The school infirmary smelled of lavender and tea tree oil—not the strong, pungent scent of industrial disinfectant, but a gentle, comforting aroma. Thess knew exactly where she was even before she opened her eyes.
"Dammit," was the first thing she said.
"Oh, good, you're finally awake," said Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse. "You were starting to worry me. Considering you've suffered not one but two concussions in a very short time. They should have brought you in right after the first blow, but nobody ever listens to me. Let me tell you something: a Bludger weighs twenty-six pounds. People overlook that because, well, they fly. But it's true—twenty-six pounds! Impressive, isn't it? And what's more, depending on how hard the Beater hits it, it can reach over ninety miles per hour. Did you hear me? I said ninety miles per hour! Do you know what a hit like that can do to a person's head?"
"I know," Thess complained.
"Right, now I need to talk to you about your nose."
"What's wrong with my nose?" Thess asked desperately, bringing a hand to her face and recoiling at a jolt of pain.
"What's wrong?" repeated the nurse. "You should be thanking me that you still have one, though it's not exactly the same as before. I had to reconstruct all the cartilage. I had to ask your classmates to bring me photos so I could see what it looked like. I must say, given the challenge, it's the best work I've ever done. But that's beside the point; I know how ungrateful you children can be. Anyway, as skilled as I am, I perform magic, not miracles, so you're going to have a scar. So before I hand you the mirror and you start complaining about my work, I want you to know that you arrived here breathing through four nasal cavities."
Thess refused the hand mirror Madam Pomfrey offered. She needed to recover from the shock first. She wasn't the most vain girl in the world, but honestly, it was her nose, and it sat right in the middle of her face—or had, she wasn't so sure anymore.
Damn Ginny Potter. She'll pay for this, she thought.
"And to think they let teenagers play this game," the nurse said, setting the mirror aside. "I think the Americans have it right—we should put armor on everyone."
"How long was I out?" Thess asked, gingerly touching her cheekbones, testing how close she could get to her nose before it started to hurt.
"Four hours," said Madam Pomfrey.
"Wow."
"You were lucky."
Thess looked around, searching for Rosie and her teammates.
"And where is everyone?"
"Oh, they came by, don't worry," said Professor McGonagall, seated in the chair at the foot of the bed. Thess hadn't noticed her before. "All four houses have tried to come in here wanting to visit you. I had to send everyone away. Really! This is a place for rest."
Thess glanced at the door, hoping to see Rosie peeking in, but saw only two broomsticks leaning against the wall, one still quite wet, dripping water onto the floor.
"Thank you for staying with me, Headmistress," she said.
"Oh, think nothing of it," said Minerva, trying to hide her emotion. "You're my student; of course I care about you."
"Even so..." In seven years at this school, Thess had been ill several times and was always alone. When it was other children, a parent or relative seemed to appear out of nowhere to be with them. But the Notts had never bothered.
"Actually, Ginny Potter insisted on staying with you," said Minerva, guessing the girl's thoughts, "but I couldn't allow it. Since her son is still..."
"The bitch who tried to kill me?" Thess interrupted.
"Don't talk about her like that," said Scorpius Malfoy, suddenly pulling back the curtain of the next bed, revealing that both he and his father had been there, listening the whole time. "She wouldn't hurt a fly."
"I know; she uses people like you to do her dirty work."
"Watch how you speak to my son!" the elder Malfoy snapped.
"Children, please, behave," Minerva tried to intervene.
"What are you on about?" Scorpius demanded.
"Are you going to deny that she told you to have your Beaters chase me when we were in the tunnel?"
"First off, I don't need to tell Beaters to chase anyone. That's their job."
"They've never been so aggressive, and they've never been so..." She was about to say "good," but feared it might sound like a compliment.
"Well, it's good they've improved, then. But for your information, Mrs. Potter never asked me to hunt you down; she asked me to perform the Wronski Feint. She said she needed to confirm something."
That made sense, but it still didn't seem like the whole truth. Or perhaps it wasn't true at all; after all, she was talking to a Malfoy. The fact that this one was better regarded than his father might just mean he was better at hiding his venomous nature.
"I hope you show the same enthusiasm when you need to defend your own family as you do with the Potters," said Draco.
"I haven't needed to do that much lately," said Scorpius.
"I'll take that as a compliment."
The adults in the room sighed with relief when the children seemed to calm down.
"Professor, may I see Rosie now?" Thess asked.
"Unfortunately, Miss Weasley is occupied at the moment."
"Occupied with what?" Thess knew Rosie well enough to know she would stop even a N.E.W.T. exam for a friend in need.
Everyone in the infirmary looked at her, reluctant to respond, and that was all the answer Thess needed.
"You've got to be kidding me—she's still playing? But you said it's been four hours."
"In the absence of both Seekers, the match only ends if the captains of both teams come to an agreement," said Scorpius. "In other words, one team has to forfeit."
Thess grinned broadly. She knew Rosie would rather die than forfeit a game.
"But you're the Slytherin captain," Thess said to Scorpius.
"Albus took over after they brought me here."
"Albus? Albus Severus Potter? That Albus? He's been playing for four hours and hasn't given up?"
"That surprised all of us," said Draco.
"Not me," said Scorpius proudly.
"What's the score? No, never mind—I know what the score is."
Rosie had promised to keep the point difference low, and surely that's what she was doing. Maybe she was even ahead.
"I have twelve beds ready for when this insanity finally ends," said Madam Pomfrey. "Headmistress, can't you do something about it?"
"Well, it's Quidditch, and those are the rules," said Minerva, somewhat wavering.
Thess stared into space, searching for a solution. Her eyes inadvertently spotted the answer leaning against the door.
"I can!" she said, standing up.
"Miss Wood, what do you think you're doing?" asked the Headmistress.
"I'm going to finish the game."
"Has that Bludger addled your brains? Get back to bed this instant! There's no way I'm letting you walk out that door in your condition."
"Very well," said Thess, pulling her wand from her pocket. "There's another way out. Accio broom!"