She immediately fell into dream land, but none of her dreams were very nice. In her dream she was back in the stall scrubbing toilets, only this toilet had huge moldy stains all over the porcelain. Outside the stall, Filch was shouting at her to hurry up, but no matter how hard she scrubbed the stains wouldn't go away. In fact, they only seemed to grow larger, the mold pulsating and expanding until they resembled the flabby, slimy organs in Snape's potion jars.
Wailing with terror, she hurried to get away. But the stall was locked, and she couldn't get out! She screamed and pounded on the door, all the while the organs in the toilet began lengthening to huge, disgusting intestines, and they were crawling toward her like something alive. And then out of nowhere, a huge window suddenly replaced the stall door in front of her. An ominous-looking owl was perched on the windowsill, a piece of parchment tied to its leg!
She screamed again. Through her wild panic, she could hear a voice calling her name somewhere. Perhaps it was her father. "Ari, Ari! Ari, wake up!"
Her body gave a jolt and her eyes snapped open. She felt cold and hot all over, and everything hurt. But it was a different kind of hurt from the muscle ache. A bright wave of light made her eyeballs tear up, and she saw that Hermione had pulled her drapes back. "Finally, you're awake!" Hermione snapped. "It's time to get up, breakfast starts in ten minutes."
"Unnghh, don't wanna," Ari groaned, rubbing a hand over her sweaty face. It felt like there was a tight rubber band wrapped around her head. It was the weirdest and most uncomfortable sensation she had ever felt, and the chills that wracked her body didn't help matters. "I'm gonna die…"
"Don't be silly," Hermione chided. "You've woken up this early numerous times already, it's nothing new. Now hurry up and get dressed already."
"But I'm really gonna die now," Ari moaned, wincing at her throbbing head. Then her throat hurt, too, when she tried to swallow. "Ugh… my throat hurts."
"Your throat hurts?" Hermione repeated. "Are you sick?"
"I dunno."
"Can you get up?"
"No," Ari mumbled, shivering. She didn't think she could move anything. She felt cold and weak all over, and just wanted to go back to sleep.
Hermione suddenly reached out and touched two fingers to Ari's sweaty forehead. "Oh yes, you do feel a bit hot," Hermione said, all matter-of-factly. "Wait here. I'll fetch Professor McGonagall."
Ari wanted to tell her to not go, that she didn't want to be alone when she died, but all she managed was a weak whimper before Hermione disappeared. And so succumbing to her fate, Ari closed her eyes and watched as her life flashed past her eyelids. She was on the verge of unconsciousness before she was jostled awake by Professor McGonagall's rolling voice. "Ari, are you awake?"
Ari rolled over to see Professor McGonagall now standing by her bedside. "Mhm," she slurred.
Professor McGonagall crouched down and touched Ari's forehead. Her hand felt dry and cool. Ari saw deep creases appear in the professor's brow. "It feels like you have a slight fever," she said, withdrawing her hand. "Are you experiencing any other discomfort?"
"Yeah," Ari responded, struggling to speak through her scratchy throat. "My head hurts, and my throat hurts when I swallow, too. And I feel kinda cold. And bad." She peered anxiously at Professor McGonagall. "What's wrong with me, Professor? Am I gonna die?"
"Heavens, no!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed, widening her eyes. "You'll be just fine, Ari. Based on your symptoms, I'd say you have an run-of-the-mill illness and you'll just feel uncomfortable for a short while. Madam Pomfrey can give you some medicine, too, to make you feel better."
"Madam Pomfrey?" Ari echoed.
"The school matron," Professor McGonagall explained. "She tends to the sick and injured at the hospital wing. It's only a short distance away. Do you think you can walk?"
"I think so."
"Good," said Professor McGoangall, rising to her feet. "Then how about you get dressed and we can head on over? I'll be waiting for you outside."
Once Professor McGonagall left, Ari pulled on some old robes she had lying around. Her body felt weird and clunky, and her head was all stuffed and dizzy, but she was glad that at least she wasn't going to die. She met with Professor McGonagall outside the dormitory and they walked to the hospital wing. The professor walked beside Ari and glanced at her from the corner of her eye every now and then, but didn't say anything.
