Mary felt a soft hand come onto her shoulder. She looked up from her bed to see her father smiling down at her. "Are you okay?" he asked softly.

"I'm fine," Mary said in a raspy whisper, reaching out to touch her father's hand. "I'm fine."

"I sure hope so," he said. "One minute you were safely in the train, the next, the dementor came and hurt you. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm sure, Daddy."

"What about Carolyn?"

"She's not in the Hospital Wing like I am." Her father smiled again and kissed her on the top of her head. "I have to go to class now. I hope for you to take care of yourself." Mary nodded and smiled at her father, who smiled back, turned around, and walked to the class.

That's when he turned around again. "Oh, Mary," he said to get his daughter's attention. She turned her head to face him. "I thought about what you said, angel. I'm going to try my best to be a lot nicer to the other students. Who knows, maybe Dumbledore might even give the Head House of Slytherin to someone else."

Mary smiled at her father and said in a raspy voice, "I'm glad to hear that Daddy." They smiled at each other. Then her father turned around to go to his class, trying to see if he could accomplish his new task.

The only thing anyone could talk about in potions was Mary and Carolyn. Especially Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Seamus. That was all they talked about until Snape walked through the door. He walked up to his desk, laid his palms on the desk, and looked up at the students.

"Class, I have an announcement," he said. "From now on, I will be a changed man. I will no longer be cruel to you in any way. Now, are there any questions?" Half the class had their hands shoot straight up into the air. Snape looked around and pointed at Lavender Brown.

"Are your daughters all right?" she asked.

"Thankfully, yes," he said. "And I am very glad about it. Yes, Mr. Longbottom?"

"Will Mary be out of the Hospital Wing soon?" Neville asked.

"Sadly, I don't know. But I do know she is just fine. Yes, Ms. Patil?"

"Why didn't you tell us that you had two daughters?" Parvati asked.

"I am sorry, Ms. Patil, but I would like that to remain a secret. Yes, Mr. Weasley?"
"How long are you going to stay nice?" Ron asked.

"I plan for it to be until my occupation of a teacher will be over. Does anyone else have any questions? No? Okay, let's get on with our lesson today, shall we?"

Mary looked up from her bed to see Madam Pomfrey looking down on her with a goblet in between her middle finger and index finger. "Are you feeling any better?" the nurse asked.

"A little bit," Marry said. "I'm still kind of dizzy from the train incident."

"Do you have a shocking pain in your back?"

"Not at the-OW! Now I do!"

"Guess that means that your ready for the potion. Are you?" Mary slowly nodded her head. Madam Pomfrey smiled and handed the goblet to her. Mary drank the medicine. When she was done drinking, Mary smiled at Madam Pomfrey with a smile, but the face said, "I would prefer a medicine that would be better tasting."

"I know that the medicine is disgusting," Madam Pomfrey said, as though reading Mary's own face. "But you'll get used to it. I hope. Now, some of your friends are here to visit you." Mary looked over to see her new friends walking up to her bed. Seamus was holding a vase filled with flowers.

When Carolyn got up to the bed, she laid a hand on her sister's forehead. "Are you feeling okay?" she asked Mary.

"I feel fine," Mary assured her sister. "I am all right. Thank you guys so much for coming."

"Hey, you're our friend," Ron told Mary. "Why wouldn't we be coming over?"

"Did Daddy improve on his behavior today?"

"You wouldn't believe it!" Harry said in excitement. "It was all most as if someone had changed his life or something!"

"He actually called on me!" Hermione screamed in enjoyment. "And he didn't even insult me on how I was a know-it-all!" Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Seamus laughed at Hermione's remark. Mary and Carolyn smiled and let out a couple silent laughs. Ginny turned around to see a figure approaching.

"Speaking of your father," she said. Mary looked up from her bed to see her father approaching the bed. He smiled at all the students and looked down at his two children. "Are you sure that you two are okay?" he asked them.
"We're fine Daddy," Carolyn said.

"I'm glad."

"It's really too bad that you had to miss the first day of school," Seamus told Mary. "It was really fun." Snape smiled at Seamus and the rest of the students and looked back down at his two daughters. "Take care, you two," he told them. "I'm sorry, but I have to leave now."

He smiled at everyone again and left the Hospital Wing. "I have one question," Hermione said. "Does your father have a girlfriend." Mary and Carolyn looked at each other, nodded, and tried to hold back their laughter.

"Who?" Seamus asked.

"Professor Trewlawny!" the two girls both bursted out with a series of laughs coming out of their mouths. They looked up at their friends who had their jaws all the way open. "Say what!?" Ron asked.

"We don't even know how it happened," Carolyn said and giggled at the same time. "We seriously don't know." Everyone started laughing until Hermione looked behind her. She tapped Mary on the shoulder. She looked up to see her worst nightmare.

"Are you feeling okay, Mary?" Malfoy asked her.

"Malfoy, get out of here," she told him. "Don't try to sweet talk me. And the bet is off!"

"Why?"

"Because everyone knows that Carolyn and I are your potions master's daughters. So go away."

"Come on, Mary. You know you want to go out with me."

"I'd rather go out with a giant squid than with you." Malfoy looked at Mary, sighed, and walked out of the Hospital Wing. Mary opened her mouth to say tell Seamus about her true feelings towards him, but she was cut off when Madam Pomfrey walked up to the students.

"I'm afraid that you have to go back to your dormitories," she said. The children groaned and all said their little goodbyes to Mary.

"Bye Mary," Harry said.

"Get well soon," Ron said.

"Hope you'll get better," Carolyn said.

"See you tomorrow," Hermione said.
"Hope for your full recovery," Ginny said. Seamus was last. But he didn't say anything. Instead, he leaned down to Mary, touched her hair, and slowly and softly pressed his lips against her own. The kiss was long and serious.

When they let go, Seamus was smiling and blushing. He waved goodbye to her and walked out of the Hospital Wing. Mary smiled and touched her lips, hoping for another kiss from him to happen. She looked over at the flowers that Seamus had lied on her bedside table.

There was a card hanging down from the flowers. Mary picked up the card and smiled when she read it. It said, Hope for your full recovery. Get well soon. Mary, I love you.
Love, Seamus