Hospital Wing
Typical hospital wing.
The matron here, Madame Pomfrey, can mend almost anything in an instant,
though beds have been set up for prolonged stays.
Harry has no real recollection of the brief journey from
the forest and into the castle. Once inside the hospital wing, he just
collapses, broomstick and wand grasped tightly in his hands. Mind if he just
lays here on the floor for a bit? Thanks, didn't think so. He's read in the
papers that rogue dementors were roaming about.. but didn't think any would
dare come so close to Hogwarts.
Cho collapses not too far from him, breathing in an
exhausted fashion. The broom is finally released, clanging against the floor
lightly, but the wand is still held as if she thinks the Dementors are going to
walk right into the school. Well, they were bold enough to get as close as they
were! The journey up the stairs is the part that Cho is having a hard time
remembering, perhaps why her legs feel like they're burning. No more snitch
practice at night in the
Harry should have just seen if 'accio' would work on
getting the snitch, but as per usual, he wasn't really thinking. Isn't that
obvious? He would try to crawl over to wherever it is that Pomfrey keeps the
blocks of chocolate, grab some and get out before a fuss is made, but he's not
too keen on moving at this moment, how about you? The floor is nice and cool
and maybe no one will notice two students laying there like doormats.
Cho ois that would have been a good idea. Of course, it
might be charmed to repel spells of that nature so that someone (like, say... a
Slytherin) wouldn't cheat. But if it would have worked, it would have saved
them a lot of trouble. While she's perfectly happy just lying here, she tries to
call out a few times, "Madam Pomfrey?" But all that really comes out
is, "ma.. madam.. madam pomfrey?" in a rather thin, pathetic and too
soft voice. Is she not here? Cho certainly isn't about to get up and go look
for her... Maybe after a nice long nap though...
Harry wouldn't be surprised if simple spells like accio
don't work on the snitch, but it couldn't hurt to try. Maybe the snitch will
come back later on its own. He can't get up for Pomfrey, sorry, he's down for
the count. Luckily Pomfrey seems to have a sixth sense about these sorts of
things because it doesn't take her long to barrel into the room. A muffled
shriek is heard, "Of all the! What on earth happened this time, oh it's
YOU again Mr. Potter, and Miss Chang.. Well I never!" Despite the chastising,
she's bustling into action, using simple spells of levitation to get the two
students into beds. "The two of you look like you've seen death right in
the eye." Dementors, but close enough.
Cho doesn't even try to sit up when Madam Pomfrey appears,
looking up at her with one of those tired expressions. Luckily she gets them up
onto beds, but the young infirmary helper, who seems to be an infirmary
resident now, still clutches her wand tightly. She manages a soft,
"sorry... madam.. pomfrey. snitch.. seeker.. dementors.." Did that
make any sense? Probably not...
Harry remains out cold, hands still clasped tightly
around his wand and broomstick as he's lifted onto a bed. Just ram some hot
chocolate down his throat or something. He's not going to wake back up for a
bit. Pomfrey's lips purse into a thin, tight line, turning white about the
edges as she deciphers Cho's words to the best of her ability. Spinning on her
heel, she opens up a cabinet across the room, breaking off chocolate from the huge
block that's kept on hand. The pieces are handed to Cho, "Eat that, every
bit." As for Harry, his is placed on the table next to his bed. She'll try
to rouse him in a moment. "Once you've finished eating that, then you can
tell me what happened. Dementors, of all the.. Dumbledore will not be happy,
mark my words." She's going to have to send immediate word to the staff
about this.
Cho wonders silently if they can conviently leave out
exactly /where/ they ran into the dementors... Oh well. The chocolate is taken
and slowly stuffed into her mouth. Chocolate remedies... why can't more things
have such good tasting remedies? The work is slow, as her hands need to move
after all, but after the first few bars it starts to come a bit more easily.
"He going to be okay?" she asks a tad louder than before if still
rather weak.
Pomfrey rolls her eyes, "This one will be. Where on
earth were the Dementors at?" Harry is given a few more minutes before the
nurse tries rousing him with 'ennerverate'. The boy grudgingly awakens, can't
he just stay asleep? Please have a heart Madam Pomfrey? The nurse sternly
points out the chocolate and simply says, "Eat it." He's all too
familiar with the routine and the chocolate is eaten without any protest.
Pardon his silence for a bit longer while the chocolate works its warmth.
She just had to ask where. Cho looks extremely sheepish
as she pushes herself up to answer, "Uh... Forbidden
Harry wasn't paying attention to Malfoy once he got up in
the air. The git probably ran back to his common room. Still no verbal response
is given, he just nods in agreement with Cho. Madam Pomfrey sucks in a sharp
intake of breath and for a moment looks like she might launch into another
chastising tirade. "You two stay put. Eat more chocolate shortly. I will go
find Mr. Malfoy, as well as locate your heads of house. You're not to leave the
hospital wing tonight." At least we get permission for more chocolate?
