Here's the newest chapter! Please enjoy and review!
Thanks again to Jess (who also drew the banner for the story) who helps me proof-read and rewrite the chapters!
A/N I looked up what a 'Mary Sue' is and I'm sorry that the character comes across that way!
Although personally I do not feel that she is a 'Mary Sue' (and have taken the 'Universal Mary Sue Litmus test with a result of 17 and the 'Harry Potter 'Mary Sue' RPG Test' with a score of 3), but I will try to write her as a more rounded character then she has appeared in the last few chapters. I apologize if it has been the reading experience any less enjoyable, but thank you for reading anyway!
I woke to a throbbing ache that violently threatened to split my skull in two.
I groaned quietly, unsure whether being awake was the best decision.
"Madam Pomfrey, is she okay?"
"She'll be fine, Dear; She'll wake up in her own time."
I stirred, and opened my eyes. Dark outlines of four people surrounded me; but the light was too bright and horribly pained my eyes. I closed them quickly.
"Erughhh," I groaned louder, and covered my eyes with my right hand. The arm felt slightly stiff.
"Amanda!" Ron's hushed voice declared, "You're awake!"
"Unfortunately," I mumbled back, rubbing my eyes.
"You … took a bit of a tumble." Hermione's voice put delicately. Who else was here?
"Was that before or after my neck broke?" I muttered jokingly. There was silence.
"I actually broke my neck?" I was surprised. I had heard a crack when I fell, and it seemed almost obvious.
I heard a sleepy sigh exhaled next to me.
"Well, not 'break'," Madam Pomfrey spoke softly, "You suffered a slipped vertebrae in your neck, and your shoulder was dislocated."
"I've got a killer headache…" I groaned, moving my hand from my eyes to my forehead and rubbing it softly, believing as if the action would soothe it.
"Must be a concussion." Madam Pomfrey said, "I'll get you something for it, Dear. Be back in a tick."
I heard her heels clack quickly against the tile floor as she hurried off.
"What time is it?" I asked those who remained, hoping I had slept till the weekend.
"4 O'clock," Hermione stated, "on Friday."
"I was only out 3 hours?" I asked sadly, "How is that even possible?"
"Magic." Ron said seriously, but I couldn't help but laugh. A piercing pain shot through my skull.
"Ouch, no laughing. It slays me." I whimpered and heard Ron chuckle quietly to himself. I pressed my fingertips against my forehead harder in an attempt to massage the pain away, and slowly opened my eyes again, this time they did not sting as badly.
I made out the blurry forms of Ron, Hermione and Harry standing around me.
"Where's Candice?" I asked, I saw their heads turn to look to the right of me.
I looked to the right; Candice was sitting on the chair next to my hospital bed. She had a Defence Against the Dark Arts textbook open her lap, but she was fast asleep.
"She skipped class to watch over you," Hermione said.
"Oh Wow." I said in amazement, "Seriously?"
"Yeah," Ron replied, "She didn't even consider coming with us. As soon as you were wheeled in she sat down, and when we realised we were late she just said she didn't care about class."
My chest swelled as I knew how highly Candice valued her studies, and had never missed a class in her entire tenure at Hogwarts. I looked back at the other three, who were now not as blurry as they once were.
I finally saw Hermione's and Ron's worried expressions and Harry's very angry one, and I remembered why I was here.
"I was pushed." I stated calmly; it was fact.
"You fell," Harry's reply came quickly, "Probably tripped. Those stairs are a death trap."
"Harry-" Hermione started, but Harry shot her an impatient look. She frowned back.
"I was pushed," I said louder, "I felt hands on my back. I didn't just trip."
"Candice told us that you were pushed," Hermione said, ignoring Harry's angry look, "and she said she heard someone running away, but didn't see anyone around."
"How is that possible?" I asked desperately, "Did they take an invisibility potion or something?"
Hermione glared at Harry, who frowned deeply for a few moments and sighed.
"What is it?" I asked, worried at their wordless exchange.
"The person who pushed you was invisible, and we know how they did it, but…" Harry started, but stopped to look back at Hermione with a frown. Hermione glanced away in frustration but started to speak.
"Harry's got an invisibility cloak." She stated, causing Harry to frown deeper.
"Wow," I said simply, "where'd you get that?" I asked.
"Family heirloom," Harry said through gritted teeth, "it was my fathers."
"And it's last this long?" I asked in amazement and smiled broadly at him for telling me. I knew his parents were a sore spot for him.
"It's really rather impressive," Hermione replied, "It works amazingly well."
"But it's a secret, okay? You can't tell anyone." Harry said quickly, "not even Candice, okay?"
