Chapter 5: The Boy Eating Crackers
When Clementine wakes up, she has a terrible headache. She wonders if she is still suffering from the effects of the Cauldron Scouring Potion, or if the headache is an after effect of the sleeping potion that Madame Pomfrey gave to her. She's so drowsy that she can hardly think straight. She slowly pulls herself up to a sitting position in the bed, wondering how long she has been asleep. Is it morning or evening? There is just a sliver of light coming in from under the curtain around her bed, and the room is rather dark, so she knows it couldn't be the middle of the day.
Clementine blinks several times, and as she pulls back her curtain, the room slowly comes into focus. She looks around carefully, curious as to where the medicine witch might be. She finds that although the hospital wing is full of beds, they are almost all empty...except for one bed directly across from hers, on the other side of the room. The curtain around the newcomer's bed is drawn.
Clementine decides to investigate. She slowly pulls the covers off, noticing for the first time that she is no longer in her Hufflepuff robes but wearing a long, white nightgown that she has never seen before. She methodically swings first one leg, then the other, over the edge of the bed, suddenly finding herself fighting off a wave of nausea. Perhaps a side effect of the toxic potion in Snape's class yesterday? Or was that the day before?
After a few deep breaths, she scoots to the edge of the bed, places her feet on the floor, and slowly stands up, trying to ignore the dizziness that accompanies this action. She takes a few unsteady steps, but then she is forced to quickly sit down on the floor, because the room begins to spin. She takes a few more deep breaths, then slowly stands up again. Just as she is on her feet again, a boy's voice speaks from across the room. "Are you alright?" She looks toward the other side of the hospital wing, to find that the new patient has drawn back the curtains around his bed. He is leaning half out of his bed, looking over at her. From where she sits she can tell that he is probably about her age. He's wearing blue and white striped pajamas, and his mess of reddish blond hair spills over his eyes as he gazes over at her from his awkward position on the bed. Clementine sighs and says, "Yes, I think so." She slowly makes her way across the hospital wing, and quickly sits down on the floor next the newcomer's bed before she gets faint again. The boy pulls himself back up into his bed, and props his elbows up with a pillow, lying on his stomach and looking down at Clementine with a curious but concerned expression. "I'm Peter,"he says, in a very matter of fact way, without taking his eyes off of the girl sitting on the floor next to his hospital bed. He had seen this girl around, but he had never spoken to her and didn't know her name. He had always been curious about her, though - she seemed cute. As he gazes upon her now, he sees at her freckles, her long jagged bangs that try to hide her eyes.
She smiles and blushes. "I'm Clementine."
The boy nods, and turns around for a moment, with his back to her, reaching for something on the bedside table. When he faces her again, he's holding a small, round cracker between his teeth. He pulls his cracker into his mouth with his tongue, and crunches down on it.
Suddenly, as if possessed, the boy lets out a very peculiar outburst that causes Clementine to nearly jump out of her own skin! Spewing cracker crumbs Peter yells, "Walrus!" Immediately the boy disappears, and there, lying in his bed, is a giant, blubbery walrus. The walrus looks at her expectantly. Am I imagining this? Perhaps I'm still experiencing side effects of that nasty potion? Am I hallucinating? But the walrus continues to stare at her. Then in one swift swipe he tears through the white paper bag, and gulps a cracker. From the instant the cracker enters his mouth, the walrus is a boy again.
Clementine is speechless. Her heart is thundering in her chest. She has seen magic crackers and cookies from Hogsmade, that make people fart purple foam or well up in boils, but she has never seen anything remotely like this. She stares at the boy, who seems to be perfectly fine.
"What - how - erm -"
"What's wrong, Clementine? You're acting like you've never seen magic before."
The boy smiles. He picks up the white paper bag, which is now ripped quite badly. Taking care not spill any crackers, he holds the bag out in front of his new acquaintance. "Here. Have a cracker."