Chapter 11
Green smoke engulfed the room. It weaved around the beds and filled the room with emerald fog.
"Hold your breath!" Rosie shouted, indicating to her mouth and nose and running towards the window. Molly, however, was in shock. She stared at the broken glass, panting heavily. Fear filled her eyes- she didn't know what the potion was meant to do and now it was everywhere! Her head began to spin and suddenly she was seeing everything in double. The entire room was rotating around her and the smoke was being sucked into her lungs. The temperature seemed to be rising rapidly but Molly sat shivering on her bed, knees trembling and jaw clenched against a non-existent chill.
Slowly the fumes began to leave the room, dispersing out the now wide-open window. Molly statue-still, staring at a knot on the wooden floor. She could vaguely feel Rosie shaking her shoulder desperately, shouting her name. Everything was fuzzy and static, as though the world was a TV channel and the signal had failed.
Gradually, Molly's hearing and vision cleared and the ringing in her brain stopped, only for it to be replaced with waves of awful nausea.
"Hospital Wing," Molly managed to croak to Rosie, miraculously without throwing up all over her bedding. "Quickly."
Rosie hauled her friend off the bed and sprinted down the stairs, accidentally knocking into their roommates on the way.
"I'll explain later," Rosie shouted to the girls, Tara, Amy and Steph, "Got to dash."
On their way through the common room, the girls passed Matt who was finally making his way up to bed. Rosie grabbed his arm too and dragged both her friends through the school and towards the Hospital Wing.
The three burst into the infirmary and within a second, Madam Pomfrey was hurrying over to them.
"Whatever's going on? What on earth could have happened at this time of night? Mr Carpenter?" she demanded, looking at Matt.
"I don't actually know what happened," he muttered sheepishly, "The girls passed me on their way here and dragged me along too."
"Miss Starke?" Madam Pomfrey sighed, turning to Rosie, "Would you care to explain?"
Too out of breath to answer vocally, Rosie raised a hand to point at Molly, whose face was practically transparent it was so pale and whose eyes were bloodshot and puffy.
"Sit down," the nurse ordered, indicating to a bed behind her.
Molly's limbs felt heavy as Matt and Rosie walked her over to the bed.
"Explain. I can't do anything to help without knowing what happened."
Molly looked up at Rosie, not trusting herself to open her mouth.
"Well, Molly had this weird vial on her bedside table, I'm not sure what it was, but we went upstairs to bed and I accidentally knocked it off when I stretched. It smashed on the floor and made these weird green fumes. I went to open the window but I think Mol breathed some of it in. She sat on her bed in the same position for ages and she wouldn't respond to me when I talked to her. She was shaking and her face went really pale, then she suddenly she was shouting at me to get her to the hospital wing," Rosie explained, looking at Molly with concern.
Molly hung her head in shame. She shouldn't have taken the potion to school, let alone put it on an open surface.
"So you inhaled fumes from a potion, is that correct, Miss Weasley?"
Molly nodded slightly without looking up.
"Could you tell me what the potion was?"
"No," Molly whispered, "I don't know what it was."
"Did you bring it to school with you yesterday?"
"Yes, but I was meaning to take it to Professor McGonagall or Professor Slughorn and ask if they could tell me what it was."
"Well I must say it was rather careless of you to bring an unknown potion into the school. Nevertheless, you don't appear to be in any danger. How did you feel when you breathed in the smoke?"
"Dizzy, then really hot then really cold. I felt like I'd be sick if I opened my mouth."
"And do you still feel like this now?" Molly shook her head so Madam Pomfrey continued, "Well you seem to be returning to normal. Could the three of you return to your dormitories? Return if you feel the need, Miss Weasley."