An: I like this revising deal, it gives me a reason to reread and find out how cute this story is. I think you'll like this chapter, and don't forget to tell me if you do.
Rosies and Posies
Chapter 2-Hell Tomorrow
She had showered and finished some stupid assignment for history of magic. Everyone had been at class when she got there so there wasn't anyone to question her and she had the showers all to herself. She was glad for the peace, but all the same it seemed wrong. She felt like she was supposed to be doing something else.
She stepped into the hospital wing and looked around. Where the heck did he go? "Mrs. Weasley?" a male voice said from the corner of the room, "Can I help you?"
She whirled towards the noise, "Uh yea, is- where's Malfoy?"
Mister Adams smiled, "He went to lunch dear." Then he looked at her questionably. "I'm a bit surprised you aren't hungry. Did you even eat supper last night, or breakfast this morning?"
She laughed, "Now that I think about it I didn't even have lunch yesterday."
"I think maybe you should be off to eat too."
"Right, now that you mention it I'm suddenly hungry." And as though her stomach had heard her talking, it growled. Mister Adams smiled as she walked out the door.
She sat down still scanning the Slytherin table. There he was, sitting in between Blaise and Goyle, like usual- with Crab across from them. But unlike usual, Blaise and Goyle weren't joking around, but frowning. Obviously he had told them. "Wha'samatter Gin?" Ron asked next to her, mouth full. "Did one of em get to ya?"
"Kinda?" she said looking around the table at her selection.
"Which one? I'll kick their ass?" he said looking backwards at them.
Ginny laughed, "No, they didn't hurt me."
"Well then what was it?" Harry asked looking up from his plate and swallowing. She had thought that it would be all around the school by now, and was a little curious as to why it wasn't.
"Never you all mind," she said shooting a glance at Hermione too. They all shrugged and went back to doing whatever they were doing before she walked in. She stared down the table at Neville who was looking at her waiting for an excuse. She mouthed the words 'Hospital, tell you later'. She wasn't going to be able to keep this kind of thing completely to herself and Nev was the most trustworthy person on the- okay in the school. He nodded to her and they both went back to eating.
She grabbed a bit of everything and began shoveling it in her mouth she almost choked a few times. The trio was a little worried, she could tell, but they didn't say anything. She looked up from her food to chew, only to see Malfoy looking at her with one eyebrow lifted. He thought she was as crazy as the trio did. Eh, owell, she kind of was. She shoved another forkful into her mouth, as her stomach growled again.
"So did you guys see all thoughs healers walking in and out of the school last night. I wonder who's in there? I thought it was Blasie yesterday because I saw him fall down the last few flights of stairs yesterday- but he showed up at dinner. Then I figured it was Draco, cause he wasn't at super, but there was a prefect meeting last night. And then I thought it might have been Crab or Goyle because they didn't come to supper. But now the whole dang house is there." Harry asked. He was the one who sounded crazy.
Ginny choked again and Ron patted her on the back worriedly as Hermione said, "Well, whoever they were, they weren't just any healers. Because they weren't wearing just the regular ol' Saint Mungos robes. They seemed to be from several different places."
Leave it to Hermione to figure something like that. Most of the healers from yesterday had actually been muggle doctors that worked with Adams. Ginny decided to play dumb, "Well maybe it wasn't something that SM was ready to handle."
The trio laughed at Ginny's initial laziness, then Hermione smiled, "But she's probably right. It's not often that that happens, St. Mungos is the best wizarding hospital in the world, but if it were to it's got to be very serious." She said looking back down at her paper and ignoring everyone temporarily.
Ginny looked away from their conversation to watch Malfoy and the three men walk away from the table and up the stairs. Ginny turned back to the table and gobbled up the last pieces of food, half listening to the conversation still going on next to her. Neville looked over at her and they motioned for each other to leave. As he came up to her and she stood, she looked at them, "I thought it might have been Pansy." So what if she did get in trouble later, she had to try and throw them off.
Ginny could tell they were considering this, and without even an explanation she grabbed Neville and headed to the door.
They walked down to the lake and put their feet in. "I told them you were in the library last night, and then you overslept this morning." He said throwing his sock as far out into the lake as he could, watching it get sucked under by something that lived there.
"That explains why they didn't think it was me in the hospital wing." She laughed.
"What?" he asked worriedly, "Are you okay?" he asked catching the sock that was thrown back at him by whatever it had been that decided it wasn't food.
"Yes, yeah, Nev I'm fine. Well I gotta tell you something." She said. She filled him on everything that had happened last night, not missing a single thing as far as she could remember. Neville was a really easy person to talk to because he always waited until she was done to ask questions, and this time he didn't even seem to have any questions. He just stared out at the lake. She did the same, wondering if maybe she shouldn't have told him.
