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Of Earth and Stars

Chapter 7: The Ones Who Help Us

November 1988

"...you tuck the corner like so...and that's it. Did you get that, Miss Rosier-Black?" Madame Pomfrey ran a hand over a newly made hospital bed, smoothing out invisible creases from her well-performed job.

Both Suri and Pomfrey gave each other dubious looks. Clearly, Pomfrey did not want her there, as she wasn't fond of assistants in her healing domain, and Suri had no desire to be there for detention.

"Yes, Madam Pomfrey," Suri sighed looking at the nineteen unmade beds that remained. She had watched Pomfrey strip all of the beds of their old linens in a matter of seconds with a wave of her wand, so she knew the beds could be made with a single charm as well. For detention, she was asked to make the rest of the beds without magic.

"Well, I can't have you poking about through my things," Pomfrey said waving her wand. From a closet a backroom, nineteen clean sets of bed sheets and blankets floated into the room and fell into neat piles on each bed, waiting for Suri to get started.

"This should keep you occupied." Pomfrey then walked away, running her fingers over footboards, checking for dust that wouldn't be there.

With a heavy sigh, Suri pulled her long hair into a ponytail, shrugged off her black outer coat and Slytherin scarf, and got to work. She bit her tongue, annoyed by the cheers she heard from the quidditch field, signaling the start of the game. She was missing the first game, and the most important game of the season.

Time passed quickly as she mentally called professor Snape and Mara every dirty name she knew while she made the bed. Pomfrey had wandered back over to inspect Suri's work. The older witch checked every tucked corner and the fluffed pillow before nodding once.

"That'll do," Pomfrey stated without a smile. Suri refrained from rolling her eyes; she knew she had made the bed exactly as Pomfrey had showed her.

Loud exclamations and the shrill sound of a whistle blowing caught her attention as both she and Pomfrey looked out the window. Suri groaned in frustration as she moved on to the next bed, angrily shaking out the sheets.

"If you ask me," Pomfrey said while she moved about the hospital wing, straightening vases and adjusting curtains, "quidditch season is my least favorite time of the school year."

"Do you ever get go to the games?"

"Absolutely not," Pomfrey answered. "I'm not fond of watching students knock each other off brooms just for a few house points. Those students will later be in my care because of their violence, and I would never leave a patient in need!"

"I guess so," answered Suri, a slight smile on her face as she tucked a corner of the sheet beneath another mattress. In spite of the situation, she decided that she liked the school's matron, even if the older woman seemed to be somewhat anxious on a regular basis. Pomfrey seemed like someone who deeply cared for the students without judgment.

"Not to mention the racket," Pomfrey continued from a backroom, "do you know how hard it is to nurse patients back to health when all that quidditch noise is going on outside?"

"I can't imagine—"

The doors to the infirmary banged open, cutting Suri off. A mass of red and gold robes levitated into the room followed by a worried looking McGonagall with her wand raised, then by a girl wearing Gryffindor colors and a middle-aged witch and wizard. Trailing behind them was Professor Dumbledore, sweeping his wand back and forth.

Suri looked at the floating mass of red and gold and realized it was a body dripping a trail of blood.

"Madame Pomfrey," McGonagall greeted, her voice tight with worry. "Oliver Wood was injured during the game."

"Oliver?" A weight like a stone sunk in the pit of Suri's stomach.

"Put the boy on the bed," Pomfrey directed, indicating the bed Suri had just made. "Miss Rosier-Black, I need you to fill a basin of hot water from the back room and bring it here with a handful of clean towels. Quickly."

"Okay." She hurried away from the commotion to the room she saw Pomfrey disappear into earlier. The room was half the size of the outer infirmary. It was lined with wooden shelves that held a variety of different herbs, potions, and other medical paraphernalia that Suri couldn't name. In the corner of the room was a large sink with a metal basin beside it. Moving quickly, she tucked several towels under her arm while the basin filled to the brim with hot water and hurried back to the cluster of people.

In her rush, Suri felt her foot slip from underneath; she winced as hot water sloshed onto her arms in the effort to steady her balance. Setting the basin and towels on the bedside table, Suri looked down and paled, realizing she had slipped on Oliver's blood.

"Excuse me, my dear."

