, once I am satisfied that he will be fine."
Ginny frowned, reluctant to leave but stood anyway, knowing she wouldn't win the argument with Madam Pomfrey.
"Ah, come now lass. Keep ol' Jack company," said Jack, offering his arm.
"I shall see you later, Ginny, upon my return," said Will, sounding as reluctant as Ginny felt.
Jack escorted Ginny along the ancient corridors which were quiet save for the distant rumble of thunder. They were well past curfew, but Ginny wasn't concerned with being found by a prefect.
The pair rounded a corner when Ginny stopped in her tracks and quickly pulled Jack behind her into a shadowed alcove. Jack, taken off guard, appeared highly pleased. He reached up and smoothed a curl of his moustache.
"Though I thought it'd be Hermione --" Jack began, but Ginny cut him off with a sharp wave of her hand.
"Shh!"
Deranged laughter could be heard not too far off, along with a horribly off tuned voice singing, ". . . marauding, embezzle, and even hijack. Drink up me hearties Yo-hooooooo!"
Along floated Peeves. Forgoing his usual jester cap and costume, he was fully decked out in pirate garb, from a tied bandana around his head and a large golden hoop in one ear, to an eye patch and ragged clothing. Even his feet were bare, though a greenish haze surrounded them.
Ginny stepped back, pressing her and Jack further against the curved wall of the alcove. Peeves floated past the pair, unaware of them hidden in the shadows. He made a large curving arch as he sang, Ginny held her breath, and he floated on through the opposite wall.
Ginny sighed heavily and felt Jack's chest rumble with a deep chuckle. Realizing how closely she was pressed against him, she stepped quickly away and out of the alcove.
"Sorry about that. The less we have to deal with Peeves, the easier our lives will be," said Ginny, walking down the hall once more.
"'Tis alright love. I dare say, I did enjoy it," said Jack, over another long rumble of thunder.
Ginny scoffed, but refused to rise to his bait.
"I am glad though, for the opportunity to speak with you alone," said Jack, taking a few large strides to be before her.
Ginny stopped in the middle of the dark hall and tilted her chin up to look at him.
"Jack, I don't think Hermione--"
This isn't about the lovely Hermione," Jack cut her off. Something about Jack's tone set unease in Ginny's mind.
"I've known Will for some time now, though I'm sure there are times where he dearly wishes our paths never crossed," said Jack with a fond grin. "I pride m'self on knowin' him quiet well. So much like his father he is . . . good man, good pirate." Jack stared down at Ginny, searching her eyes, as if probing into her soul. "I have only seen Will so deeply in love with but one person. . . ."
Ginny couldn't explain why her heart began to thump in her chest, or why her stomach dropped to her knees with an unsettling dread.
"That is, until now."
Ginny blinked, not sure what she had expected to hear. She felt her mind buzz and forced herself to concentrate on what Jack was saying.
"Will was heartbroken. I wasn't sure the lad would pull through. The open sea, she did much to heal his heart, but not completely." Jack laid a hand on Ginny's shoulder and caressed it with his thumb. "This experience – this place," Jack glanced around the hall of the castle, "has brought out somethin' in Will that I dare say I've never seen before. You bring out somethin' in him." There was a gentle sincerity in Jack's voice as his eyes came back to her. "What the lad wants, I want for him. I may be a scurvy cad, but even I understand the pull of a man's heart for treasure. Be it silver n' gold – or that which isn't. But the bond they have – I know not how strong it still be, and I can not foretell the future we have laid before us once we return . . . if we return."
Ginny couldn't tell if Jack was encouraging something between Will and her, or if he was warning her of the love Will once had for Elizabeth.
"Jack, I'm – I'm not exactly sure what to say," Ginny confessed.
"You needn't say a thing, love. Had to be gettin' that off m'chest is all." Jack turned and walked down the hallway. "I do believe this castle is growin' on me. . . . Perhaps I should get m'self one of those sticks to wave around -- could come in useful," Jack said over his should with a grin.
Ginny entered the Gryffindor tower and out of habit glanced over to the fireplace, to what she had grown to know as Harry's favorite spot to sit and play wizard chess with Ron. And as always, Harry sat before the hearth, oblivious to the remainder of his surroundings as he stared into the crackling fire that staved off the autumn chill. A loud crack of thunder shook the window panes; a storm was clearly on its way.
