Saturday Afternoon
At the sound of Ben’s call, Madam Pomphrey came out of her office. Lara entered the Wing from the stairwell. The St. Mungo’s healer at the desk rose, and the three of them went to Pauline’s bedside and drew the curtain closed. Ben waited a moment by the front desk, but no one called for him.
I should find Hark and tell him she’s awake.
Ben started back down the stairs. He had not seen Philip that morning, but he figured Philip would be up by now. He decided to start at the Great Hall and go from there. As he passed the library, he stopped on a whim to check to see if Philip was there. He saw the tall Sixth Year wandering at the edge of the stacks of books. Philip looked lost in thought.
Ben came up to him. “Hark!” he said. “I saw Pauline. She’s awake!”
A wave of relief swept over Philip. “Thank goodness.”
“Come on!” urged Ben. “Maybe you can see her.”
The two boys left the library and climbed the steps to the Hospital Wing. The curtains were still closed around Pauline’s bed. “I saw her,” repeated Ben. “She had just woken up. I guess they’re running some tests on her now.”
There was nothing more to do but wait. Philip sat down on the chair he had spent hours in the night before. Ben sat down beside him. “How long were you here last night?”
“I don’t remember when I left. There was a break in the action. Lara was watching Pauline. She called me over and had me talk to Pauline, hold her hand and kiss her again. It seemed to help, but then Madam Pomphrey came back and suggested we both go to bed. I guess it was close to 2 am at that point.”
Downstairs in the Great Hall, the Gryffindors had finally arrived for breakfast. Gillian and the others saw Liam and Michael sitting alone at the Hufflepuff table and called them over. Liam sat next to Gillian, and she put his arm around her. The rest of their friends gathered round in a big group.
“Wren,” said Paul, “you missed a grand party. We had music, Quidditch highlight videos, and all the food and drink you could possibly want. Last night will go down in history as a truly epic Gryffindor party.”
“Glad you had a good time,” said Liam. “After ten, we had our hands full down here.” He began recapping the nights events.
As he was speaking, Patrick came over with the other fourth year Gryffindors, plus Shona and some of her friends. Patrick interrupted Liam to say, “I heard you guys were brawling with the Slytherins last night.”
“No,” said Liam, sternly, “Morwena and I prevented a brawl between our two houses.”
Patrick laughed. “That sounds more like it, honestly. What happened?” So, Liam started over at the beginning, and this time, he got through the entire tale without further interruptions.
Larry and Adam, who both had been fond of Pauline, looked aghast. Larry asked, “Is she alright? Jill, you snapped back from that curse of his pretty quick, didn’t you?”
Gillian nodded, but Liam said, “This was worse than what Jill dealt with. The curse was much stronger this time.”
“McGonagall better throw the book at that punk,” said Adam.
“She’s planning to expel him,” said Liam. “Saw her last night before they sent us off to bed. She was livid.”
Liam looked across the Great Hall to the Slytherin table. Morwena and her friends were there, sipping tea and coffee. Pauline was not with them. “I want to check in with Felwich and make sure everything’s okay.” He rose and left the group with Gillian beside him.
Larry Mullin was on the verge of tears. “This ain’t right. We’ve gotta do something about this.”
“We ought to find Dennison and beat the crap out of him,” said Patrick.
“Well, if Liam is right,” said Alma, “Dennison is in Auror custody. He’s probably facing criminal charges in addition to being expelled. How about we get Pauline a big bouquet of flowers?”
Paul chimed in brightly. “See, Alma? That’s why they made you prefect. You always know the sensible thing to do.” Paul dug in his pocket and slammed some coins down on the table, including some galleons. “We’re getting Pauline Langlet some flowers. The biggest bouquet we can afford. And a big card, too, so that everyone can sign it. Pass the hat. We’re all chipping in.”
None of them had actually brought a hat with them to the Great Hall. A Second Year was soon sprinting up the stairs to fetch one. One by one, the Gryffindors put coins into the pile while Paul looked on, nodding solemnly. He said, “Let it be remembered, when our rivals were down and hurting, the Gryffindors did right by them.”
Liam and Gillian walked over to where Morwena, Tess and Rhiannon were sitting.
Rhiannon stood as he approached, and the two shook hands.
“Mac.”
“Wren.”
“Tough night, yeah? You get much sleep?”