He glanced over at her almost suspiciously.
"Okay," I agreed, understanding that an object like that would be highly sort after the World Over.
We were silent for a moment, and I contemplated what they said.
"You're telling me that...the person, who pushed me, also stole Harry's invisibility clock?" I repeated slowly, the cogs churning in my concussed mind. The throbbing pain did not help.
"Yeah." Harry replied sullenly.
"We found it after Defense against the Dark Arts. It was draped over a chair in the corridor outside the classroom. We only noticed it because Ron tripped on it." Hermione said, and looked over to Ron, whom I noticed was favoring his right leg. I gave him an apologetic smile. He looked longingly at the chair Candice was snoozing on.
"So, you've got it back?" I asked quietly, "Everything's okay?"
"Everything's okay, expect that someone threw you down the stairs," Ron said, "That's not okay."
I grimaced, but knew it was true. Was it a prank gone wrong? Or did whoever it was premeditate the act?
Madam Pomfrey appeared suddenly with a small bottle of a thick, orange coloured potion.
"Here you go," she said as she handed me the concoction, "This will settle that headache."
"Thank you," I said as I took it from her hands. I drank it quickly but it very nearly came back up.
It tasted horribly metallic and burned my throat. The throbbing in my head slowed its pace.
"Ugh!" I gagged, "can't I have something to wash it down with?"
"You can get it yourself if you like," Madam Pomfrey replied, "You're free to go!"
"Already?" I asked in surprise, "I had a broken neck!"
"You had slipped vertebrae," she corrected sternly, "that I fixed within minutes of you arriving. Off you trot then, don't want to miss supper."
I sat up, and shook my head in a vain attempt to remove the taste and expel the rest of the concussion.
"Gross," I whined, "It tastes like I bit in to a rusty iron rod."
Ron and Hermione gave sympathetic smiles, but Harry was still very angry and upset.
I got up and grabbed my things before carefully woke Candice, who was amazingly surprised that I was up and about.
"Thanks for staying with me," I said softly to her as she put away her Defence Against the Dark Arts book into her bag. It was already bludging with books and parchment.
"Well I wasn't going to leave, was I?" she replied, "I'm the only one who knows you were pushed; the other 3 believe you tripped." She looked upset and glanced at the three behind us, "I wasn't just going to leave you here unprotected. What if they came back?"
"You fell asleep!" I said humorously with a smile, "but thanks anyway Candice...it means a lot to me."
I looked back at Harry, Ron and Hermione. Hermione and Harry were shooting each other angry looks while Ron stood with Harry looking awfully frustrated for him and his situation.
I shot a good natured look at Candice, and she grabbed my things for me and insisted on carrying them.
We took our dinner in the crowded Great Hall. Its occupants were loud and cheerful, though our group sat in the middle of the riotous Gryffindor table keeping to ourselves and chatting quietly. I was incredibly thankful for the potion Madam Pomfrey gave me. What was left of my headache melted away as we entered the Great Hall, though I still didn't feel like eating.
I had piled potato salad and steak on to my plate, though ate it very slowly. I drank a lot of the pumpkin juice to remove the terrible taste of the potion that stained my mouth, but it was a hard taste to remove and the aftertaste kept coming back.
"I've got detention in twenty minutes." I said mournfully; picking at my potatoes with my fork, "I can't believe I still have to go."
"Well you don't really have an excuse," Hermione said, "You're perfectly healthy now."
"I know, but I broke my neck! And Merlin knows what Snape's going to make me do."
"Yeah, what if he has her carrying cauldrons around?" Candice spoke up, refilling mine and Hermione's drinks, "That wouldn't do her any good."
"Maybe you can ask for lines or something," Ron said, "though being Snape…"
"I'd be lucky if I survive the night." I whined. I looked over at Harry, who was still very upset and barely eating anything either. He stared up at the ceiling as if his mind was a million miles away.
"Could just skip." Ron stated with a full mouth, bringing my attention back to the conversation.
"And what, get more detention as punishment?" Hermione replied, "It's just best Amanda goes." She turned to me and lifted her cup, intending to drink, "Just mention that you fell down the stairs. If he makes you do anything that hurts you again, just go back to the infirmary and ask Madam Pomfrey to get Professor McGonagall!"
"Yeah, you're right Hermione…"I nodded solemnly, accepting my fate.
I ate the rest of my meal slowly, in silence. Hermione, Ron and Candice chatted about Potions and the assignment that was due for it this Wednesday.
Harry did not seem to be very sociable, and excused himself without finishing his meal.
I rushed after him and we walked out the Great Hall together. The area outside the doors was empty of people but the sound of the Hall bled through the thick, large doors.
