Chapter 31: In the Hospital Wing
It turned out I was going to be stuck in the hospital wing for a while. According to Madam Pomfrey, the potion I was taking to transform back into myself was extremely strong and could only be tolerated in small doses.
She did give me a choice. Since I was technically not sick or injured, there was no reason I needed to complete my transformation back in the hospital wing. If I wanted to, I could go about my regular activities, stopping into the hospital wing twice a day to receive my potion. I could attend my classes and sleep in my own dorm even.
Or, I could remain in the hospital wing where nobody would have to know what had happened to me.
It was a tough decision to make. On the one hand, if I stayed in the hospital wing, I would miss classes. I would have to rely on Harry and Ron's notes until such time as I became well enough to return to class. On the other hand, if I went about my normal life, everyone would see me. And I wasn't sure I could take the humiliation and the teasing.
"I'll stay here," I finally decided.
Madam Pomfrey nodded, and immediately fetched a large screen that she could wrap around my bed so that I wouldn't be visible to anyone who might be visiting the hospital wing.
I felt wretched. I felt like I was giving up. I felt like I'd been defeated. I was letting this accident ruin my life. Even Madam Pomfrey didn't know how long it was going to take for me to fully complete the transformation back. I could be stuck in here for months. But I just couldn't face everyone. So, ashamed and guilty, I settled into my new temporary home, trying to make the whole situation feel less awful.
Harry and Ron came to visit the next afternoon.
"Alright, so what do we do next?" Ron immediately demanded as the two boys took seats on either side of my bed.
Though I was still embarrassed about my appearance, Harry and Ron seemed to have gotten used to it, enough that they didn't stare at me or make me feel too uncomfortable.
"What do you mean?" I asked, confused. It wasn't like I was going to be able to do all that much from my current position.
"Well if it's not Malfoy who's opening the chamber, it's still somebody," Ron insisted.
"But it could be anybody," I pointed out. "Without any leads…"
"We know it's someone in Slytherin," Ron said.
"We don't – "
"The heir of Slytherin, Hermione," Ron stressed.
"It's probably safe to assume it's someone in Slytherin for now," Harry declared. "Unless you still think it's me."
"Oh, come off it," Ron rolled his eyes. "Neither one of us ever thought it actually was you. We only said that as far as the facts go, you couldn't be ruled out."
"But facts aren't everything," I spoke up.
At this, both boys turned and looked at me with incredulous faces.
"Did that sentence just come out of your mouth?" Ron asked in shock.
I shook my head in exasperation. "Don't get used to it," I replied. "Anyway, I'm not sure there's anything to do now. It's not like we can start going around interrogating all the Slytherins."
"Maybe you could do some research," Ron suggested. "We know the chamber was opened fifty years ago. What if you went through old school records to see if anyone that's at school now has a connection to anyone who was at school then?"
"Well seeing as I'm going to be stuck in the hospital wing for the next little while, I don't think I'm in any position to be doing intensive research," I pointed out. "Why don't you and Harry take a crack at it?"
Ron's face immediately fell, and Harry suddenly looked nervous.
"Well, I've got Quidditch practice," Harry said. "I'm not sure I'd have enough free time for that kind of research."
"Yeah, and I – "
"And you?" I asked, challenging Ron to come up with an excuse.
"I need to focus on my studies," Ron declared. "Now that we're going to be starting second term, I have to step things up."
I rolled my eyes.
"Fine," I said. "If neither of you want to put in the effort and do the research, we can just hold off until I get out of the hospital and then I'll see what I can dig up."
"Great," Ron said, his frown turning to a grin.
We chatted for a little while longer, and then Harry and Ron took their leave, not wanting to overstay their welcome with Madam Pomfrey. As they left, I found myself shaking my head at them both.
Ask them to drink an illegal potion and sneak into the Slytherin common room to interrogate someone who's possibly setting a monster loose on the muggle-borns of the school, and they jump at the opportunity. Ask them to crack open a book, and suddenly they have bigger priorities than saving the school from a psychopath.