Rhiannon shook her head. “Not much.”
Morwena also stood, though the table was between them. Gillian said, “Liam told us about what happened to Langlet. That’s crazy! Is she still upstairs in the HW?”
Morwena nodded. “Yes. We went up to see her, but they weren’t taking any visitors, yet.”
“Well, we’re sorry about what happened,” said Gillian.
“Thank you for your concern, Roycester,” said Morwena. “We do appreciate it.”
“They’re being cautious with her,” said Liam, “since she had such a rough go of it. You ought to try again to see her. I bet they’ll let.”
Morwena’s eyes shifted to Liam. A look of yearning flashed across her face. She blushed and looked away, unable to speak.
Gillian’s eyes flicked from Morwena’s face to Liam’s. He kept up his calm poker-face, as if Morwena looked at him that way all the time and he was used to it.
As Liam and Gillian walked back to the Gryffindor table, Gillian took Liam’s hand. She asked, What was that all about?
Don’t worry about it. Dennison nearly killed Pauline last night. Morwena took it hard. She feels responsible for her, you know, as her friend and prefect.
She told you this? Last night sometime?
Liam nodded. Gillian probed further with her telepathic powers and found, for the first time since she had known him, Liam pushing back, closing off some of his thought from her.
Up in the Hospital Wing, Philip and Ben sat side by side in the chairs by the door. Neither spoke. Besides the mysterious bustling behind the curtain, all was still and quiet. Finally, the curtain parted, and the Healer from St. Mungo’s exited alongside Madam Pomphrey.
“She’s damn lucky, if you can call someone as hurt as she is lucky,” said the Healer.
“Yes, it really was a narrow thing. Lara got there just in time.”
“Do you need me to stay, Poppy, while you get some shuteye?”
“I don’t know about sleeping, Margaret, but I could use some time working on my reports.” Pomphrey saw the boys waiting by the door. “You two weren’t there all night, were you?”
“No ma’am,” said Ben. “We did get some sleep and some breakfast. But now, we’re back.”
“You can go and see her. She’s particularly eager to see Philip.”
Lara had lingered by Pauline’s bed. She stepped out from behind the curtain and beckoned to Philip. “Go on, Hark,” said Ben. “You earned it.”
Philip was taut with nerves. He wondered how much of the night’s events Pauline knew or remembered. I’ll probably be struck dumb again when I look at her. The only reason I could speak to her last night is because her eyes were closed.
There she was, propped up on her bed, her arms crossed over her chest. The makeup had been washed from her face, and her wavy hair was askew, and still, she was the most beautiful girl Philip had ever known.
“According to Pomphrey, I have to stay,” she said. “They’re keeping me here another night at least.”
“It’s wonderful to see you up and awake,” said Philip.
She smiled to hear him speak, but she continued in her matter-of-fact tone. “My parents are coming. Apparently, it’s quite a big deal. Lots of hoops to jump through.”
“I didn’t know it was possible at all for non-magical folks to visit Hogwarts.”
“McGonagall’s working on it. It’ll be tomorrow, probably, before they’re here.” There was an awkward pause as the two just gazed at one another. “Are you going to wait until I’m dying before you kiss me again?”
Philip’s face flushed hotly. He bent down, and she raised her arms to pull him close to her. They kissed, and then they were both crying. “I was so afraid I’d never see your green eyes again.”
“I heard you calling me,” she said. “I was lost and in the dark. But then I heard you calling me, and I followed your voice back into my body. I was sore all over and so very cold, but I remember you talking to me and holding my hand and kissing me.”
They kissed again, a long slow tender kiss. From the partway open curtain, they saw movement, and Tess cried out, “Oh, they’re so sweet!”
Beside Tess, there was Morwena and Rhiannon. Even Vanessa, who rarely spent time with the other members of her coven, had come upstairs to see Pauline. With the full coven of five witches assembled, the magic crackled and pulsed between them. Philip straightened and made a step towards Morwena. Rhiannon took his place beside Pauline. Philip received hugs from Morwena, Tess and Vanessa.
“You really were a hero last night, Philip,” said Morwena.
“All I did was call for help,” said Philip, “and rout a few overmatched Fourth Years.”
“One of whom nearly killed Pauline,” said Morwena, darkly.
