Chapter 3
Meg has never really liked Ben. She never hated him as much as Bea used to hate him, but she had a sort of constant low level distrust of the guy. A distrust which is being validated right now before her eyes in the form of Bea lying in bed making moon eyes at the drapes above her four poster.
“I’m in love with him, Meg.”
“Bea. No you’re not. First of all, you broke up with him months ago. Second of all, you’re dating me. Third of all, I am literally holding the bottle of the love potion he snuck into your drink. He’s a desperate loser and I’m going to hex the living daylights out of him as soon as I get you sorted.”
Bea sits bolt upright in bed. “No! You can’t hex him! What if you hurt him?”
“Oh, I’m definitely going to hurt him. Come on,” she says, and she lifts Bea by the armpits. “You’re coming with me.”
“Where are we going?”
“Hospital wing.”
“Is that where Ben is?”
“It will be when I’m finished with him.”
“You wouldn’t hurt him, would you Meg? You love me, you wouldn’t hurt him.”
Meg grits her teeth as she shoves Bea toward the door to the stairs. She does love Bea, quite a lot, which is what makes this so deeply infuriating. “I’ll do whatever you want me to when you’re done at the hospital wing.”
The trip from Gryffindor tower is slow going, but after several stalls, most of which involve Bea stopping strangers in the corridors and asking them if they’ve seen Ben, they make it. Meg explains what’s happened to Madame Pomfrey, who makes satisfyingly disapproving noises as she wrestles Bea into a bed and rattles through her cabinets for the antidote to a love potion.
Once she gets it down Bea’s throat, it takes only a moment to kick in. Bea blinks and looks between Madame Pomfrey and Meg. “Was I -- was I looking for Ben just now?” Meg nods, and Bea blinks again. “I can’t imagine what I would have wanted him for.”
Meg holds out the bottle of the love potion that she’d tucked into the pocket of her robes and rattles it in front of Bea. Bea makes a horrified face. “He drugged me? God, what a desperate loser.”
“That’s exactly what I said.”
“Of course it was,” Bea says, getting out of bed a little shakily as Madame Pomfrey walks off to tend to other patients. Meg puts an arm around her waist to steady her. “Thank you for getting me here.”
“Just being a heroic girlfriend,” Meg replies as they walk out together, heading back to Bea’s room.
“My knight in shining armor,” Bea says, batting her eyelashes dramatically. “However shall I repay you.”
Meg grins at her. “Oh, I’m sure you’ll think of plenty of ways.”