"Oh, Captain Jack! There you are!" Lavender Brown walked over, smiling prettily. "I was so hoping you could tell me more about that interesting demonstration from earlier."
Jack gave Lavender an appreciative once over and slowly grinned. "Would be my pleasure, lass."
A loud, disdainful sniff came from not too far away, where Hermione sat at a table covered in books and parchment.
Harry glanced at Hermione, Ron followed suit. Both of them turned their attention towards the portrait entrance and stared at Ginny. Harry rose from his seat as she approached, offering her his favorite chair. Ginny caught Hermione's shrewd stare.
"How is Will?" Hermione asked, her voice growing slightly in volume to talk over the overly girlish laughter that came from the opposite corner of the room, where Lavender sat close to Captain Sparrow, hanging on his every word.
"Madam Pomfrey is watching him for now, but she says he will be fine," answered Ginny.
Another flash of lightening streaked across the sky then followed by a pause which felt as if the room was holding its breath, waiting for thunder to come. When it did, it was a low rumble that grew in such intensity that it caused several of the students sitting in the common room to glance out the window.
"Well, that's good," said Hermione, as the thunder finally began to ebb away.
"Would you like to sit down?" asked Harry.
Ginny went to sit, when he hastily snatched at a news paper atop the seat's cushion which he must have been reading before she had arrived. She caught a glimpse of a large photograph of the Dark Mark, hovering high above a small village along with the caption Village of Kelby Attacked! Harry crumpled the paper and held it behind his back, nodding to the now empty chair.
Ginny gazed up at him, noting the deep worry lines etched across his forehead, or the tense set of his lips.
Ron was rather churlish, casting Hermione several heated stares. With her head still tiled down, Hermione raised her eyes worriedly at the paper behind Harry's back, pointedly ignoring Ron, and connected her gaze with Ginny's for the briefest of a moment before returning her attention to her homework.
"We hadn't started a new game yet. How about a round of Gobstones?" Harry offered.
Ginny took in everything she saw, and what wasn't being said, she felt a great weight settle onto her chest.
"I'd like that," she answered.
"Really?" Harry brightened, "Hang on, I think Neville has them upstairs, let me go ask." He took off across the room, the paper still in his hand, towards the joint stairs that would split and lead to the boys' dormitories.
Another ring of laughter was followed by a gust of wind that beat against the windows of the tower. Jack leaned forward, whispering something into Lavender's ear.
There was a snap, with a muffled curse, Hermione held up her favorite maroon quill, its tip dangling, broken and useless. "Oh, I can't study like this, not with all that wind . . . and I'm not talking about the weather." She cast a scathing look towards Jack and Lavender. She collected the remainder of her books and parchment, still refusing to look at Ron. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight, Ginny . . . Ronald."
Ron cringed as Hermione made her way to the stairs. A few moments later Ron stood, grumbling something about going to bed. He threw a dark look towards the pirate, who paid him no mind as he seemed to have gathered a small crowd of Gryffindor females listening to his tales.
Harry returned, crossing paths with Ron as he made his way back to Ginny, minus the news paper, she noted.
"Where's he going?" Harry's asked, glancing over his shoulder at Ron's hunched form, stalking across the room."
"Bed," said Ginny.
"And, Hermione?"
"I think all the hot air," Ginny tilted her head towards Lavender, "was a bit too noisy for her, so she called it a night."
"Ah." Harry set the bag of Gobstones down on the table between the two chairs before the fireplace. "Still up for a match?" There was something about the way he said it that struck Ginny. A hopefulness that carried so much weight to it, thinly veiling a thread of something she couldn't quite grasp.
"You're going down, Potter," said Ginny. She knew it was the right thing to say, when so many around him tried to be cautious in how they spoke to him at times. His smiled became a touch more genuine as he settled in to the chair across from her.
"Not without a fight."
Ginny paused from untying the cord of the bag and glanced up at him, she had the feeling he wasn't talking about Gobstones.
"Well, come on," he encourage, nodding to the bag in her hands, giving no indication that anything was amiss.
Ginny relaxed, telling herself she was imagining things.
Another clap of thunder sounded, and the match began.