"Harry…"I started and he still looked quite upset, "Thank you for telling me about your Invisibility Cloak, I promise that I won't tell anyone about it at all, but…"
"But?" He said impatiently. I swallowed nervously.
"Well, you know I was pushed today, and who ever did it is obviously committed enough to find out about and steal one of your most secret possessions…" I trailed off, trying to express my feelings correctly, "I was wondering if you would be able to walk me back to Gryffindor House after detention...I don't want to be pushed down another staircase, especially so late at night."
Harry thought for a few moments and looked at me as if he were weighing our friendship on a scale against his anger at the whole situation. Slowly, he nodded.
"Alright," he said, "but I'll have to use my invisibility cloak. If you get stopped by Prefects, they'll know you were at Detention, but if I do, they'll deduct points from Gryffindor, and we don't need any more taken away."
It was an obvious reference at my 100 point offense the night before. Guilt bubbled in my stomach.
"Thank you, Harry," I said, "Thank you so much." I gave him an appreciative smile and he gave me a small, forced one in response.
I stood outside Snape's Office in the underground dungeon corridor. The air was stale and cold and at times I could see my breath. I looked down the corridor into the bleak darkness that threatened to crawl into the only lit area of the walkway where I stood. I was reminded of my nightmare from this morning and unconsciously flexed my fingers to test if I could still move. I shuddered as I heard footsteps; they were reminiscent of those from my dream.
"Miss Marlin." Professor Snape said as he approached me, "I've been informed that attempted to take a shortcut down the Grand Staircase today."
I grit my teeth. My anger already threatening to flare. I knew he was just trying to get a negative response out of me. Not today, I vowed, I will not lash out today.
Snape opened his Office Door with a wave of his wand and walked inside. I followed behind him and was immediately surprised by the decor. It was originally a large room, now strangled for space thanks to the shelves of potion ingredients and oddities that covered almost every wall. A fireplace sat against the last free wall, and on a stand over the toasty fire sat a large cauldron, a brew bubbling inside. A locked cabinet sat in the corner looking very worn due to use.
"Sit." Snape commanded, and inclined his head towards an uncomfortable wooden chair and rickety looking table. I was sure did not usually hold residence in his office.
He took a seat in a plush looking high-backed armchair before laying a mess of parchment down on the dark round table. It was already covered in books and paper. I was surprised that it held any room for more objects.
I sat heavily on the chair and dropped my bag at my feet. I hadn't returned to the Common Room because there was no time as detention started at 5pm; I headed straight here after talking with Harry who promised he would return at 1am.
Snape left the room for a few minutes and returned with a large bag full of untendered potion ingredients, a bag full of small vials and bottles, and a bucket of water that he placed on the floor near my feet.
"Your detention is to prepare these ingredients as per the instructions on this parchment." he said as he reached in to his cloak and removed roll of parchment from inside. I took it from him and unravelled it; it was 3 feet long and covered in thick, but small handwriting. He heaped the ingredients on to the table and handed me a small knife. He walked to his desk and began to sort through the papers there.
I looked at the parchment. I was going to be subjected to 7 hours of cleaning, cutting, slicing, powdering, dicing and bottling potion ingredients. I restrained a sigh and looked up at Professor Snape. He was staring at me; waiting for an expression of defeat or regret, or indeed any sign that I was miserable. Instead I stared him down. Anger slowly trickled through my stomach and I was slowly starting to frown.
"Get started." He said once, coldly, and turned back to his papers.
I took a calming breath and read the first item on the list.
Harass Flubberworms for their Mucus; capture 300ml of mucus inside 15ml vials.
I searched through the bag of ingredients he had placed on to the table. Sure enough, I found a bottle as thick and tall as my hand that housed a tremendous amount of Flubberworms. The bottle was almost full to the brim with them. They were crawling over each other and wriggling.
I gave the bottle a disgusted look and inside the worms began to shudder and ooze green mucus.
It was going to be a long, incredibly grubby night.
Finally, I had reached the last entry on the list.
Separate Starthistle bulbs and bottle.
I looked at down at the filthy desk which was now covered in mucus, skin, insect guts, water, the remnants of powdered, chopped, sliced and diced ingredients of every variety. I reread the last entry. Separate and bottle?
It was the simplest entry on the list. Amazing, I was practically done. If I finished what he had planned for detention, was I allowed to leave early?
I rolled the parchment for what felt like the thousandth time and dropped it on to my lap; which was still wet from recoiling when one of the dead scarab beetles I had to wash before powdering miraculously came back to life.
