When I woke up in the middle of the night I knew that something was wrong. I just didn't feel normal. I didn't feel right. I moaned and sat up a little bit, which I regretted in an instant. A sharp pain shot through my head and breathing hard I rested my head back on my pillow.
"Oh please, no!" I cried out and pulled my blanket further up so it covered every piece of my body except for my eyes. Still I was oddly cold, as if all the blankets in the world couldn't change that. I looked on the clock and saw that it was only three in the morning. That would explain why I was so tired. I rolled on my side and cuddled deeper into my blanket. I could not get sick, I had too much going on in school. Being sick was not an option. After a couple of minutes I must have fallen asleep, because when I opened my eyes again it was light outside and my alarm clock rang painfully loud. With a moan I turned it off and remained lying in my bed for a little while. I didn't want to get up, I was so comfortable. Finally I sighed and sat up, trying to ignore the sharp pain in my head. As soon as my blanket was partially off of me it became ice cold in the room. My teeth chattered against each other and I laid my arms around myself. This could not be happening. I knew this feeling from when I had been a kid and my mom had stayed with me all day long to take care of me. But I hadn't felt it in years, I hadn't been sick in years. I moaned again and got up, the blanket wrapped around me again. I just couldn't take the cold. I made my way to the common room like that, feeling as if I was losing a sack race.
"Malfoy!" I cried out when I didn't see him in the common room and flinched because of what the loud noise did to my head.
"Shut up, Granger!" I heard him yell from his room.
"Malfoy, come here for a second!" I cried again. There was no way I would go to the Infirmary by myself.
I heard him moan and a couple of seconds later his door opened. He looked terrible, his usually pale skin was even paler now, his eyes were blood-shot, and he was wrapped up in a blanket as well.
"You look horrible." I said.
He glared at me. "Well you haven't looked into the mirror yet, have you?"
I pouted and tried to cover it up into an angry mask. "I need you to get me to the Infirmary."
His eyes opened up wide. "No, Granger. I need you to get me to the Infirmary."
I rolled my eyes. "How about we get each other to the Infirmary?"
He unhappily nodded and moved towards me, still the blanket around himself. "Wait a second..." He then murmured. "We're wizards." He shot me a disparaging glance and added. "Well at least I'm a wizard, you're a Mudblood."
I sucked in a lot of air. "I thought we said you didn't want to say that word anymore."
He looked at me coldly before he hissed, "Things have changed."
"Because we kissed yesterday, is that it?" I shot back, becoming angrier and angrier. How could he say things like that?
In a mere second he was standing right in front of me, his face only a couple of inches away from me. "Don't ever mention that kiss again." He growled coldly and I gulped. "I mean it." He added just as menacingly and I knew that I'd be too scared to bring it up from now on. He fished his wand out from underneath his blanket and my blood froze. He wasn't going to obliviate me or something, was he? But he held his wand towards himself and a second later he dropped his blanket.
"That's better." He sighed and looked at me with raised eyebrows. I must have been staring at him. I couldn't help it though when all that he was wearing were boxershorts and a wife-beater.
"You might want to change before we leave?" I suggested, my voice trembling ever so lightly. I pulled my wand out as well and warmed the air around me magically, dropping my blanket.
"I seriously couldn't care less." He replied cooly.
"Let's go then."
Climbing up the stairs of the Grand Staircase had never been that hard for me. I could tell though that Malfoy, besides his athleticism, was struggling with it as well. That made me feel a little better. We didn't see a single living soul on our way up to the Infirmary, which wasn't surprising regarding the time. Most people were still getting ready or sleeping. Not only once on our way did I wonder who came up with the incredible clever idea to put the Infirmary on the highest floor of the whole castle. It just seemed odd to me.
"Madam Pomfrey?" I yelled when we entered the Infirmary and didn't see her. I didn't get a response. I shot Malfoy a confused glance and he just shrugged. All of the beds were empty, no one was in sight. Suddenly a feeling of dizziness came over me and surprised I stumbled over to the closest bed and let myself fall on it. It felt like the whole room was spinning around me, Malfoy in it.
"Make it stop!" I whimpered and I could faintly hear him laugh.
"Don't be so melodramatic, Granger. You're only having a cold it's not like you're going to bite the grass any time soon." He snarled. "Unfortunately." He then added.
I didn't have the power to roll my eyes at him, instead I just held my head until my surroundings stood still again.