They reached the hospital wing a few minutes later. The room was wide and airy, with huge windows and white beds lined in neat rows. A faint, pungent smell lingered in the air that made Ari's nose wrinkle.
Just then, an old lady with white clothes and gray hair came bustling up to them. "Good morning, Professor McGonagall," the lady said. Then she looked at Ari and smiled. "And hello there to you, too, dear. What's your name?"
"Ari."
"Hello, Ari," the lady said. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Madam Pomfrey. What brings you here today?"
"I feel bad!" Ari burst out, rubbing her tight head. "I woke up today and was hurting all over. I thought I was dying, but Professor McGonagall says I'm not, so I guess that's good."
"Indeed," Professor McGonagall said. "She was fine yesterday, but today when she woke up, her forehead felt a bit hot. She also has chills, and complains of head pain and throat pain when she swallows."
"Ah, is that so?" Madam Pomfrey frowned, and Ari nodded. "It seems the symptoms align with the beginnings of a viral illness."
Ari shifted uneasily on her feet, not sure what "viral illness" meant, but Madam Pomfrey gazed kindly at her. "No worries, dear, at most it might be the flu, which is very easy to treat with our state-of-the-art technology — but let's get you on a bed and take a closer look."
Ari laid down on one of the white beds, and Madam Pomfrey told her she was going to do a simple diagnostic on her. The matron waved her wand around Ari and sent tingles through her body, but it didn't feel too bad.
"Hmm… just as I thought, you've got a viral infection," Madam Pomfrey said as she flicked her wand some more. "There are lots of these cases going around now — no surprise, now that everyone's returned from the holidays and spreading around Merlin knows what — but it's nothing a simple potion can't fix. And besides, young people like you usually bounce back quickly."
"It feels horrible, though," Ari mumbled as Madam Pomfrey made a bottle whoosh out from her medicine cabinet. She swallowed painfully and rubbed her aching throat. "I've never felt so bad at home. I've never been sick, actually, I've always been really healthy. I only felt this way after Snape made me do all those awful detentions. He made me work so late scrubbing toilets, and I couldn't sleep good for three days straight. And now I'm sick. All because of him!" She scowled deeply, feeling all worked-up just thinking about it.
"Oh, really?" Madam Pomfrey frowned. "Did Professor Snape overwork you?"
Professor McGonagall sighed. "He did have some difficulty enforcing limits, yes."
"He was so proud of it, too," Ari growled, clenching her fists, "smirking and everything! And now I bet he'll be even prouder to know he made me sick!"
Madam Pomfrey shook her head. "Oh, Severus, that boy," she said, exchanging a glance with Professor McGonagall.
"He's been one bad boy, all right!" Ari clicked her tongue reprovingly. "I bet Santa'll bring him coal for Christmas. But Professor McGonagall says she's talked to Snape and he won't be able to torture me like that ever again. So that's good."
"Oh… I'm glad to hear that, Ari," Madam Pomfrey said, her lips twitching as she and Professor McGonagall looked at each other again. "How about you drink this potion, then, and you can get some rest?"
And Ari took the green potion Madam Pomfrey was holding out and downed it in one gulp. But she wasn't expecting the bitterness that attacked her mouth and made all her taste buds seize up. She gagged on the potion as it went down.
"Urgh!" Ari coughed and sputtered as she handed the empty vial back to Madam Pomfrey. "That tastes bad!"
"Potions rarely have a pleasant taste," Madam Pomfrey said. "But on the bright side, it should make you feel better soon. You'll have to take one dose every twenty-four hours over three days, so come back tomorrow morning for your second dose. Is that clear?"
"Yes."
"And keep a close watch on your symptoms. If the potion works as anticipated, your symptoms should start clearing up within a few hours. If you don't feel any better by this evening, then come back here, all right?"
"Okay," Ari said, swinging her legs impatiently over the bed. "I can go now, then?"
