Chapter 12
"I think someone is trying to sabotage the school," said Alice in a quiet voice in the dormitory. One of the girls had the pox and the others were up and about getting ready for bed. Alice was brushing Lily's long, red hair. They sat together on the cushy red quilt on Alice's bed in their floor-length nightgowns.
"What?"
"Dollops said that love potion must be carefully made, right? Or it would cause dragon pox. I checked some of Snape's books, and they all agreed on that."
"How?"
"Someone messed up the love potion."
"Dollops?"
"He's an old one, but he's no slouch at potion-brewing."
"Are you saying that Dollops intentionally messed up that potions he gave us?"
"Well, think about it. Dollops is Head of Slytherin House, and none of the Slytherins have had dragon pox yet. I know that it's dangerous if he can continue to expose us to the pox and no one suspects him. I don't know what his motive is, though."
"Quidditch, maybe? Slytherin's been trounced by Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. Imagine the shame for them."
"We can't be sure, but I think we're getting close."
"What are you two whispering about over there?" asked Margaret Longbottom, who was tying her hair in a ribbon to keep it bound in the night.
"Alice was just telling me how handsome she thinks your brother Frank is," said Lily, giggling.
"I'll pass it along," said Margaret, winking at Alice.
"Really, Alice? Precocious of you, he's in seventh year," said Ginger Carter. "I can see your point, though.those cheekbones are quite something."
"Quit jabbering about my brother like that, it's revolting," Margaret put it, pulling a face.
*
Alice fell ill the next day. She was taken to the hospital floor where she was given a makeshift cot to sleep on. Lily heard about it from a prefect and immediately began transfiguring quills into flowers for Alice. She gave them to Prof. McGonnagal to give to Alice.
During Potions, she never drank anything, preferring to dump it and fake the symptoms of the potion. Who knew what it contained? If Dollops was trying to poison students, it wouldn't be through her. Though it was getting very difficult to do this because the class sizes had been reduced nearly a third and more attention was directed toward the remaining students.
Real work came to a halt and morale dropped low. Nobody was interested in schoolwork and the teachers were desperate to get through to their students without advancing too far and leaving behind a significant amount of them.
Lily dressed in the white robes the visiting mediwizards wore. She walked on her tips toes so that she would seem taller and not be spotted. She was passed by without so much as a glance and she found the right classroom Alice was in.
She wove between the cots of students with red scales on their faces. Some of them talked quietly, but none of them seemed to know her. She was just another Healer.
Her best friend was barely recognized with all those red things on her face when Lily found her, reading quietly.
"Lily!" she exclaimed. "How did you get in? Nobody's allowed to have visitors."
"I stole this outfit from laundry. I had to come see you."
"Good thing, too. I wrote to the Ministry, giving them my lead on Prof. Dollops. I don't know what good it'll do, though."
"It's brilliant, Alice. They'll uncover his whole dirty scheme."
"I know, I know. I'll be out of this sickroom pretty fast if all goes well. Some of these have been here ages, they're all frail-like."
"You won't end up like them, I promise," said Lily.
"There's something else," she said. "There's a secret hatch in Sprout's office. When you said she wouldn't give you the ingredients, I went to Sprout's office myself. I couldn't find anything we needed, but I did find the trap door. I couldn't access it then, but I got the pox before I could try again."
Lily glanced at the clock. "I've got to go now. Hopefully when I see you again you will be well."
"Oh, Lily," said Alice. "You have been staying away from James, right?"
"Right," said Lily truthfully. "I've been a good girl."
"Good. I think you'll be happier than I will when this is all over."
"Maybe," said Lily. "Feel better, now."
*
But it was spring by the time Sirius Black fell victim to dragon pox. Nearly half the school had it now, and summer was fast approaching. Lily watched him on a stretcher being taken to the hospital floor. Classes had ultimately come to a halt and students were permitted to roam the corridors and visit the library instead of going to class. Many took up Quidditch as a way to distract themselves, James included.
"Can I talk to you?" she asked so quietly she didn't think James had heard her. He tossed the Quaffle back to his partner.
"Guess so," he said, dismounting his broom uninterestedly. He wasn't smiling. She looked away.
"Stop doing that," he snapped, tossing his broom carelessly onto the ground. Lily was astonished. She remembered when he had gotten that broom for his fourteenth birthday and had danced between the tables at breakfast when he first grasped it. Now he discarded it like trash.
"Doing what?"
"Looking away. Like I'm a monster or something."
"I can't help it."
"What did you want to talk about? I have to get back to practice," he said icily.
"Sirius and Alice both have the pox," she said.
"I know that."
"I'm going to cure them, and cure everybody too. Will you help me?" she asked. She cast him the doe-eyed look, silently pleading with him.
He didn't want to give in. He didn't want to have anything to do with her, she could see it, and it felt like a fire-soaked dagger cutting skin from her throat to her sternum.
"Of course. Let me know when you have a plan," he said noncommitally. He picked up his broom again and flew away.