Term started up again, and I started to feel very lonesome in the hospital wing. I could hear students walking by throughout the day, laughing, talking, and generally having fun. I missed being able to be with my friends, I missed going to class, and mostly I missed the feeling of being a part of a larger community. Stuck in the hospital, I felt like I was cut off.
The only rays of light in my day were when Harry or Ron would come and visit me. They brought me their notes to copy, assignment instructions, textbooks and other supplies. They also brought me gossip, telling me about everything that was going on beyond the screen that surrounded my bed.
I learned that over the holiday, Neville's toad, Trevor, had fallen ill, and as such had remained at home with Neville's grandmother to heal. I also learned that Seamus had gone to a New Year's Eve party that his older cousin had been hosting, and had gotten drunk, much to his parents' disapproval.
I suspected that there were quite a few rumors floating around the school about me, but whatever they were, Harry and Ron kept them quiet. Whenever I asked, they would just shrug and say that they hadn't heard anything, for which I was grateful. I doubt I'd really have wanted to know what people were saying about me.
Over time, I could feel my fur starting to grow shorter and my tail getting smaller. I spent my days recopying Harry's notes for myself, which took a lot more time than I would have expected. Though Harry's notes were dismal, Ron's were even worse, so I did my best with Harry's untidy chicken scratch scrawl. In the beginning, I suspected that he was trying to be more neat, to make it easier for me to read his notes, but the neater his writing was, the less detailed, so I demanded that he go back to his scribbles and leave me to play detective on my own time.
Thankfully, I had read my textbooks in advance, so I had already been exposed to most of the subject matter. What irked me the most was that I was surely missing key facts provided by the teachers that Harry and Ron were missing. Whenever I got out of the hospital, I would have to check in with each of my teachers to make sure I was still up to date on everything.
"Queen to D5."
It was a Thursday night, and Ron and I were playing wizard's chess in the hospital wing. Harry was off at Quidditch practice and I'd already finished all my assignments, which Ron had tucked away in his bag with his own to hand in for me tomorrow.
"Bishop to H3," I directed.
"So how much longer do you think you'll be stuck in here?" Ron wondered, directing one of his rooks to decapitate my bishop.
I shrugged. "Madam Pomfrey doesn't like to make guesses," I replied. "But if I were to give a rough estimate… based on the progress I've been making and how long I've already been in here… I'm hoping I'll be back in classes early next month."
"You'd think it wouldn't take so long to transform you back," Ron muttered. "It only took a few seconds to turn you into a cat."
"It's something about the body's ability to tolerate the potion," I explained. "I don't fully understand it, Madam Pomfrey doesn't like to explain, and it's much more advanced than second year potions. Anyway, I have to take it in small doses or else risk damage to my internal organs."
"Well I hope you come back to class soon," Ron declared. "It's not the same without you around."
"I hope I get out of here soon too," I agreed. "I'm getting awfully tired of sitting in this bed and staring at the same screen all day long."
"I don't know how you do it," Ron declared. "If it were me, I'd be itching to just get out for a walk around or go watch Harry's Quidditch practice."
"You didn't want to go watch it tonight?" I wondered.
Ron shrugged. "I don't like the idea of leaving you alone in here all the time," he replied awkwardly. "You should have company sometimes too."
Smiling at Ron's thoughtfulness and caring, I looked back at the chess board, studying it intently.
"Knight to A1," I ordered, trying to get my men out of Ron's line of fire. I was definitely playing a much more defensive game than I would have liked.
It only took a few more moves, and Ron had overtaken my king.
"Checkmate," he smirked.
I shook my head. "You won't even show mercy on me while I'm stuck in the hospital wing," I muttered.
Ron smirked. "Would you have wanted me to?"
I thought about it for a second and then had to agree. I didn't want Ron to let me win, no matter the circumstance. When I finally beat him, I wanted it to be on my own terms.
"Best two out of three?" I asked, hoping that Ron didn't have to leave soon.
"You're on," he declared, already setting the board back up again.
In times like this, I didn't mind so much being stuck in the hospital wing. It was almost nice, in a way, to know that my friends cared about me enough to visit me as often as they did. And my schoolwork could take a month away from classes. I was smart. I'd catch up. In that, I had complete faith.