Chapter 5.
More Flying.
Aurora woke up and leaned back against her pillow. Her arm was still heavily bandaged and deadened, but at least it wasn't seeping with blood. She was about to slide off the bed when Madam Pomfrey came scurrying out of her office, carrying a glass of water and two pills. She pushed Auri down onto the bed and tucked her roughly under the covers.
"I wasn't - " she began hastily.
"You were about to leave," the old woman finished for her. "And mind you, if people didn't stay here long enough Dumbledore would keep sending them back!"
Auri listened quietly and obediently swallowed the pills followed by water.
"That's better, my dear," Madam Pomfrey said encouragingly. "You'll have to spend Sunday here, unfortunately."
"But, I thought - " she argued.
"Do you want to heal or not?" Madam Pomfrey said sternly. "Oh, and your friends are waiting for you." Harry, Ron and Hermione walked into the Hospital Wing, Hermione arguing and scolding Harry loudly.
"You look… better," Hermione said carefully.
"Oh, thank you. For that reason they're not letting me out of the Hospital Wing," she said and rolled her eyes.
"Cheer up," Ron sat by her bed. "We brought you some Chocolate Frogs."
"Chocolate what?" Auri asked, amused.
"You've never had Chocolate Frogs then?" Ron looked like he was forced to eat medicine.
Auri shook her head and laughed.
"You'll enjoy them," he said and placed a small box of candy on her bed.
Auri looked serious as she said, "Could you… could you help me escape from here?"
"What?" Hermione looked disbelievingly at her. "You have got to get better. You don't look all that well."
"Who was saying I looked better?" Auri pouted her lips.
"She's right you know," Harry stared down at the ground.
"Fine," Auri said indignantly. "I'll see you tomorrow then."
The three friends bustled out of the Hospital Wing and Auri leaned against her bed to watch them go, chuckling.
Auri woke up the next morning feeling her body ache all over. She leaned against the bedpost, grunting, and squinted into the sunlight. Madam Pomfrey signed a paper ushering her out of the Hospital Wing and she arrived in the Gryffindor Common Room. She grinned as Ron and Hermione ran up to her, peering anxiously into her face.
"Are you alright then?" Ron said sheepishly.
"Better than ever," she replied optimistically and turned to face Harry. "I'll have you know you're still my Quidditch teacher."
"I - what?" Harry blinked.
"Of course," Auri smirked. "You wouldn't think I'd quit after that, would you?"
"I thought you'd rather stop after that," he replied uncomfortably.
"If you really don't mind, the lessons will start right now. Are you busy?" she said in a very businesslike manner.
"Well, I…" he began but then sighed. "I suppose it's my duty after what happened. Agreed."
"I'm off to the field then. Would you two care to join me?" she motioned towards Ron and Hermione.
"We'd better stick around for you," Hermione nodded, but then added hastily, "Just in case."
Auri frowned and was about to inform her that she could just as easily take care of herself, but then stopped and walked outside. The air outside was biting and chilly and the leaves crinkled softly under her feet as she made her way towards the field, Ron and Hermione at her feet. She pulled out a broom from the storage cupboard and rubbed her hands together in an attempt to create more heat. Harry placed his broom butt down on the wet ground and said, "I suppose you know how to fly… after that event, so I will explain to you the game of Quidditch. There are four people on the field: one seeker, one keeper, and two blodgers (please tell me if I am wrong). The object of the game is the get as many points as possible by scoring. The game ends when the seeker finds the golden snitch." He pulled out an old slender box and blew the dust off it. "This is the golden snitch," Harry held out a tiny metal ball with small wings on its sides. "You catch it and you win."
"What do the… the blodgers do?" Auri asked, having a difficulty remembering the correct word.
"They distract the players on the opposite team so it's a good idea to keep an eye out for them. They also score points," Harry explained. "And the keeper is kind of like a goalie. He tries to block the blodgers from scoring points."
"Interesting," she said slowly and thoughtfully, digesting his words. "I think I like the seeker position more."
"It'll take practice," Harry replied, rubbing some dust off of his broom.
"You think I'm not good it enough?" Auri asked haughtily.
"No," Harry replied carefully. "But if you've never flown before, it'll be hard.
Auri mounted her broom and naturally pushed off the ground, zooming into the air, the wind howling in her ears. She circled around the stadium, spun, and landed on the ground with a soft "thump". She leaned against her broom and stared at him, her eyes hot as molten coals, ready to burst and her pride slowly rising in her chest.
"That's… alright for a first timer," Harry said forcedly, not looking into her eyes.
Auri muttered something under her breath but then decided to bite her tongue and keep her cool.
"If you want to be a seeker, you'll have to practice more to make the team," Harry continued. "Fly every day at 6:00 in the morning."
"You're out of your mind," Auri shook her head. "I can't wake up that early."
"If you want something you've got to work for it," he told her informatively. "If not, you don't want this bad enough."
"I do want it," Auri replied angrily and spun on her heal.
"Next lesson is on Sunday," he called after her. "Don't waste my time!"
"And you don't waste mine…Teacher!" Auri shouted, infuriated. She stormed off into the Common Room, knocking a couple of confused first years, and plopped herself on an armchair by the fireplace.
"Is everything alright?" Hermione raised an eyebrow.
"How can you even be friends with him?" she cried suddenly.
"Who?" Hermione asked, confused.
"Harry!" Aurora fumed. "He thinks he's so good at Quidditch with his high-class broom, but I bet he isn't any good!"
Hermione looked surprised as she took a seat by her friend, delicately clasping her hands in her lap. "He's quite good, actually," she said. "Why are you so angry?"
"I don't know," Auri said desperately. "There's just something about him that gets me mad."
"You really shouldn't pay any attention to it," Hermione patted Auri on the knee. "There will always be people you won't get along with. He's had a hard past."
"Oh, I know," Auri scoffed. "Poor little rich boy being spoiled. It must be terrible."
"Don't talk about him that way!" Hermione snapped and reddened. "His parents were killed by You-Know-Who and for some reason he is still alive."
"Oh…" Auri said quietly. "I'm sorry. I know what it's like."
"You didn't know," Hermione replied in the same icy tone. Auri turned away, her face burning and her eyes wet from tears. She wondered when she would get the courage to tell him about her dreams and the danger he would soon be in. She stood up very slowly, as if the action was made difficult, and awkwardly disappeared out of the room.