Rhiannon pulled Philip into a fierce hug. “If she had died, I would have killed myself,” she said.
This admission was met with gasps by her friends. None took it as teenage hyperbole. Philip answered calmly, “That’s twice I’ve saved your life, then.” They all laughed.
Pauline winced, as the laughter brought on a sharp pain in her side. Philip quickly turned round. He set his hand on her head and stroked her hair. She pressed her cheek into his stomach. “I’m alright,” she said weakly.
From behind them, came the voice of the healer, Margaret. “I think that’s enough visiting for right now. I’ll need you lot to clear out so I can check her side.”
Pauline touched Philip’s hand and gazed up at him. “Please come back later.”
“As soon as they let me, I’ll be back,” he told her.
Over in Professor Gregor’s office, interviews continued. Gregor spoke individually with Brent, Ellsworth and Mageford. They gave very similar accounts of the evening: Dennison’s dramatic entrance into the common room; the debate as to who had attacked him; the confrontation with Wren and the Hufflepuffs.
They added one interesting detail which had not emerged in the first round of interviews: Rhiannon MacDougal had attacked Dennison with the Cruciatus Curse. “I think she had her wand on him the whole time,” said Pierce Mageford. “As soon as the Hufflepuffs fingered him, she let him have it.”
Gregor said, “Pomphrey used your brother’s potion last night. I was one of the many teachers who advised him on its making. This was the first opportunity we had to test it on someone newly struck by Dark Magic.”
“I’ll be sure to tell him,” said Pierce. “It will be a great boost to his already massive ego.”
After he dismissed Mageford, Gregor reached out to Sauergrass via the Floo Network. “Your students are researching Dark Magic curses, are they not?”
“Yes, they are,” said Saurgrass, his ghostly head appearing in the fireplace in Gregor’s office. “Did someone try to use one?”
“In fact, someone did.”
“Who was it?”
“MacDougal.”
Sauergrass sighed and bent down to check his list. “She was assigned the Cruciatus Curse. I was worried about that one. It’s the easiest of the Unforgiveables to cast, though it’s tricky to get a potent curse on your first try.”
“By all accounts, her cast was quite potent.”
“Sorry about that, Franz. Always the danger when you bring up topics like this.”
“I fully understand. And, simply between you and I, the student on the receiving end of MacDougal’s curse fully deserved it.”
Sauergrass let out a harsh laugh like the bark of a dog. “The press is already snooping ‘round, Franz. They’ve heard there was trouble at the castle last night, and that Aurors and Healers were involved. I told them I was off duty and didn’t know anything about it.”
“You will hear about it in due time,” said Gregor. “If asked again, the situation is fully under control, and the Headmistress will be sending out a communication to the parents very soon.”
Gregor next called Liam Wren up to his office. Liam sat in the wooden chair where had twice served detention. “I’m not in trouble, am I, Professor?”
“No, Wren, but it does bring back memories, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, sir, it does.”
“I wanted to go over a few details from last night. Do you recall Rhiannon MacDougal using the Cruciatus Curse on Reginald Dennison last night?”
Liam shrugged. “I haven’t studied that curse in any great detail, sir. I’m not qualified to give that assessment.”
Gregor smiled. “Brent, Ellsworth and Mageford all identified the cast as the Cruciatus Curse. They were not nearly as protective of MacDougal as you are.”
Liam shrugged. “Well, that’s what they say about you Slytherins, Professor. Loyalty to one another is not your strong suit. Whereas Mac’s an honourary Badger in my book.”
“In the mind of Stacy Hind as well,” said Gregor, “as she didn’t mention it either.”
“Morwena rounded on her right quick and told her off for it. I considered the matter settled at that point, Professor.”
“I see. Thank you for your input.”
Gillian waited for Liam outside Professor Gregor’s office. What did he want?
“Oh, he wanted more details about last night. I filled him in on a few things.”
Do you have homework? Prefect duties?
“No.”
You wanna hang out?
“Yeah, I do.”
They went to one of their favorite castle hiding places. Gillian set out a sneak-o-scope, and they used muffliato to silence the sound of their play – kissing and touching, followed by lovemaking.
After his climax, Liam zoned out for a moment. Gillian massaged his temples and probed once more into his mind and memories for thoughts of her rival, Morwena Felwich. This time, she found what she was looking for.