"So- so he's going to be okay, right?" was all he said. Ginny wasn't sure if he actually cared or not, but she was glad that he understood- she was going to be busy if she had it her way. Deciding then that she was going to do all she could to help, she smiled out at the lake.
Watching the small ripples where he feet were she said, "I think so, I never really thought about that… I wonder if the potion can go wrong?" she said suddenly getting worried and standing up.
Neville grabbed her hand and pulled her back down, "Sweety, it's fine." That's all he had to say and she was perfectly fine again. That was so like him, he always knew what to do and say. Sometimes she wished they hadn't broken up, she could see herself being with a guy like him. She laid her head on his shoulder and felt comfort washing over her again. After a few minuets he said quietly, "I think you should get back up there like you promised."
Ginny looked up at him wondering what he was talking about and then realized that she had told Malfoy she'd be back after a shower. "Crappy," she said jumping up and kissing him on the cheek, "Thanks, Neville. I'll see you at dinner."
He laughed, "Just don't forget classes missy!" he screamed after her. He watched her run away and then turned back to stare at the lake.
She pushed open the door and yawned before she noticed that she wasn't the only student in the room. She took a step backwards and pulled her backpack over her face, hoping they hadn't seen her. All three men that had left with Malfoy were there. She heard Blaise say, "So Crabe and Goyle waited in the room last night. But you didn't come." She took another step backwards taking the backpack away from her face. Unfortunately she didn't make it out without Malfoy noticing her. As his head turned slightly towards her, so did the rest of their attention.
"What are you doing here Weasley?" Goyle asked.
Malfoy looked like he didn't want to have to explain it so she lied for him, "What are you doing here? I'm Pompey's student helper. And I do believe that you all shouldn't be crowding the one side of the bed like that. Spread out, spread out." She said walking up and showing them evenly around the bed. Then she went back to her bed and slowly began to make it, without magic. Pompy must have been pretty busy if she couldn't even tidy up the bed.
They all, including Malfoy, looked at her oddly, and then they went back to their conversation. "But… we were worried ya know?" she heard Blaise say. Ginny figured Malfoy probably wouldn't appreciate it if she listened to his conversations, so she headed across the room and opened the closest door, walking in and closing it behind her-which she realized with a shelf in her back, was a closet.
She could hear mumbling, but couldn't make sense of anything. She sat on the floor playing itsy bitsy spider, when she heard the light tap on the door and it opened. "Weasley, what are you doing in there." Malfoy appeared as the door opened from the outside. He smirked and said, "You can come out now."
She stood up and, hitting her head on the self, sat back down. Rubbing her head again- twice in one day, she crawled out of the small room.
Malfoy, opening the door the rest of the way for her asking, "Bloody hell, do you ever not hurt yourself?"
When she was sure there was no shelves she stood again. "Stupid selves." She said sticking her tongue out at them and walked away. Malfoy shook his head and shut the door after her.
"So, did you tell him?" he asked sitting on his bed feet off the side facing her, starring stating the sheets in front of him down.
"No, I didn't tell them. I knew you didn't want them to know. And well I know you don't know me that well, but I would never do anything like that and-"
"Weasley, I wasn't talking about them. There's no way you would have been able to tell them with all the food you shoved into your mouth. And for future reference, if you don't do that you have less of a chance to choke." Ginny blushed a little. "I was talking about Longbottom."
"Huh?" she said not planning to deny it but wondering all the same how he knew.
"I saw you two out the window when I walked in." he said motioning at the window, which had a pretty nice view of the lake, and Neville still sitting in front of it.
She smiled, "Yea I told him. But you don't have to worry about him-"
"-Because he doesn't have any friends to tell, yea I know."
"No. That's not why, it's because he's my best friend. And I have way to much crap on him for him to say anything. Besides that, he's the most trustworthy person in our school. If I can't trust him, then I can't trust anyone." She said sitting across from him on her bed.
He smirked, "Are you two going out then, Weasy?" he asked calling her a name she had never been called before.
"No," she said flustered, "We broke up a while ago."
"Then why were you so cuddly?"
She didn't want to explain it, because then she'd have to admit that she had gotten worried about him, and had to be comforted. "Uh, I was cold."
"Its 87 degrees out." He said holding up that eyebrow again.
"Right, I meant he was…" she was totally lost. "Agrrs, I can't make up things like this you know. Yer supposed to just go with my first lie."
She couldn't tell if it was a smirk or a frown, which was weird because they nothing alike. His smirks had something evil hidden behind them, but a frown, that showed her he really cared. "Well then tell the truth." He said as if it was the obvious answer.
"Are you gonna be okay?" she asked abruptly remembering the question she had been worrying about.
"What?" He asked taken aback.
"Are you?" she asked again without skipping a beat.
"Well, I hope so…" he trailed off looking startled. Maybe he hadn't stopped to think about it either.
