The title for chapter eight is from…Avenue Q. Congrats to Easterly Winds, thedivinemissk, RECblue8, maureen is me, and Wickedgreenchild.
Okay, before I forget, here are three things that I meant to mention last chapter, but forgot:
1. Mara wrote the beginning scene in Chapter 8 where Elphaba and Glinda talk about Snape. Brilliant as always.
2. Midnightpopcorn helped me with the title of chapter 8.
3. There is a "news" section in my profile which will be updated every two to four days. So…if you're wondering why I haven't posted for a month (probably…er…hopefully won't happen), check that.
I'm just going to rant for a moment here: Why does EVERYONE post original fiction on the Wicked section??? breaths Sorry about that.
Disclaimer: I don't own Wicked. I don't own Harry Potter. End of story.
I lied. Snape's trial is actually in the next chapter. The hospital scene was a lot longer than I expected. (Well, the real reason is because I can't write trial scenes for the life of me, so I dumped it on Mara.)
This was not beta-ed, so it might not be as great…Wow. That was a lot of author notes…ON WITH THE ACTUAL STORY!
Chapter 9: Pandemonium
It was sunny. That was Elphaba's first thought as she slowly returned to consciousness. She blinked as said sunlight filtered through the blinds in the Hospital Wing. Where was she? What happened? She opened her eyes and looked around the sterile room. Suddenly, the events of the battle at Grimmauld Place rushed into her mind and she sat up with a gasp. She attempted to get out of the bed to find out what had happened, but a sharp pain in her ribs forced her to sit back down again.
This gave Madame Pomphrey enough time to walk out of her office and see Elphaba trying to sneak out of the Hospital Wing. She crossed her arms and glared at said green witch. "Are you going somewhere, Thropp?" she asked, tapping her foot.
"I need to talk to Albus," Elphaba explained as she stood up, ignoring the dull throbbing in her chest area.
"You need to rest," Pomphrey corrected. She walked over to Elphaba and glared at her again. "Get into that bed. Now. Before you make me force you."
Before Elphaba could argue further, the door to the Hospital Wing opened and Albus Dumbledore walked in. "Fae! Glad to see that you're awake. How are you feeling?"
"I feel fine," Elphaba replied. "Really," she said in response to Pomphrey's raised eyebrow.
"I don't care how 'fine' you feel, Thropp. I still want you to stay here for at least another night," Pomphrey interjected. "Now, Albus, if you please, she needs rest, not people pestering her."
"I'm sorry, Pomphrey. I certainly wouldn't want to take you away from your wondrous care of your patients. However, this can not wait. Could I perhaps chat with Fae for ten minutes?" Dumbledore asked.
"Fine," Pomphrey finally gave in. "But make sure that Thropp doesn't go anywhere. And if you help her sneak out, so help me Merlin, I will hunt you down and murder you myself, Headmaster or not."
"No need to worry about that, Poppy," Dumbledore reassured her. "I sincerely believe that bed-rest is the best remedy you could give Fae right now, given the circumstances."
"Circumstances?" Elphaba questioned quickly. "What circumstances?"
"Well, that's actually what I wanted to discuss with you," Dumbledore turned towards Elphaba as Pomphrey slipped into her office and closed the door. "First, I want to ask you, how did you get hit at Grimmauld Place? Usually, you're one of the most agile fighters."
"I…er…kind of lost my concentration," Elphaba admitted sheepishly. "I couldn't help but notice what Voldemort was telling you." She paused. "Do you think that Voldemort really has a new weapon or was he merely bluffing?"
"Honestly, Fae, I am not sure," Dumbledore said honesty. "At first, I was sure that he was lying, as I'm sure you heard me tell him, but reports from other Order members have caused me to rethink that statement. Apparently, the Death Eaters were-"
"Much stronger than ever," Elphaba finished the Headmaster's sentence. "And I felt that way too. What do you think could be the cause?"