Professor Dumbledore went around the bed, sweeping his wand back and forth, using a charm that made the blood and the water she had spilled disappear, leaving the floor dry and shiny.

"Please stand out of the way so I can examine the boy," Pomfrey directed, and everyone took a few steps back.

Pomfrey pulled out a small vial from her apron and sprinkled a few drops into the water. The water turned a light shade of blue, and Pomfrey dipped a towel into the mixture and dabbed it around Oliver's gash. She had removed his quidditch robe, jersey, and undershirt, leaving his chest bare. The hair on one side of Oliver's head was dark with blood, and a line of fresh blood trickled from his wound, down his neck, and pooled against the curve of his collarbone. He remained unresponsive as Pomfrey wiped away the blood.

Suri averted her gaze from the unconscious boy, unable to stand it; instead, she looked at the others in the room. She stood between McGonagall and Dumbledore and the three other individuals. McGonagall's face was tight with worry and Dumbledore patted her shoulder comfortingly. He then slid his gaze to Suri when he realized she was watching him. She looked away, cheeks pink. She didn't want to have to explain that she was only here because of detention.

Among the other three individuals, there was a seventh year girl in a red and gold outfit. Her blonde hair was swept out of her big brown eyes, held back by a glittering red clip. Beside her was a man with dark brown hair and the same brown eyes holding onto a woman with dark hair and bright blue eyes. Between the planes of the woman's cheekbones and the brown eyes the man and girl shared, Suri realized this was Oliver's family.

"He's moving! Oliver moved!" Mrs. Wood pointed out with the same Scottish accent Oliver had.

Oliver groaned and his eyes opened slightly. He struggled to sit up.

"It's alright, Wood," Pomfrey spoke in a soothing tone, "you'll be fine." Immediately, his eyes closed and he went limp.

"What's happening, he was just awake!" the girl asked, her eyes bright with unshed tears.

"He's lost quite a bit of blood," Madame Pomfrey explained, "his body is exhausted." She waved her wand, and in flew a green vial that she caught out of the air. Popping the cork off the vial, Pomfrey leaned over Oliver and carefully forced some of the liquid into his mouth, satisfied when his natural reflexes swallowed it down.

"It's to replenish the blood he's lost." she explained. "Now, will someone tell me what happened during the match?"

"He took a bludger to the head in two minutes flat," answered McGonagall. "He was out before he even fell from his broom."

"He was so proud to make the team as a keeper," Mr. Wood said, his voice thick. "He really wanted us to come out for his first game."

"He's not dead, Andrew," Mrs. Wood said, her tone sharp. She looked at Pomfrey. "Madame Pomfrey can make anyone as right as rain, can't you?"

"Of course," Pomfrey said, giving the Wood family a smile, though her eyes were steely. "And for that to happen, Oliver needs rest, so I would have you all leave soon."

Madame Pomfrey straightened up, satisfied that Oliver's head had stopped bleeding. She had charmed a roll of bandages over, and head expertly wrapped the boy's head.

"Er," Suri followed Pomfrey as she took the basin to the second room to clean it out. "Should I make the beds still?"

"No, I suppose I'll finish it, now that there is a patient. I know it hasn't been your full-time today, but I will tell Severus that you completed your detention with me."

"Thank you, Madame Pomfrey," Suri answered, shocked that she had been pardoned from her time today.

She passed Oliver's family as they crowded around his bed as Mrs. Wood kissed the side of his head that wasn't injured. Quietly, she gathered her belongings, preparing to leave, and looked once more at Oliver.

If it weren't for the red stains on his skin and the bandages around his head, Suri would have thought him to be asleep instead of unconscious. His family had walked away, and Suri walked back to his bedside. Carefully, she touched his hand and gave it a quick pat.

"Sorry I couldn't make it to the game," she said to him in soft voice. "But get better soon so I can cheer you on at the next one."

When she turned around, she noticed all the adults in the room having a conversation and the seventh year girl, Oliver's sister, watched her curiously. The girl looked to the scarf in her arm.

"You're in Slytherin?"

"Yeah…"

"And I heard you say you'd cheer for Oliver at his next game." The girl raised an eyebrow, just as her parents walked over, as if noticing Suri for the first time. "Why would a Slytherin care about a Gryffindor? Especially after they likely won with Oliver being out of the game."

