Year 2: Read My Lips
Chapter 13: November 2014
Following the potions incident, Dominique was very careful whenever she ventured out of Gryffindor Tower. She constantly watched her back in fear that Quinn would come and do something worse to her. Eventually though, she realized that Quinn had moved on, and Dominique simply vowed to herself never to get on the girl's bad side again.
Meanwhile, things in second year couldn't be going better. Classes were going well, the workload wasn't too hard, Dominique felt well-rested, her friends were great… Best of all, Molly was almost never around, so Dominique's fear of having her cousin following her around everywhere was completely unfounded.
One night, Dominique was roughly shaken awake by Brittany, who was frantically calling her name.
"Dominique, wake up, wake up!" she cried.
Dominique cracked open her eyes to find the room bathed in light.
"Did I sleep in too late?" she asked, disoriented.
"No, but you need to get up, there's a fire!" Brittany cried urgently.
At the word fire, Dominique jumped right out of bed and shook her head, snapping to attention. As Brittany had said, there was indeed a fire. In fact, Brooke's entire bed was engulfed in flamed and it appeared to have started to spread to the other girls' beds, Dominique's included.
"Where are the others?" Dominique cried. "Where's Brooke?"
"They're all out," Brittany assured her. "Joy's gone upstairs to get a prefect and Holly went to find Professor Longbottom."
"Where's Brooke?" Dominique repeated, most worried for the friend from who's bed the fire appeared to have originated.
"She was already gone when I woke up," Brittany confessed. "I don't know where she is, but she's not here."
"Are you sure?" Dominique demanded.
"Yes, I'm sure," Brittany said, coughing from the smoke. "Now come on, we have to get out of here."
Seeing the reason in Brittany's point, Dominique allowed Brittany to lead her out into the stairwell, which was also filled with smoke, and down to the common room where the Gryffindor girls were congregating in confusion.
"Dominique!" Victoire cried as soon as Dominique emerged from the staircase. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Dominique assured her sister.
"What happened?" Victoire asked.
"I don't know," Dominique confessed. "I just woke up to Brittany shaking me and there was fire everywhere."
"I'm just glad you're alright," Victoire said, squeezing Dominique in a tight hug.
At that moment, Beverly Longman, the sixth year female prefect for Gryffindor emerged from the stairs and announced that she had successfully put out the fire.
"Those of you not in second year are free to return to your dormitories," she announced. "As for the second year girls, please remain in the common room until Professor Longbottom gets here to assess the situation."
"I'm here!" Professor Longbottom announced, climbing through the portrait hole, Holly directly behind him.
"Oh, excellent," Beverly declared. "Professor, if you wouldn't mind coming with me…?"
"Of course," he nodded. "Girls you stay down here while Miss Longman and I take a look at the damage," he added to Dominique and the others.
Dominique nodded and watched the two head upstairs, followed by many other Gryffindor girls who just wanted to go back to sleep.
"Go on Victoire," Dominique urged her sister to return to bed. "I'm fine, and Professor Longbottom's here anyway. You should get some rest. Fourth year can't be easy."
"Okay," Victoire agreed. "But if you need anything, you can come and wake me, alright?"
"Sure," Dominique promised with a nod.
Victoire disappeared up to her dorm, leaving Dominique, Brittany, Holly, and Joy alone in the common room.
"Where do you think Brooke is?" Dominique wondered, worried about their missing friend.
Joy shrugged. "She was gone when we woke up," she said.
"Maybe she snuck out," Brittany suggested.
"Maybe she started the fire and then ran off," Holly posited.
"She wouldn't do that," Dominique defended her friend. "No way was this fire her fault."
Just then, the second year Gryffindor boys emerged from their staircase confused and sleepy-faced.
"What's going on?" Miles asked. "Some third year just woke us all up saying there was a fire in your dormitory?"
"That's right," Dominique confirmed. "It's out now. Professor Longbottom's assessing the damage or whatever."
"What happened?" Zeke wondered.
"We're not sure. It had already started when we woke up," Holly explained.
"Where's Brooke?" Tom asked, noticing their friend's absence.
"She's missing," Brittany confessed.
"And nobody's looking for her?" Tom cried.
"Wherever she is, she's in a lot less danger than if she'd been in the dorm when the fire started," Joy pointed out.
"Still, she could be anywhere!" Tom cried. "She could be in the Forbidden Forest!"
"They lock the doors at night genius," Brittany rolled her eyes.
