Chapter 15

Emily groaned as whitewashed walls appeared around her. She blinked and the room came into focus. She was in the hospital wing with Luciana and Gabrielle leaning over her.

"I think she's awake," whispered Gabrielle, sounding as if far away instead of sitting on the end of the bed.

Emily tried to ask, "What happened?" but found herself instead saying, "Need water."

Luciana handed her a pitcher of water on the table next to the cot. "Well?" she asked, excited.

Emily drank. "Well, what?"

"Well, sleepyhead, you've been out cold for a whole day.

"I have?" Emily dropped the water jug in shock. "Why didn't anyone wake me?" she asked, scrambling to get out of the bed, only to find her legs shaking and her balance unstable.

"We tried. Professor Lupin did "enervate" to you, but you didn't wake up. Madam Pomfrey says its because so much anger was forced into that spell and you were thrown into the wall."

Now that she mentioned it, Emily did feel a large lump on the back of her head. "But…what happened?"

Luciana was unsure, and looked at Gabrielle for an explanation.

"Seamus locked you in that corridor with him. When Genny and Lupin heard you scream, they knocked the door down. Lupin was so mad that he punched Seamus in the face. He's also in the hospital wing. His face was a bloody mess when he got up here. We were waiting for you to wake up so we could know what happened. Seamus was awake, but he refused to say anything. Did he do something that could get him kicked out of the school?" asked Gabrielle, anxiously.

"I hope so," commented Luciana. "He was really nice last year, but for some reason this year he's been a terror to all the younger students. He acts normal when he's with the Gryffindor boys his age, though, like Harry Potter and Ron Weasley."

"Could he be under the Imperius spell?" Emily had always thought it obvious that if somebody's personality changed a lot in one year, it couldn't be for natural reasons. Somehow, Luciana and Gabrielle seemed shocked.

"I…I never even considered….oh my god- you're right! That would explain so much! I saw him chatting with a Slytherin the other day, something he had never done before this year. But if he was, then why did he go after you?" Gabrielle asked herself, sounding incredibly confused and dazed.

Emily had some suspicions why, but the other Hufflepuff girls hadn't been in McGonagall's office with her. "What about Genny? What did she do?"

Gabrielle winced. "When she saw you and Seamus…she kinda figured it was your fault. She….didn't really understand…"

"She wants to kill you for stealing her boyfriend," interrupted Luciana, matter-of-factly.

"But I didn't!" Emily cried.

"I know," shushed Gabrielle, "But Genny saw you two together and after that corny show Seamus had just put on for her, why would she have believed it was your fault? She knew him longer than she'd known you."

Emily sighed. This was to confusing for her. First of all, what would happen if Genny found out Seamus was the guilty one? Would she ever forgive Emily? Second of all, why would an Imperiused Seamus want to date Genny? Was there something about her that, just like Emily, the Death-Eaters resented or wanted?

"I…gotta talk to Professor McGonagall." Emily said, convincing herself everything would be settled.

"We'll go get her for you," agreed Luciana, dragging Gabrielle after her.

Not even a minute later, Jon poked his head inside the Hospital Wing door. "Emily, are you in here? Luciana told me you had woken up."

Emily sighed with relied. She had needed to talk to Jon. "Over here!" She told him all her suspicions about Seamus, and Genny.

Jon looked a little reluctant to believe her. "So you think Seamus is working for the Death-Eaters now?"

"Yes!" cried Emily, exasperated. "He's under the Imperius curse." She heard a shuffling coming from the other side of the hospital wing and lowered her voice. "Apparently, Seamus was really nice last year. How could he have changed so much over just one summer?"

"Maybe something happened in his family, and he's just taking it out on the younger students," suggested Jon.

"But he's going out with Genny. And he was coming closer to me like…" she shivered. "I don't know, but it was awful, Jon!"

Jon snapped into focus. He seriously asked her, "He didn't…do anything, did he?"

Emily stared for a moment, unable to understand him. Then she laughed, "No, nothing. Professor Lupin and Genny came before he did anything sinister.

The door swung open and McGonagall strode in, followed by Luciana and Gabrielle.

"Oh, so your boyfriend made it, did he? I told him to come visit you on my way up." Luciana winked.

Jon and Emily blushed. "He's not my boyfriend," replied Emily, knowing there was no way Luciana would listen.

"Miss Lupin, I assume you can tell us what happened in the corridor?" McGonagall inquired.

Emily told her about Seamus locking her in, and how she suspected he was under the Imperius curse from what Luciana and Gabrielle told her. She left out the part about why she thought Seamus was dating Genny. That was too trivial or her, and probably not very important. When she was finished, McGonagall nodded and said, "Thank you for telling me this. It may help the school in the long run. If you're feeling well enough, you can leave the hospital wing. There's nothing more Madam Pomfrey can do for you."

As she and her friends left, Emily could've sworn she heard Madam Pomfrey ask, "So, Mr. Finnegan. You're finally awake then."