Chapter 8: Questions
Christine returned the next morning, except she was not in the best state. She limped up to the Hospital Wing, Remus supporting her. Natalie walked out of her office at the same time as Madam Pomfrey, saw them and sat them down on a bed.
"Don't you think you should tell your friends about this, Christine?" Remus asked her softly.
"Tell us about what?" Martha asked, sitting up. She'd been awake as they'd entered and now she was curious as to what was happening to Christine.
"I just got too close to the Whomping Willow, that's all." Christine said. Martha shivered. The Whomping Willow was an extremely violent tree that flailed its branches whenever someone got too close. The branches were like clubs and they could easily knock an adult man senseless. The twigs were just as dangerous. They could quite easily poke someone's eye out. They were sharp and could also break the skin of a person. The thought that Christine had got too close to the Willow gave Martha a feeling of dread. Natalie was now whispering something to Remus, Christine and Madam Pomfrey. Martha tried to tune her ears to hear what they were saying, but it was too quiet and she couldn't hear what was being said. The three of them were nodding slowly. Eventually, they finished talking and Natalie walked into her office, where Martha knew Sirius was. Remus nodded at them and walked out of the Hospital Wing, while Christine walked over to Martha and the other Maraudesses, who were sitting up in bed, looking curious and concerned at the same time.
"What happened, Christine?" Lannastar asked her, eyeing the cuts and scratches covering her friend's arms and face and neck.
"Don't worry about me; I just got a bit too close to the Whomping Willow on my way back up from the Shr – err … school gates." She said and Adelyne and Dora looked at each other curiously, before looking back up at their friend.
"Then if you got too close to the Whomping Willow, how did Professor Lupin find you? I'd have though you'd have been knocked out." Dora asked her.
"He was taking a walk in the grounds and he saw me and helped me up to the school." She replied.
"I did actually notice you limping, Christine. What happened to your leg?" Martha asked.
"Well, the smaller branches got me hard enough in the leg, that they broke the skin and broke my leg at the same time. In fact, they were clumped together so much that they caused a deep wound to the leg." She said, lifting up her trouser leg and showing her friends the bandages covering the wound.
"But then why weren't my mum and Madam Pomfrey able to heal it magically?" Martha asked her.
"They decided to allow it to heal naturally. Madam Pomfrey said it was better for the wound if it was allowed to heal naturally." Christine replied and Martha nodded, defeated.
"Girls, I suggest you five go down to breakfast now." Natalie said, walking over to the group. "Because you still have to go to classes today."
The five girls nodded, standing up and walking out of the ward and down the stairs and into the Great Hall, which was slowly filling up with students. They took their places at the table, and Dean hugged Martha.
"Are you alright Martha?" he asked her and she laughed.
"Duh! Remember Dean, I only did it to make sure my father was alright." She said softly to him, just as a boy in his second year walked over to Christine, asking her if she was okay after last night.
"Mitchel, of course I'm okay. Professor Lupin looked after me until I got to the Hospital Wing." She replied and he sat next to her, both of them looking into each other's eyes.
"Ummm…Christine?" Martha asked her friend timidly. Christine blinked and looked up at her. "May I ask who he is?" she asked, motioning to the brown-haired boy sitting on Christine's left.
"He … well … okay, this is Mitchel Jones, my boyfriend. But you see, he and I have only been going out for a week and my parents don't know yet." She said nervously, looking over her shoulder, her eyes flicking around the room constantly as though afraid her parents would appear in the room at any minute.
"Christine, I really recommend you tell your parents about him. I mean, if you tell them the truth, they'll be more likely to allow you to go out with him, and then you'll also have a clear conscience on top of that." Martha replied, but Christine gave a frightened look at Mitchel and then the doors. She seemed to be acting rather suspicious to Martha and she couldn't help wondering if there was something Christine wasn't being exactly truthful about.
"Christine, the girls and I need to talk to you after breakfast. I know we'll end up running late for class, but we really need to talk to you. Bring Mitchel too." Martha said to her in an undertone.
"Okay." Christine replied slowly, looking puzzled.