"It's okay Tom," Dominique assured him, walking over to her friend. "Brooke sleepwalks sometimes, so that's probably all this is. It was just really good timing that she chose tonight of all nights I guess."
"The sleepwalking is normal?" Tom repeated for clarification.
"Well, technically she takes a potion to prevent it, but sometimes it doesn't work for whatever reason," Dominique shrugged. "She probably just needs an adjustment of the dosage again. We can go see Madam Eldridge in the morning."
"What about the fire?" Miles wondered, joining the pair and branching off into a group of three. "How do you think it started?"
"I honestly have no idea," Dominique confessed. "I just woke up to Brittany shaking me awake and screaming that there was a fire. I didn't have much time to process."
"Do you think Brooke left before the fire started?" Miles wondered.
"If you're implying that she started the fire…" Dominique warned.
"No, I just mean that I hope she was already out, because otherwise she could have been severely burned. Didn't the fire start in her bed?" Miles asked.
"That's what it looked like," Dominique agreed. "But if she's been burned, she'd have woken up and she'd be here right now. The fact that she's missing means she's probably uninjured to say the least."
"True," Miles nodded.
Soon, Professor Longbottom returned from his examination of the second year dormitory.
"Well girls, the damage was mostly contained to the one bed, which we will have to replace. Apart from that, we will be replacing the curtains on the two other beds on either side of the affected bed as well, as the fire was able to spread before it was contained. It looks like most of your personal belongings were spared, save for some clothes and books that were in close vicinity to the origination of the fire," Professor Longbottom declared.
"That's good news," Holly said in relief.
"Only because it didn't affect you," Dominique pointed out. "What about Brooke? Those were probably her books and clothes that were destroyed."
"There is however one matter that concerns me," Professor Longbottom added. "My examination has revealed that the fire was magically started, which means that it was most likely deliberately set."
Dominique frowned. Who would deliberately set fire to the second year Gryffindor girls dormitory?
"Although I hate to do this, I'm going to have to ask that you all submit your wands for a quick evaluation. If none of you is revealed to be the guilty party, we will have to extend the search to the rest of Gryffindor house, and perhaps even the rest of the school," he declared.
"You think we would set fire to our own dorm?" Brittany cried. "That's insane!"
"If you'd just let me examine your wands, I can clear your names," Professor Longbottom insisted.
"Fine," Brittany grumbled, producing her wand. "Here."
Professor Longbottom produced his wand and held it tip-to-tip with Brittany's. He cast a spell and suddenly, her wand lit up with a brilliant light, indicating that the last spell she had cast was lumos.
"Thank you Brittany," Professor Longbottom said, ending the spell and causing the light to go out. "You are cleared of suspicion."
"No kidding," Brittany muttered.
Next, Joy produced her wand and Professor Longbottom repeated a similar procedure which revealed that the last spell Joy had attempted was the unlocking spell. Holly's wand was revealed to have recently performed the levitation spell, and thus both girls were absolved of guilt.
When Dominique's turn came, she admitted that she hadn't grabbed her wand before leaving the dorm and she had to return, accompanied by Professor Longbottom, to the dorm to retrieve it.
Upon walking in, Dominique was immediately horrified by the scene before her. Brooke's bed was indeed destroyed, as were the curtains on her and Joy's beds. Ashes littered the room and smoke lingered, causing Dominique to begin to cough.
"Hurry up," Professor Longbottom directed. "The room hasn't been fumigated yet and it's not yet safe to be here too long."
Obeying, Dominique hurried over to her bedside table and grabbed her wand from it, following Professor Longbottom back out into the stairwell where he tested her wand. Dominique also was cleared of guilt when her wand revealed that her last spell had been one she'd invented to clean her toothbrush of toothpaste; running water over it was so ineffective.
"That's quite ingenious," Professor Longbottom noted after witnessing the spell. "How did you come up with that?"
Dominique shrugged. "I'm not sure," she admitted. "I just tried some different stuff out until it worked."
Professor Longbottom nodded, but didn't pursue the matter further. Instead he asked, "where's Brooke? I haven't tested her wand yet."
Dominique hesitated. "She's missing," she confessed.
"Missing?" her Professor cried. "And you waited until now to bring it up?"
"I was hoping she'd have returned by now," Dominique admitted. "She has a tendency to sleepwalk sometimes."