"Laurel!" Mr. Wood admonished, frowning at his daughter's questions, he then put his arm around her comfortingly. Suri's eyebrows furrowed slightly as she watched Laurel with her parents.

"I'm sorry," Laurel sighed, her apology sincere. "I'm not mad at you, just at Slytherin."

"That's okay, I get it," said Suri. "Oliver sat with me on the Express and was the first person to talk to me. Then I got sorted into Slytherin and we stopped talking. I had heard he made the team, and I congratulated him in the library last week. I don't like to forget about the people that are kind to me, so I told him that I'd cheer him on, but I still wanted Slytherin to win."

"That sounds about right," Mrs. Wood said, with a kind smile on her face. "He's a good boy. What's your name, dear?"

"Suri Rosier-Black."

Immediately the Wood family flinched at her name, and Suri felt the familiar shame of her name flare.

"Black like…" Mr. Wood trailed off. His brown eyes filled with conflicting emotions, none of them positive.

"Wait a second," asked Laurel, her disapproval becoming genuine interest. "Suri, you say? You're the girl we saw sticking up for a muggleborn Ravenclaw from a seventh year Slytherin."

"That was me." Suri tightened her hold on her belongings, unsure of what to do with the recognition. Two weeks ago, she got into a heated argument with someone in her house who had hexed a first year muggleborn Ravenclaw. She had threatened to jinx the other Slytherin if they attacked someone who didn't know as many spells as they did.

"Well, Oliver is lucky to have such a brave friend as you, Suri," Mrs. Wood decided with a smile.

"Miss Rosier-Black is turning out to be one of our boldest students this year." Professor Dumbledore strolled up to Oliver's family and Suri. He offered them a kind smile. "Please rest assured that your son and brother will be well taken care of by Madame Pomfrey's capable hands."

"We trust her. Thank you," Mr. Wood said and shook the headmaster's hand. With a nod, the family left the infirmary. Suri started to leave as well when Dumbledore's voice stopped her.

"Madame Pomfrey brought to my attention that you're here due to detention given by Professor Snape."

"That's right, Professor," Suri answered, feeling a weight settle in the pit of her stomach.

"Do you care to tell me why?"

"Not particularly, sir." Suri looked up at Dumbledore's eyes, and saw no judgment. She sighed heavily and left the infirmary with him once she noticed Pomfrey give them a glare while she continued to speak with McGonagall. "I stole from Professor Snape's private potions closet."

"Whatever for?" Dumbledore asked calmly as he and Suri walked through the halls, away from the infirmary.

"I don't know, it was stupid," Suri answered. She looked down at her feet, unable to meet Dumbledore's eyes. She found her mind drawing a curtain around her thoughts, as it often did.

"Did you find what you were looking for," asked professor Dumbledore after a pregnant pause.

"Yes," said Suri, thinking of the sprig of lavender she also took. "But Professor Snape took it back. Which is understandable. It wasn't mine to begin with."

"It seems you have a wise head on your shoulders, Miss Rosier-Black, and you simply made a mistake." Dumbledore stopped walking, and Suri followed suit. The two of them faced each other in the hallway.

"It seems Professor Snape will have an even harder time liking me now," said Suri. Dumbledore gave her an expectant stare. Suri shrugged. "It's not hard to see that Snape doesn't think much of me. Even if I am a Slytherin."

"Perhaps you're right," Dumbledore agreed, and Suri hung her head. "It's hard to get a person's feelings to change, no matter what we do."

"I don't know what I did to him," said Suri, and hurried to add, "I mean, before I stole from him."

"Miss Rosier-Black." Something in Dumbledore's tone made her look up at him. "I think you've noticed by now your last names carry a lot of history with them, and as such, they've caused a reaction in others."

"I've noticed."

Dumbledore continued calmly, as though he didn't hear the acidity in Suri's tone. "Perhaps his reaction is similar to the students you're meeting. And it's not because of what you have done, but his prejudice, like everyone else, is based on what those before you have done."