"Where's Madam Pomfrey?" I then pouted. I felt exactly like I had when I had been sick as a kid. I just wanted someone to take care of me and I didn't want to be alone.
"I'm here, Granger. I'm sorry I had to take an important call. Oh my, what happened to you two?" I heard Madam Pomfrey say and I looked up a little.
"Probably a flu, nothing serious. Even though Granger seems to believe that it's fatal." Malfoy said annoyed.
The next ten minutes went by with Madam Pomfrey examining both of us. "It really looks like you have a flu, both of you have fever. I will give you a potion against it but I'm afraid you will have to stay here for the next three hours."
I moaned. "With all respect, Madam Pomfrey, I would prefer not missing any classes..."
She gave me a glare that immediately shut me up. "Granger, how many years exactly did you practice medicine?"
I didn't reply. She raised her eyebrows. "Well how about you leave medical decisions to my experienced apprehension then?" Again I didn't respond, but I could hear Malfoy snicker a little.
"Malfoy, how about you finally lie down on a bed, so that you can get the rest that you need?"
He fell silent and laid down in a bed a couple beds away from me. Then Madam Pomfrey went off and came back with a glass full of a nasty colored Potion for each one of us.
"Drink this." She said and left again without even looking back. I looked at the potion in my hand. It looked like a mixture of cat puke and excrement.
"That looks disgusting." I could hear Malfoy moan and I nodded agreement. I then plugged my nose shut with one of my hands and downed the potion in one big gulp.
I couldn't help but scream out in disgust. The potion tasted exactly what it looked like.
"That bad?" Malfoy asked, a funny tone in his voice.
I put the empty glass down on the night stand next to me and shrugged. "No." I lied. "It actually tastes a lot like hot chocolate."
He raised his eyebrows at me. "You don't really expect me to believe that, do you?" I didn't answer him. "Well thanks for the try, Granger." He quickly downed the potion as well and his face became a grimace of disgust. I tried to ignore how his mood had just changed from being completely grumpy to kind of civil. That boy was so moody, it was ridiculous.
"That is disgusting!" he cried out as soon as he had swallowed the liquid down. I couldn't help but laugh at his face. He looked as if... as if he had just kissed a Mudblood. My smile died as quickly as it had appeared on my face, thinking of the events of last night. Sure, it had been magical at first, but then his reaction had ruined everything. I just didn't understand it.
"Malfoy?" I asked him after a while.
"Hmmm?" He made, sounding like he was half-asleep.
"Don't you think... don't you think that it's about time to let go of the ridiculous views your father taught you?"
I immediately regretted asking him that question when I saw him tense and sit up in his bed a little bit.
"I don't know what you're talking about." He said coldly.
I fought with myself for a second. "Do you really think that Purebloods and Muggle-borns are that different?" I finally asked weakly.
It looked like he was struggling with himself for a second, then he said quietly, almost not hearable. "No, I don't."
"Then why do you pretend to?"
He glared at me. "What's it to you, Granger?"
I shrugged. "I'm trying to understand you." I then finally replied.
He laughed out coldly. "Oh please, you're not trying to understand me. You're just fancying me!"
It felt like a dagger through my heart, but I didn't let it show. "See, there's what you're wrong about. I am trying to understand you." I knew that I didn't deny his accusation of fancying him, but when I was honest to myself I knew that it was way too late for that anyway. He knew because of the boggart and because of how I acted and because of how I had kissed him. I, on the other hand, knew that he wasn't completely indifferent about me either.
He looked at me for a while, as if deciding if I was worthy of his trust. "Because it's what people expect of me, it's what I'm expected to think."
"It's what he would expect of you." I added and we both knew who I was talking about. I could see his jaw clench together. He seemed to think hard.
"You're right." He finally sighed. "It's what he would expect of me. As much as I have fought him, I still haven't even dared to fight what lies he has fed me all my life."
I smiled slightly. "Well you certainly have enough time to think about it now."
A/N: Hey guys,
What do you think? Big mighty wizards being struck down by a flu? Yay or nay? Review and let me know! Also: My new fic "Doloribus Mors" is up now, here's the link to it: .net/s/7443320/1/Doloribus_mors . You obviously have to put a fanfiction before the .net - Or you can just go to my profile and you'll find it. I'm really excited for it, it was so challenging but fun to write.
Love,
ShayleeRae