"Yes, I know about Brooke's condition," Professor Longbottom nodded. "Madam Eldridge told me about it last year. Do you know if she has a usual destination, or does she wander at random?"
"I'm not sure," Dominique shrugged. "The only times I've witnessed it I've stopped her before she got too far."
"Well I'd better notify someone and have them start a search for her," Professor Longbottom declared.
It turned out that a search wasn't necessary though. As soon as Dominique and the Herbology Professor returned to the common room, they discovered that Brooke had returned, in the custody of a very irate Mr. Clarke.
"I found this one wandering around the third floor," he grumbled.
"Thank you Mr. Clarke," Professor Longbottom said. "I'll take it from here."
"You're going to dock points, aren't you?" Mr. Clarke verified.
"If the situation requires it I will," Professor Longbottom confirmed.
Mr. Clarke nodded and left.
"Professor Longbottom, I'm so sorry, I was sleepwalking. I didn't mean to leave Gryffindor Tower," Brooke said immediately. As she looked around the room, she began to frown. "What's going on anyway? Why is everyone awake and down in the common room? Is this all about me being missing? What are you doing here Professor?"
"I'm afraid there's been a fire," Professor Longbottom informed her. "It appears to have originated in the vicinity of your bed."
"It's lucky you chose tonight to sleepwalk again," Dominique commented, not that anyone paid her any heed.
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to present your wand for examination," Professor Longbottom informed her. "The fire was set by magic and it's my responsibility to confirm my students' guilt or innocence."
"You think I started it?" Brooke cried, eyes wide.
"I'm making no such assumptions at this time," Professor Longbottom said diplomatically. "I've asked the same of all your roommates. This is simply a necessary formality."
Reluctantly, Brooke produced her wand, which apparently she had brought with her on her sleepwalking expedition. She held it out and Professor Longbottom cast the spell on it, causing it to re-create the last spell it had cast. To everyone's horror, Brooke's most of all, the wand revealed the last spell cast to have been incendio.
"I swear I didn't start the fire," Brooke insisted. "Probably the last time I cast a spell was to start a fire under my cauldron in potions or something."
Professor Longbottom looked at her sadly. "I'm afraid I have no choice," he declared. "Brooke you are officially a suspect in this investigation. I'm going to have to take you to the Headmaster."
"But I didn't set the fire!" Brooke insisted. "I would remember something like that, wouldn't I?"
"Brooke?" Dominique asked, an idea popping into her head. "Could you have lit the fire in your sleep without realizing it?"
Brooke frowned. "I don't know," she shrugged. "I've never done magic while sleepwalking before, but I suppose it's possible."
"Professor Longbottom, Brooke needs to see Madam Eldridge, not the Headmaster," Dominique insisted. "Clearly she's suffering from a medical condition and wouldn't have set the fire if she'd been in her right mind."
Professor Longbottom hesitated. "I suppose an examination by Madam Eldridge would be prudent in these circumstances," he agreed. "Come on Brooke, let's go."
Brooke began to walk towards the portrait hole, Dominique following close behind her.
"Miss Weasley, you will remain here until I return," Professor Longbottom instructed her.
"But I should be with Brooke," Dominique said. "She's my friend."
"Regardless, Brooke will be fine without you," the Head of House informed her. "I will escort her to Madam Eldridge and then I will return to deal with your dorm. In the meantime, I suggest you girls try to get some sleep here in the common room."
Though she didn't like it, Dominique couldn't argue with the Head of Gryffindor House, and so she let Brooke go with Professor Longbottom as her roommates started claiming couches to sleep on.
"So it looks like it was Brooke after all," Miles said as he, Dominique, and Tom sank into a trio of armchairs that were oriented in a circle. "That's crazy."
"I can't believe it," Dominique muttered. "This means the sleepwalking is getting worse."
"How long as the sleepwalking been going on?" Tom wondered.
"About a year," Dominique said. "It started when her mother died last fall. Actually, I think it was right around this time last year that it happened."
"Could her subconscious mind have known that, and maybe it acted out by setting the fire?" Miles suggested.
"I don't know. I guess we'll find out what Madam Eldridge has to say." Dominique yawned.
"You should try to get some sleep," Miles informed her. "Come on Tom, we should go back to our dorm. It's late."
"Yeah alright," Tom agreed. "Let us know if anything else interesting happens, Domi."
"Yeah sure," Dominique nodded sleepily, curling into a ball on her chair. She was fading fast now that all the excitement was over with. "Whatever you say."