"Yes, you may," Madam Pomfrey said. "Though I would advise taking some time off from classes until you feel better."
"Take time off?" Ari repeated, widening her eyes. "But won't I miss learning important stuff?"
"Your professors can give you additional time to complete your assignments once you return to class," Professor McGonagall explained. "Until then, your first priority is to rest and get better."
"Oh, okay," Ari said, rubbing her hands together restlessly. "I hope I'll get better by Friday. That's when we have Potions. I can't miss it, or else Snape'll know he got to me again — and that can't happen, no way!"
Other than that, she was glad for the time off, then, because it meant she could sleep as long as she wanted with nobody to disturb her. She used the next few days to catch up on the sleep she had missed. Even better, she didn't have any more bad dreams about toilets or Filch or owls. All her dreams were of peaceful fields, blue skies, and cute animals, and she woke up feeling much happier and more refreshed.
She also remembered to send that letter to her dad. She wrote to him that she was fine, and she had told Professor McGonagall and she would keep Snape in line from now on, and all that stuff. And then she wrote about how she was sick now because of Snape's detentions. But she was feeling much better now after Professor McGonagall had taken care of her and Madam Pomfrey had given her potions.
Ari had just wrapped up her letter when the dormitory door burst open and Hermione came inside. "Well well, you're here!" Hermione exclaimed, striding up to her bedside. "Feeling better now, I suppose?"
"Yes, I am!" Ari said, beaming. "I got sick 'cause Snape overworked me with those detentions, but Professor McGonagall took me to the hospital wing and made me feel better. Oh, and Madam Pomfrey fed me potions and said I had a viral infection, or something."
"A viral infection?" Hermione repeated, suddenly taking two steps back. "So that means you're contagious?"
"What's contagious?"
"It means the disease can spread from person to person," Hermione explained matter-of-factly. "And since you've got a viral infection, I'm guessing that you must be contagious, because viruses can be transmitted through the air and direct contact— oh, never mind," she said at Ari's mystified expression. And then Hermione set the stack of papers she had been holding onto Ari's nightstand. "Here, our homework, it's due next time we get back to class — and I also duplicated my notes for today, since you'll be needing those."
"Wow, that's a lot!" Ari exclaimed as she snatched up the papers and leafed through them. Her eyes caught on the pages and pages of handwritten notes. She had to squint to read the tiny, uniform handwriting. "These are all your notes? Just how do you write so much? Do you really catch everything Professor Binns says?"
"Of course!" Hermione said in a scandalized voice.
"Oh, wow," Ari said admiringly, looking up at her. "You must have superpowers or something. I always fall asleep whenever he starts talking, it's horrible — and he's not the only one, it's sometimes hard to understand Professor Quirrell, too, since he stutters so much — but at least I never wanna fall asleep when I'm in his class. His stories are always so fun. Oh, and speaking of that, did he finish his story today about his vampire adventure in Romania? I was dying to find out what happened last time!"
Ari broke off from her raving to draw a deep breath. And then all that talking must've exhausted her virus-infected lungs because she started coughing.
Hermione grimaced and took another two giant steps backwards. "Yes," she said through pursed lips. "He told us when he lost his garlic, he summoned a stake and used it to pierce the vampire's heart."
"Oh my bananas!" Ari gasped, dropping the papers in shock. "Did the vampire die?"
"Yes," Hermione replied. "Professor Quirrell said he shoved the stake through the vampire and it perished."
"Or so he says," Ari said, leaning forward conspiratorially. "But you wanna know what I think?"
Hermione narrowed her eyes. "Think of what?"
"The vampire, obviously," Ari said impatiently. She had been thinking about it ever since Quirrell had told them his vampire story, and now she was dying to share her ideas. "I think the vampire didn't actually die. Because…" she gave a dramatic pause, "because he's Snape."
Hermione stared at her like she had grown five heads. "Excuse me?!"