"I don't know, Fae. I don't know," he answered. "Now, about the 'circumstances' I was talking to Poppy about. Promise me you won't do anything…rash when you hear about it. I want you to stay in this bed and rest up for tomorrow."
"Rash?" Elphaba said, alarmed. "What's happened? Why would I do something 'rash'? And what's happening tomorrow?"
"We were able to drive the Death Eaters and Voldemort away," Dumbledore said. "However, as we were about to leave, Ministry officials came and…" he trailed off.
Elphaba listened to this with a slow sense of growing dread. "And?" she prompted, knowing the answer, but hoping that she was wrong.
"Severus was arrested on the charges of being a Death Eater," Dumbledore finished. "Sit down," he added as he saw Elphaba jump up out of the bed.
"Where is he? Not in Azkaban?" Elphaba gasped.
"No. Severus is currently in a Ministry holding cell, I believe," Dumbledore reassured her. "Are you willing to testify at his trial?"
"Yes. Of course," Elphaba frowned. "When is it?"
"November 3rd," Dumbledore answered. "Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow? But it's only October 31st," Elphaba said, confused.
"Fae, you've been unconscious for two days. Today is November 2nd. Tomorrow is Severus's trial. Do you think you'll be strong enough to testify?"
"I told you- yes. That is, if Madame Pomphrey lets me out of the Hospital Wing by then," Elphaba replied.
"I'll talk to her about it," Dumbledore promised. "Speaking of Madame Pomphrey, I'd better go before she comes out and makes good on her promise," Dumbledore smiled. "Don't worry, Fae. Everything will work out. Don't worry too much."
"I hope so," Elphaba said apprehensively. "I definitely hope so." Dumbledore nodded to her and left, closing the Hospital Wing door behind him.
When Madame Pomphrey heard the door closing, she stormed out of her office in a very bad mood. "Finally," she muttered, herding the green-skinned witch back into bed. "Some people just don't understand the importance of resting after receiving an injury."
Elphaba had no time to answer the Hogwarts nurse. With a 'bang', the Hospital door opened yet again, admitting another visitor into the quiet room. Madame Pomphrey turned around, exasperated. "And my point is proved," she snapped at the newest visitor.
"I'm sorry," the visitor apologized. Glinda. "I just wanted to see Elphie. Is she-"
"Glinda!" Elphaba called, completely disregarding Pomphrey's advice to stay in bed and getting up once again.
"Elphie! Thank Lurline you're alright!" Glinda cried, hurrying towards her best friend and encircling her in a giant hug. Elphaba tried to suppress a wince, but was only partially successful. Glinda immediately pulled away and looked at Elphaba worriedly. "I'm sorry- did I hurt you again?"
"No, no, Glinda," Elphaba tried to reassure the blonde. "I'm okay. You didn't do anything."
"But you winced when I-" Glinda seemed terribly distressed about possibly re-injuring Elphaba.
"Glinda," Elphaba tried to say. Her friend didn't answer, still beating herself up for hurting Elphaba again. "Glinda!" she said louder, trying to get Glinda's attention. "I told you, it wasn't your fault. I just felt a small twinge, that's all."
"Which is exactly why you should not be standing around right now," Madame Pomphrey interrupted. "Do you want to be hurt again?"
"Of course not. She's right, Elphie!" Glinda said. "Why aren't you resting? I don't want you to overexert yourself before you're ready."
"I honestly don't think I'll 'overexert' myself," Elphaba replied wryly. "This would be one of the…milder injuries I've received." However, instead of relieving Glinda's fears, this statement only served to worry her more.
"You've been unconscious for two days and this is still one of your 'milder injuries'?" Glinda asked in disbelief. "What's happened to you these past five years?"
"A lot," Madame Pomphrey answered for Elphaba. "And yet, she still doesn't understand the concept of resting. I take it you haven't forgotten the events of two years ago, Thropp?" she directed this question to a sullen Elphaba.
"What happened two years ago?" Glinda questioned, frowning.
"Nothing," Elphaba said quickly, getting back into the hospital bed if only to keep Pomphrey quiet. "And I don't see the point of bringing it up again, anyways."
