The Hospital
Holly woke up in the hospital wing feeling dizzy and not all there. She tried to push herself up but quickly realized that that wasn’t happening. She felt a bit sick, actually, when she tried to move… so, she elected not to.
Something was poured down her throat. She was too dizzy to know what but she trusted Madam Pomfrey and Rolf Schamander enough not to panic. She couldn’t tell, nor did she care, if it was the potion or her injury that sent her back to sleep, but she didn’t fight it when it came.
When she woke again, her dizziness was gone, as was her nausea. All that was left was a dull pounding in her head. She ignored it in favor of sitting up and looking around. Harry was in the cot beside her, “hey,” he said, softly. “You feeling a little better?”
Holly tried for a smile, though with her head pounding it was hard to mean it. “A little. What happened?” She asked.
“The bludger was tampered with. It seemed like it was just going after me so we called a time-out… I wish we hadn’t, though, then it might have left you alone…” he said, guiltily. “Bloody thing cracked your skull in five places. Lucky you survived.” He told her.
Holly’s vision tunneled and she wasn’t sure if it was from the concussion or that harrowing piece of information.
Madam Pomfry chose that moment to come over. “Oy!” She said to Holly, “you should be laying down!”
“Oh.” Holly said, letting the healer help her lay back down.
“Have some more of this,” Madam Pomfry told Holly, holding the potion bottle up to her lips again. Holly drank willingly this time, though it tasted horrific. “Lucky you survived indeed… miracle, that is!” She huffed.
“Prollymwand” Holly said, drowsily. Her eyes shut of their own accord and she fell into a deep sleep.
The next time she woke, it was the middle of the night, and Dobby was in between their beds, hitting himself repeatedly with a bottle of skelegrow potion. He looked terrified (like he had the last time they met), and Harry looked angry. Holly groaned at the sight, which, unfortunately, drew their attention. Why couldn’t she have stayed asleep?
“He did it!” Harry cried to Holly, pointing with a bizarrely half-limp arm at the house elf. “He blocked the barrier at the start of term, AND he charmed that bloody bludger! You almost killed my sister!” he reached over to throttle the elf with one arm, but Dobby jumped away in the nick of time.
Dobby turned to Holly, shocked. ”Dobby never meant to kill the Potters! Dobby wants to save their life! Better grievously injured than dead,” he insisted. But, when he snapped his fingers, Holly’s nausea and dizziness and tunnel vision all went away. What she was left with was a slight headache that she could definitely sleep off on her own.
“How did you..?” She touched her head gingerly, amazed.
“Dobby is a house elf, Miss, Dobby can use magic without spells or wands.” Then, suddenly, Dobby froze, his huge bat ears twitching. Holly heard something too. Footsteps, maybe. “Dobby must go!” The elf said, in terror. There was a crack, and he was gone.
“What was that about?” Holly mouthed to Harry as they each lay back down.
Harry looked furious, but promised “later”.
Moments after, Holly saw Dumbledore and McGonagall carry in a student, stone still, and not noticeably breathing. She caught a glimpse of them in the moonlight and knew the face immediately. It was the strange little first year Gryffindor who’d been following Harry around with a camera all term. Harry didn’t seem to like the kid much, and Holly hardly knew him, but seeing him like this still sent a shiver down her spine.
“Get Madam Pomfrey,” Dumbledore whispered, and McGonagall scurried away. She came back with the school healer.
“What happened?”
“Another attack. Minerva found him on the stairs.”
“There were a bunch of grapes next to him. We think he was trying to sneak up here to visit Harry.”
“Madam Pomfry… is he… like Mrs. Norris… I mean is he…” Holly faltered, rubbing her head a bit as she tried to think of the word.
All the adults looked over at the twins. Dumbledoor looked patient while McGonagall looked pensive, but Madam Pomfry simply huffed and waved her hands at them in a shoeing motion. “To bed with you,” she huffed “both of you!” she closed the curtains around each of their beds and Holly heard the curtain around the too-still boy’s bed close as well. Whispers followed, but Holly couldn’t make them out. Well… she heard one thing…
“... the chamber of secrets is indeed open once again.”