"Wait, no, just listen to this," Ari said hastily as Hermione started to retort again, "the vampire was Snape, and he was trying to kill Quirrell and take his blood, and Quirrell tried to stake Snape's heart — but he didn't do it hard enough, or maybe Snape didn't have a heart in the first place — so Snape ended up living and coming back to haunt Quirrell for revenge."
"Oh, for goodness' sake!" Hermione snarled, her bushy hair springing up. "Professor Snape, a vampire? Do you even know how ridiculous that sounds?"
"It is not ridiculous!" Ari retorted. "Quirrell's told us all about identifying vampires, remember? They're ugly and bloodthirsty and dark and don't like sunlight — if that doesn't fit Snape to a tee, then I don't know what does. So yeah, when Quirrell couldn't kill Snape, Snape came to Hogwarts to haunt Quirrell and kill him to get revenge and steal the dark arts position. That's why Quirrell's always so nervous whenever he sees Snape, 'cause he knows he's out to get him. It makes sense, doesn't it?"
"No, not at all," Hermione snapped, her eyes flashing. "Your explanation is so absurd, I don't even know where to start in correcting you. Let's just say that none of what you said has any basis in fact. It's very dangerous to go making these claims, you know. Because they're not correct. They're make-believe. And I suppose, when you're by yourself, you can entertain yourself with your fantasies as much as you want — but it goes too far when you try to apply them in real-life situations. Especially when you involve other real-life people in your tales, and especially when those people are teachers — it can seriously ruin their reputation, you know."
"Okay, okay," Ari said impatiently. She had lost track of Hermione's fast-paced ranting the moment she opened her mouth and just wanted for it to stop. "Can you go now? My ears are kind of hurting right now."
Hermione flashed Ari one last withering look before stalking away. But just as she reached the door, Ari suddenly remembered something. "Wait!" she cried.
Hermione suddenly stopped and looked suspiciously over her shoulder. "Can you go to the Owlery and deliver this letter to my dad?" Ari asked, holding out the piece of parchment she had been working on.
"Can't you deliver it yourself?" Hermione snapped.
"No," Ari said. "I'm still recovering, remember? If I climb up all those stairs up the Owlery and overwork myself again, I might get sick and die all over again."
And for dramatic effect, she put her hand to her forehead and pretended to faint. Hermione rolled her eyes, but went up to Ari's bed and quickly plucked the parchment from her hand. Then Hermione backpedaled again, holding the parchment at one corner like it was a bomb about to explode. "And do you have an owl to deliver this for you?" she asked. "Or should I use a school owl?"
"Yeah, I have an owl," Ari answered. "His name's Prince, but he's really annoying and won't talk to me. And besides, his wing's also recovering, so he can't fly that good. So just use a school owl, I guess."
"All right," Hermione said. "And this is for your dad, you said?"
"Yeah."
"All right, then. I'll tell the owl to deliver it to him."
And then she turned to leave. But Ari remembered something else and cried out again. "Wait!"
Hermione whipped around again, her hair expanding out like sonar waves. "Yes?"
"Er," Ari said. She cleared her throat and Hermione narrowed her eyes. "Thanks for helping me. With the letter, I mean. And the notes, too."
Hermione continued squinting at her, but Ari thought she saw her hair deflate slightly. "You're welcome," Hermione finally said. Then she walked out of the dormitory for real, and shut the door behind her.
Once Hermione was gone, Ari flopped back in her bed and looked at her stuffed animals who were gathered around her pillow. "I'm feeling a lot better now," Ari told them. "I should be able to go to Potions class on Friday."
"Good!" Birdie chirped, fluffing out her feathers. "That'll show Snape."
"He'll be sorry he ever messed with you in the first place!" Puppy said wisely, wagging his tail.
"I know, right?" Ari said happily. "I'm a lot stronger than I look. I'm a beautiful, strong princess. And he's just an ugly vampire. He'll never be able to beat me."
And fueled by thoughts of returning to class stronger and smarter than ever before, Ari occupied herself with the homework Hermione had given her. But after a few minutes of looking through Hermione's cramped notes, Ari got tired again and fell back asleep. Oh well. She was a princess who needed her beauty rest, after all.