"About two years ago, there was a series of attacks that had nothing to do with You-Know-Who," Pomphrey began, despite Elphaba's attempts to make Pomphrey keep quiet. "The Order was particularly worried that there might be another Dark Lord on the rise, so they attempted to 'nip it in the bud', so to speak. They spent a lot of time trying to find the source of these attacks.
"Thropp here, decided to operate on pure adrenaline. Over a period of two weeks, she taught classes by day and researched or followed leads by night. She literally slept only about two to three hours each day and she barely ate."
"Well, I learned," Elphaba grumbled, annoyed that the Hogwarts nurse decided to spill her life story. "Isn't that good enough for you?"
"If you learned, you would be resting right now, wouldn't you?" Pomphrey shot back. "Anyways, after two weeks of attempting to live like this, she passed out from exhaustion in a class. Scared the living daylights out of her students, I must say."
"Oh Elphie," Glinda said, looking at said witch. "You have to start taking care of yourself better."
"I haven't done that again, if that's what you mean," Elphaba groaned. "And why in Merlin's name did you have to bring it up?"
"To illustrate my point. Now sleep. Otherwise, I'll bring you a Dreamless Sleep Potion from my office," Pomphrey ordered. "Miss Upland, will you make sure that Thropp actually sleeps?"
"Of course I will," Glinda squealed. Pomphrey nodded to her and then went back into her office. "Now, Elphie, you heard the nurse. You need to-"
"-get out of here," Elphaba interrupted. "I'll go stir crazy if I'm cooped up in here. Besides, tomorrow is Snape's trial. I need to talk some more to Dumbledore about that."
"Honestly, Elphaba, you won't do Snape any good if Madame Pomphrey deems you unready to even go to the trial tomorrow," Glinda argued. There was a silence.
"Alright, Glinda," Elphaba finally sighed. "You win. You both win." She rolled her eyes and slipped back into the vacant bed. She tried to hide a yawn, but couldn't.
"Touché," Glinda said, triumphant. "I'll see you later, Elphie. Have a good nap." Sweet Oz, I sound so…obsessed with Elphaba, she thought to herself. Thank Lurline Elphie's so terribly oblivious to this kind of thing.
Courtroom #4 was packed to the rim with people on the day of Severus Snape's trial. Reporters rushed in and out of the room, aurors stood around looking extremely bored, and other wizards and witches that just wanted to watch sat on the wooden benches, muttering to each other.
Elphaba had barely made it out of the Hospital Wing. Pomphrey had been particularly annoyed when Dumbledore had asked if Elphaba could leave to go to the trial. She finally agreed, but not without some major threats on her part to her patient. Right now, Elphaba was going with Dumbledore and Harry, both who were to be witnesses for Snape, to the cell in which Snape was currently being held.
"Headmaster!" Snape said when he saw the group that was heading towards them. "Fae!" He paused. "Potter," he finally said, although not so enthusiastically.
"Snape," Elphaba replied. "How are you?"
"I could ask the same of you." He turned to Dumbledore. "Albus, if today doesn't work out-"
"Have faith, Severus. Have faith. We're all here to testify for you today," Dumbledore tried to reassure his Potions Master.
"Do you know who's testifying on the opposite side?" Harry asked.
"I'm not sure- I heard that Lucious Malfoy was one, but other than that, I have absolutely no idea," Snape said. However, judging from his expression, Elphaba could tell that he known more than he let on.
It seemed that Dumbledore realized this too; he asked his two companions if he could speak to Snape alone. Elphaba and Harry moved aside to give Dumbledore and Snape some privacy.
"So…" Harry began, trying to strike up a conversation. "It's your first trial, isn't it, Fae?"
"Yes," Elphaba answered curtly, too nervous to really talk a lot. "You've testified at a lot of trials- what is it like?"
"It's not bad, honestly. Snape's lawyer will ask you a few questions about your relationship with Snape and his general behavior. Then, the other lawyer will cross-examine you to try to make your testimony invalid," Harry explained in a straightforward manner.