"So then the potion… Keemo, it doesn't always work?"
"It will."
"But it doesn't… always, I mean?"
"I guess not." He said throwing his legs onto the bed and sitting with his back against it, and staring at the ceiling. He looked annoyed at her questions.
She looked at the ceiling too, trying to grasp this. It didn't make sense. He was only seventeen. Way to young to die, but then that seemed to be the way it was a lot lately since the dark lord came back. She guessed she better stop hassling him all the same, after all it was him who would truly be deciding if she stayed or not. "I'm sorry, but that was why. So I just asked."
He looked over at her, "What, what was huh?"
She laughed a little, "You wanted to know what we were cuddling for. I got a little… worried and he was trying to calm me down."
He was doing it again looking at her like she was a freak. Frustrated that everyone kept looking at her like that, she let out a screech. He jumped and instantly screamed, "What the hell was that?" staring her down again.
"Stop looking at me like that okay?" she said taking her eyes away from the ceiling to look into his grey eyes again, so she understood he was serious. She should have known that wasn't a good idea. His eyes, his stupid eyes, they were like wet clay-she couldn't look at them without getting stuck. And he wasn't looking away.
"What?" he whispered still looking into her eyes. What had they been talk about? Oh yea, she was a freak…
"You, have cool eyes." She said smiling.
He looked away quickly, "Uh yea, thanks, you too."
Pomphrey, having that weird teacher-kinesis, came in that exact minuet, saying. "Well, we start tomorrow." She sure wasn't smiling, but she was talking a little too cheerfully. She looked over at Ginny when she passed the bed, "You ready?"
"Uh, for what?" Ginny said pulling the pillow out from behind her and setting it in front of her on her stomach, which sort of hurt suddenly. She knew she shouldn't eat that fast, she always got sick.
"The chemo." she said yawning.
"What are you talking about, I'm not taking it. I think maybe you should get some sleep." She said standing up and putting her arm around the mediwitch.
The pillow fell to the ground and Ginny left her teachers side to pick it up. "No Weasley, I know very well who you are. I was asking if you were ready to help me and Mister Adams out."
"Huh?" both Ginny and Malfoy asked. Instead of heading back to the bed, she dropped the pillow again and sat down against the bed.
"Nathaniel has decided that he wants to keep it here at school, well actually Draco, I think that was you." He nodded. "Well anyway. He says that he wants me and my student healer to help him out."
"Student healer." Draco asked, "I thought you were just kidding about that.
"I was." Ginny said she said looking from one to the other. "I thought."
"Well I already told him that so that he wouldn't kick her out yesterday. And that means that now I have a healer helper. So you're going to have to play to him, like this is your dream in life, Gin."
"No Problem there." She said excitedly. This was her chance to decide then, maybe this would be a good experience.
"What's that?" Pompey asked shooing Draco under his covers.
"Well it sort of is my dream. But I don't get good enough grades in Arithmancy."
"Yes well, you'll be seeing stuff here that you won't learn in anything but enriched Arthmancy. I guess this isn't going to be something that I would want you starting off with but…" she trailed off and switched her attention to Draco who was now looking at them both guiltily. "I hope you ate a lot, it's going to be your last meal for a good deal of time that you don't…chuck- back up." She said choosing her words carefully.
"Weasley ate enough for both of us." He joked getting undressed under the covers. Then seeing Pompey's face he mumbled, "Yes."
"Get as much sleep before super as you can, Draco. Ginny will be here to eat with you when you wake up." She said as he chugged down a small vial. Both students looked at her wondering what she meant, but Draco seemed to shrug it off and closed his eyes. Pomphrey motioned for Ginny to follow her into her office.
The older lady closed the door and turned to her, "Alright, you should go to your room and do whatever you need to. I'm sure you have to talk to some teachers, and-homework- but be back here by five thirty. You two will be eating in here. And I'm sorry but, you are going to have to stay pretty late tonight, I have a lot to explain to both of you. But I'll make sure you get into your own bed tonight."
She stopped for a second to see if Ginny was still following before she asked, "Are you okay with this, I mean, if you don't want to do this- I don't know if I- I mean, whenever you feel like its to much, you tell me. It's a lot for someone as young as you to deal with."
Ginny thought about this for a second. "He's only a year older then me and he has to deal with it." She said pointing over her shoulder to the door.
Pompey smiled, but didn't seem to have anything to say. Ginny knew that meant that she was supposed to leave now, "Umm, I'll be back then…" She promised, but Pompey seemed to be off in her own world of paper work and health.
She shut the door to the office behind her and walked to the door, just as she was about to shut that door she heard Malfoy whisper, "Tomorrow, Weasley, hell starts."
Right, that was really comforting.
Good wasnt it, told you so. Please Review.