DdDdDdDdDdD
The next morning, the second year girls awoke to find a note pinned to the door of their dormitory indicating that they were prohibited from entering until further notice, even to change into robes for the day. Joy, Holly, and Brittany were pretty outraged at the prospect of attending classes in their pyjamas and dressing gowns, but Dominique's primary concern was for Brooke.
As soon as curfew was lifted, Dominique headed straight down to the hospital wing, hoping that was where Brooke was. Her suspicions were confirmed when she entered the wing and immediately located her best friend sleeping soundly in one of the beds.
Not wanting to wake her, Dominique instead headed for Madam Eldridge's office.
"Dominique," Madam Eldridge greeted her. "What can I help you with this morning?"
"I want to know about Brooke," Dominique said bluntly.
"I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to disclose patient information to anyone other than their families, the Headmaster, and their Head of House."
"Can you at least tell me if setting the fire was part of the sleepwalking?" Dominique pleaded.
"I'm sorry Dominique," Madam Eldridge said. "I simply am not at liberty to discuss this with you."
Dominique sighed. "It's okay," she said. "I'll just wait for Brooke to wake up and then she'll tell me."
Dominique turned and retreated to the visitor's chair next to Brooke's hospital bed, where she sat down and got comfortable as she waited for her friend to awaken.
DdDdDdDdDdD
It was almost two hours before Brooke woke up, by which time Miles and Tom had joined Dominique in the hospital wing.
"Good morning!" Tom greeted Brooke brightly when her eyes opened.
"Morning?" Brooke replied, making it sound a bit like a question, feeling a little overwhelmed by her early morning greeting.
"Sorry, we were eager to talk to you," Miles apologized.
"That's alright," Brooke said, pushing herself upright. "It's nice to have company in this place."
"So what did Madam Eldridge say?" Dominique prompted.
"Well the fire was definitely my fault," Brooke began to Dominique's dismay. "But I did it while sleepwalking, so they're not blaming me for it."
"That's great news!" Dominique exclaimed.
"The bad news is my sleepwalking is getting worse," Brooke added, deflating Dominique's excitement. "They're bringing in a sleep specialist from St. Mungo's to look at me this afternoon."
"Well hopefully they'll be able to solve whatever's needing to be solved," Tom said optimistically. "Getting a second opinion can only be a good thing."
"I guess," Brooke shrugged. "Anyway, I'm not allowed to leave the hospital until they figure out what's wrong with me and why I keep building immunity to the sleep potions."
"So you get a day or two of relaxation in the hospital," Tom shrugged. "School's boring anyway."
"True," Brooke agreed. "Speaking of, don't you three have class?"
Brooke was right. First period started in seven minutes. Dominique and the boys frantically said a quick goodbye to Brooke and hurried to the second floor for Charms immediately, promising to visit at lunch.
DdDdDdDdDdD
The specialist from St. Mungo's came while Dominique and the others were in afternoon class. According to Brooke, nothing very interesting had happened. He'd examined her and cast some spells that allowed him to see certain parts of her brain, and then he'd retreated with Madam Eldridge to her office for a long discussion. Then he'd prescribed a new potion for her to take and had promptly left.
"Madam Eldridge says if I take this potion for three nights in a row and don't sleepwalk, then I can be discharged," Brooke said. "Hopefully it works."
"Do you know what's in it?" Tom asked.
Brooke shrugged. "Well I didn't know what was in the last two," she confessed.
"Didn't the specialist tell you anything about your condition?" Miles wondered.
"Nope," Brooke shook her head. "But honestly, I don't want to know. Madam Eldridge assured me that she was keeping my dad informed, and I'm content knowing that he knows what's up. As long as I stop sleepwalking, I'm happy not to know."
Dominique couldn't really understand the approach Brooke was taking to her health, but she respected Brooke enough not to pester her about it. When she was older, maybe her opinion would change and she'd ask to take a look at her file.
"Well I'm just glad that you're alright," Dominique said. "And hopefully you'll get out of here soon so you can see your fancy new bed!"
"Oh, have they cleaned up our dorm?" Brooke asked.
"Yup," Dominique confirmed. "Professor Longbottom informed us in Herbology last period that it was safe to go inside now. It's like nothing happened at all."
"Good," Brooke said. "At least I didn't do any lasting damage. I don't know if I could have lived with myself if any of you had gotten burned or something."
"Well don't worry about that," Dominique assured her. "Because everything's just fine."