"Wonderful," Elphaba muttered sarcastically. Before she could say more, however, the four people heard the sound of a bell, which signified the beginning of the trial.
"We should go, Snape," Elphaba interrupted Dumbledore's and Snape's conversation, "or we'll be late for your trial."
"Don't worry Severus. Everything will work out," Dumbledore said with what he though was a reassuring smile to his employee. "You'll see."
"Thank you Headmaster, for doing this for me," Snape answered sincerely.
"Not at all, my boy. It's the least I can do after all the risks you've taken for us," Dumbledore reassured Snape. "Now, I'll see you in a few minutes. Good luck."
"Order! Order!" Elphaba, Harry, and Dumbledore entered Courtroom #4 amid chaos. The judge, Daniel Gibbs, pounded his gravel on his desk, trying to get some sort of order in the room. The three Order members that were testifying for Snape sat down in the front row of benches, which were reserved for those who were testifying (either for or against the defendant).
"Alright, Albus. Spill," Harry said as soon as they sat down. "What did Snape know? I could tell that he was hiding something."
"Yes," Albus sighed, looking tired. "Snape…knows exactly who is testifying against him. And it isn't very good news. It's actually quite disheartening."
"Disheartening? Malfoy?" Elphaba asked. "Albus, I thought that Malfoy isn't as respected in this community as before; surely his testimony won't carry that much weight. Certainly not enough to really discredit yours, or even Harry's." Harry nodded his agreement.
"Alas, if only it were only Malfoy that was testifying on the opposing side," Dumbledore whispered, trying to keep the people behind them from hearing what he was about to say. "There is another person who is also testifying."
"Who?" Harry snapped. "Just tell us the name already. It honestly can't be that bad!"
"Ronald Weasley," Dumbledore finally said. There was a silence as Elphaba and Harry tried to digest this unwelcome piece of news.
"Ronald Weasley?" Elphaba found her voice first. "Tall, red-haired Ron? Harry's best friend?"
Dumbledore nodded. "Unless you know a different Ronald Weasley."
"But why?" Harry asked. "Why would Ron even want to testify against Snape. He knows how important Snape is to us. To the Order, I mean. Honestly, I don't like Snape, but I wouldn't testify against him, especially when I know he's done nothing wrong."
"I don't know, either, my boy," Dumbledore answered. "But this is completely- well, I'm just going to have to have a talk with him."
"More than a talk," Elphaba hissed fiercely. "If he is really going to hurt Snape by testifying, I'll kill him myself."
Harry gave a short laugh. "Then, we'd be attending your trial, Fae. So, I suggest you didn't."
"Why not?" Elphaba challenged. "Why are you defending Ron? You know that it's wrong of him to even think about testifying against Snape. Not just because he's hurting Snape, but because he's hurting the Order as well."
"Perhaps it's because he's my best friend. He's been my best friend since my first day at Hogwarts. I just want to give him the benefit of doubt. Wouldn't you do the same for Glinda?"
"Don't bring Glinda into this," Elphaba bristled. "She has nothing to do with this- they are completely unrelated situations and you know it."
"Stop it, both of you," Dumbledore quickly took charge of the situation before it got out of control. "There are bigger matters to worry about right now. Harry, Fae, I expected better from both of you."
"Sorry, Albus," Elphaba muttered. She turned to Harry. "Truce?"
"Fine," Harry replied, taking Elphaba's offered hand and giving it a quick shake. "Truce. I apologize."
"Quiet!" The judge finally managed to quiet the courtroom down. As the clock struck eleven, the chattering died down, to be replaced with whispers and others of the sort. The trial had begun.
Just a teeny, tiny cliffhanger this time. Okay, maybe not so teeny, tiny.
Coming up: Snape's trial (for real this time).
And for those people wondering when the actual slash is coming…probably right after the trial (meaning after chapter 10). There'll be about two-three chapters dedicated to that.
-Wolfie