I lifted the bale of Starthistle and was just about to begin to pick off the tiny bulbs that grew off the stalk of the plant when Professor Snape cleared his throat.
"Detention has finished."
"What?"
"Detention is over," he said, "You may leave."
I looked at the collection of bottles that covered the floor of Snape's office.
Was all that really 7 hours work?
"I will take care of the bottles," he said, "Return to Gryffindor dorm."
I looked up at him, then down at the StarThistle bale that I still held. It was devastating to have reached the last item on the list only to run out of time. I set the Starthistle down on the table and grabbed my bag from underneath the desk. It was also wet and covered in various powders. I frowned, knowing I would have to clean it.
"Goodbye, Miss Marlin." Snape said impatiently and stood, ushering me out of the room.
I walked out slowly. Professor Snape attempted to close the door on me while I was still in the process of exiting through it.
"Ugh," I said disgustedly, angry for the first time in hours, "Ugh ugh ugh."
"I couldn't have said it better." Harry's voice spoke with a chuckle. I looked to the right of me where I had heard his voice but saw nothing but the darkness of the dungeon corridor.
"Harry?" I asked. There was no one around.
"I'm under the cloak, remember?" he whispered, and his head popped into existence. His hair was messy, and his face tired but smiling.
"Th-thanks," i stuttered, put off by his bodiless apparition, "This is too weird."
He gave me a grin; apparently in better spirits then he was at dinner.
"Come on; let's get to bed." he said, "We're up in five hours for practice."
"Gosh," I said, "forgot that was even on." We began walking out of the Potions corridor. It was cold, and quiet. The only sounds being our footsteps clacking against the stone floor.
The sound reminded me of that morning's nightmare. I shivered in fear.
"Cold?" Harry asked, giving me a curious look.
"Wet, mostly." I said, trying to recover from my moment of anxiety as I indicated to my skirt and bag, "he had me washing live scarab beetles. It's a mess in there."
"Hah hah, that'd be a sight," Harry replied, "Well, he can clean it up."
"He'd have to. I practically left a maze of bottled ingredients on the floor. He'd either clean it up, or spend an hour getting to the door."
Harry laughed; it was genuine and strong. I hadn't heard him laugh like this for a while.
I smiled up at him, and he grinned back.
"This is the weirdest conversation I've ever had." I told him, and looked down at where his body should have been. His apparition ended at his collarbone.
"Why, is this your first time conversing with a floating head?" he chuckled and covered himself again completely with his cloak.
"Well it's probably weirder now. Will I run into you?" I asked, reaching my hand out to try and touch his cloak.
"I'll stay behind you," he said and I snapped my head around to locate his voice. He had moved behind me. I didn't even hear his shoes on the stone floor..
"Spooky." I joked and we walked out of the dungeons towards the Grand Staircase.
I ascended the stairs carefully and kept an eye out in case anyone was around. I saw a Prefect walking up a staircase to the third floor.
On the Sixth floor we had to wait for one of the moving staircases to move into position. I stood there for a few moments and wondered where on the landing Harry stood.
"Amanda!" I heard Draco's voice and whirled around to find him in the archway to the Sixth floor corridor.
"Draco?" I asked in surprise, knowing that Harry was nearby. My stomach flipped as I realised that be pretend that Draco and I were still on less then admirable terms.
"What the heck do you want?" I said, pretending to be angry. I walked over to him with a fake, angry confidence. I stood facing him, hoping that Harry was behind me but not truly knowing.
"I heard you fell down the stairs today and-"
"What. Come to mock me, have you?" I hissed, frowning slightly before continuing,
" 'Can't use your own feet, Marlin?' " I mimicked him venomously, "Grow up, Draco."
"What? No, I-"
I stared at him with wide eyed caution. I hoped he understood, but it was hard to convey what was happening around us in just a look. It felt like too much to get across; so complicated and impossible to express in one facial expression.
"Leave It Alone, Draco Malfoy." I spoke strong but slowly, my voice wavered once. I hoped that he would pick on it, and desperately hoped that Harry would not.
I saw Draco swallow nervously. He had a look of shock and fear; then his expression began to change, to boil over to frustration and anger. He stared at me in contempt.
"Disgusting." he spat; He said it with such vulgarly and malice. I felt hurt, but inside I hoped that he had caught on that it wasn't safe to talk here.
He turned and walked away, his fists clenched.
I let out a shaky breath.
"Wow." Harry said behind me. I flinched as he spoke.
"He really hates you." He joked. I turned my head slightly towards his voice but he was not there; still invisible. My stomach was heavy with guilt, and did not want to talk to him.
"Let's go." I muttered and walked up the staircase that had finally appeared.