"But I'm not my father!" Suri's blue-grey eyes were bright with stormy anger. "I'm not going to go mad and kill off a bunch of muggles! It's not fair I'm being treated as though I would!" Suri took a deep, shuddering breath. "And people have seemed to forget that my mum gave her life to fight against You-Know-Who. Why can't I be judged for that?"

"Sometimes people choose to see what's wrong instead of right."

"That's a terrible way to view life. We should look for good things and believe in good things!" Suri folded her arms across her chest and stared pointedly at the wall.

"You're exactly right, Miss Rosier-Black."

Her eyes widened at Dumbledore's response, and she felt all her anger ebb away. "I'm…I'm right?"

"I think so." Dumbledore smiled. "It doesn't mean your time at Hogwarts will be any easier. Or your life for that matter, as our names has a tendency to precede us. But I do think it will serve you best to remember to look for the good instead of giving your attention to the bad."

She tried to wrap her mind around Dumbledore's advice, and she remained in her spot as Dumbledore began to walk away.

"Miss Rosier-Black, I suggest you cut yourself some slack, you're a first year student. For every memory you make here, whether good or bad, be willing to take the consequence if there is one."

"So you're not mad that I broke into a professor's office," Suri said, a smile on her lips.

"I think you're handling the consequence as best you can. And should you choose to break the rules again, remember there is always a consequence for our actions."

X

After supper, Suri found Isabelle sitting with a handful of upperclassmen in the Common Room.

"Suri," Isabelle looked up when she approached. "Where've you been? Nate and Mara were looking for you at the game."

"I got...busy," answered Suri, angry all over again at the thought of Mara. "But I have something for you."

Suri reached into the pocket of her trousers and produced the small envelope of powdered Ashwinder egg and the small stone handing them both to Isabelle. The girl's eyes widened and she rose from her seat, pulling Suri away from her friends.

"How did you get these?" Isabelle whispered fiercely as she put them in her pockets for safekeeping.

"Suri!" Nate and Mara entered the Common Room. Mara gave her a smug look while Nate's hazel eyes appeared relieved to see her.

"I tried to distract Snape, but he quickly turned around halfway to the field," Nate explained. "Then I saw Mara without you. She said she sneezed to tell you he was coming."

"Did she?" Suri raised an eyebrow at Mara. The blonde girl rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Suri, I was only having a bit of fun. What happened when Snape found you?"

"You let her get caught?!" Nate turned on Mara. His facial expression became neutral, and Suri died to know what he thought.

"Just detention with Madame Pomfrey," answered Suri, and she waved a hand. "Nothing I can't handle."

"You managed to get into his supplies?" Isabelle's eyebrows shot up into her hairline. "And you got detention for me. Suri, you're amazing," Isabelle said, genuinely impressed by Suri's skills.

"I couldn't have done it without Nate," Suri said, making it a point to exclude Mara.

"Well you both are amazing. Suri, I owe you one, really."

From the corner of her eye, Suri noticed Mara's lips tighten into a thin line when she realized she wouldn't receive recognition.

"I'll remember that," Suri promised. Isabelle started to walk away and quickly, Suri caught up to her. "Wait."

"Yes?"

"You know what the goat bezoar is for, right," asked Suri, thinking of the stone.

"Of course I know, it's an antidote to almost any potion or poison. I'm surprised you know what it is. That's not something Snape goes over until your third year."

"I did some research," Suri quickly answered. "I got it in case you wanted a way out of the love potion. I think you're a great person, Isabelle. You're smart and you're pretty. You shouldn't have to use a love potion to get a boy's attention."

"Thank you," Isabelle smiled and patted her pocket. "I'll remember that."

Suri returned to Nate and Mara who watched the exchange.

"Sorry you missed the game and got detention," Mara grumbled, her tone suggesting she was anything but sorry.

"Don't mention it," answered Suri. She cocked her head to the side. "In fact, you owe me for that. I got enough detention for all three of us combined."

"Why do I owe you?" Mara said indignantly.

"Because of you, I got caught," she responded. "You owe me."

"She's right, Mara," Nate agreed with a nod of his head. "You flaked out."

Mara glanced between the two, clearly outnumbered. She sighed angrily. "Fine, I owe you a favor."

Suri smiled. "Good. I'll let you know when it's time to pay up."

Author's Note:

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