"I think someone is trying to sabotage the school," said Alice in a quiet voice in the dormitory. One of the girls had the pox and the others were up and about getting ready for bed. Alice was brushing Lily's long, red hair. They sat together on the cushy red quilt on Alice's bed in their floor-length nightgowns.
"What?"
"Dollops said that love potion must be carefully made, right? Or it would cause dragon pox. I checked some of Snape's books, and they all agreed on that."
"How?"
"Someone messed up the love potion."
"Dollops?"
"He's an old one, but he's no slouch at potion-brewing."
"Are you saying that Dollops intentionally messed up that potions he gave us?"
"Well, think about it. Dollops is Head of Slytherin House, and none of the Slytherins have had dragon pox yet. I know that it's dangerous if he can continue to expose us to the pox and no one suspects him. I don't know what his motive is, though."
"Quidditch, maybe? Slytherin's been trounced by Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. Imagine the shame for them."
"We can't be sure, but I think we're getting close."
"What are you two whispering about over there?" asked Margaret Longbottom, who was tying her hair in a ribbon to keep it bound in the night.
"Alice was just telling me how handsome she thinks your brother Frank is," said Lily, giggling.
"I'll pass it along," said Margaret, winking at Alice.
"Really, Alice? Precocious of you, he's in seventh year," said Ginger Carter. "I can see your point, though.those cheekbones are quite something."
"Quit jabbering about my brother like that, it's revolting," Margaret put it, pulling a face.
*
Alice fell ill the next day. She was taken to the hospital floor where she was given a makeshift cot to sleep on. Lily heard about it from a prefect and immediately began transfiguring quills into flowers for Alice. She gave them to Prof. McGonnagal to give to Alice.
During Potions, she never drank anything, preferring to dump it and fake the symptoms of the potion. Who knew what it contained? If Dollops was trying to poison students, it wouldn't be through her. Though it was getting very difficult to do this because the class sizes had been reduced nearly a third and more attention was directed toward the remaining students.
Real work came to a halt and morale dropped low. Nobody was interested in schoolwork and the teachers were desperate to get through to their students without advancing too far and leaving behind a significant amount of them.
Lily dressed in the white robes the visiting mediwizards wore. She walked on her tips toes so that she would seem taller and not be spotted. She was passed by without so much as a glance and she found the right classroom Alice was in.
She wove between the cots of students with red scales on their faces. Some of them talked quietly, but none of them seemed to know her. She was just another Healer.
Her best friend was barely recognized with all those red things on her face when Lily found her, reading quietly.
"Lily!" she exclaimed. "How did you get in? Nobody's allowed to have visitors."
"I stole this outfit from laundry. I had to come see you."
"Good thing, too. I wrote to the Ministry, giving them my lead on Prof. Dollops. I don't know what good it'll do, though."
"It's brilliant, Alice. They'll uncover his whole dirty scheme."
"I know, I know. I'll be out of this sickroom pretty fast if all goes well. Some of these have been here ages, they're all frail-like."
"You won't end up like them, I promise," said Lily.
"There's something else," she said. "There's a secret hatch in Sprout's office. When you said she wouldn't give you the ingredients, I went to Sprout's office myself. I couldn't find anything we needed, but I did find the trap door. I couldn't access it then, but I got the pox before I could try again."
Lily glanced at the clock. "I've got to go now. Hopefully when I see you again you will be well."
"Oh, Lily," said Alice. "You have been staying away from James, right?"
"Right," said Lily truthfully. "I've been a good girl."
"Good. I think you'll be happier than I will when this is all over."
"Maybe," said Lily. "Feel better, now."
*
But it was spring by the time Sirius Black fell victim to dragon pox. Nearly half the school had it now, and summer was fast approaching. Lily watched him on a stretcher being taken to the hospital floor. Classes had ultimately come to a halt and students were permitted to roam the corridors and visit the library instead of going to class. Many took up Quidditch as a way to distract themselves, James included.
"Can I talk to you?" she asked so quietly she didn't think James had heard her. He tossed the Quaffle back to his partner.
"Guess so," he said, dismounting his broom uninterestedly. He wasn't smiling. She looked away.
"Stop doing that," he snapped, tossing his broom carelessly onto the ground. Lily was astonished. She remembered when he had gotten that broom for his fourteenth birthday and had danced between the tables at breakfast when he first grasped it. Now he discarded it like trash.
"Doing what?"
"Looking away. Like I'm a monster or something."
"I can't help it."
"What did you want to talk about? I have to get back to practice," he said icily.
"Sirius and Alice both have the pox," she said.
"I know that."
"I'm going to cure them, and cure everybody too. Will you help me?" she asked. She cast him the doe-eyed look, silently pleading with him.
He didn't want to give in. He didn't want to have anything to do with her, she could see it, and it felt like a fire-soaked dagger cutting skin from her throat to her sternum.
"Of course. Let me know when you have a plan," he said noncommitally. He picked up his broom again and flew away.