Pomfrey sets out more chocolate before exiting the hospital wing. Harry looks
upwards at the ceiling, ".. you okay?"
Cho flinches a little bit as she goes to fetch the heads
of house. This is going to not be fun. But at least any lose of points will be
distributed between three houses, so it should lighten the individual impact.
She reaches over and grabs a bit more chocolate, inhaling another piece before
she even attempts to answer Harry. "Yeah... feeling better. You?" She
tries to sit up enough to see him well, and actually manages. And she's still
not sporting her usual smile, and there's a small smear of chocolate on her
lower lip.
Harry guesses it's to be expected. Maybe they'll forget
that we weren’t supposed to be in the forest in light of the Dementors?
Besides, it's all Malfoy's fault. He's not making an attempt to sit up, let
alone reach for the chocolate just yet. ".. like I've been hit by a
bus." One of those nice, big red double deckers.
".. gotta thank Professor Lupin
for teaching me that spell again." It's not necessary as the man probably
knows how appreciative Harry is over that. He lies still for a few minutes
longer before forcing himself upright so he can eat more of the chocolate.
Cho manages a very weak smile and says, "Know the
feeling." At least a bus is a Muggle artifact
that the Wizardy world in general knows about, so she
isn't lost by the phrase. As for Professor Lupin...
"Maybe I should ask him to teach me..." Didn't even manage a silver
spark, this one, but that's not expected. She's always been awful at any form
of dueling or offensive spell. Though that particular spell is more defensive
than offensive, it isn't in her range of easily learned spells.
Harry leans against the headboard of the bed, chewing
thoughtfully at the chocolate. ".. Couldn't hurt... he taught me in my
third year. It was hard to learn." Took him months to be able to pull it
off properly. It's probably a good idea for the defense classes to learn the
spell anyway.
Cho nods, "I remember." Vaguely, but she can
recall the time that he performed the spell in their match against each other
when Draco and his gang tried to sabotage it by dressing up as Dementors.
"I hope that they can do something about them..." And she hopes they conveniently
forget that the students were treading in forbidden grounds with the fact that
if they hadn't, it may have taken longer to realize the Dementors were there.
Harry forgot you knew, forgive him for not being in a
right frame of mind at the moment. ".. m'sure Dumbledore will come up with
something.. sorry, forgot you knew.. Maybe now Malfoy'll stop teasing me about
the Dementors." Particularly when the git looked ready to wet his britches
out of fright. "... glad I didn't pass out down there."
"It's all right." Cho smiles a bit more this
time, but still it's rather weak. She can forgive being in an odd frame of mind.
She's still trying to recall if Draco made it into the castle... The time in
the castle itself is a pale and fuzzy memory. She
finally releases her death grip on her wand and sets it down on the table near
the chocolate. "I'm glad you stayed conscious too. I... don't want to
think about what would have happened."
Harry shudders, going sick at his stomach thinking of the
possibility. He stops himself from mentioning he's already had a near miss with
a Dementor's Kiss once before. So many secrets he has
to keep. ".. I hope those things stay away from the school.."
Cho is propped up on one of the beds, a piece of
chocolate being pushed rather quickly into her mouth to ward off any bad
thoughts that she might start to have. She /really/
doesn't want to think back on what might have happened, and she didn't have a
near miss. She wipes the chocolate smear off her lower lip and says, "I'm
sure the Professors will do something about it or the Ministry."
*shuffle* *shuffle* Neville wanders in. He wasn't feeling
very well... must be nerves from the fact he can't get his schoolwork done
proper-like (must be fretting over potions)... and also in a bit of concern
because well... he hasn't seen Potter
back in
Harry nods his head, nibbling at the last bit of
chocolate. "I guess they're all angered by being turned loose from
Azkaban.. least that's my impression from what I've read in the papers."
If one can actually believe anything the Prophet publishes. "I wonder if
Malfoy went straight to his common room. Stupid git.. should have told him to
come directly to the hospital wing." But he really wasn't up to saying
anything beyond, let's get out of here.
Professor McGonagall had seen Mr. Longbottom in the
hallway, but that was the least of her concerns. Madam Pomfrey had informed her
of the dementors attack on a certain number of students, and she was wasting no
time in getting to the hospital wing. In her hurry, she nearly knocks poor Mr.
Longbottom over. "..Excuse me, please."
"I think we were both a little out of it when we
were coming up here..." Is that a tone of concern in her voice? And it's
genuine, believe it or not. Cho feels the whole thing is her fault. If she
hadn't delayed Malfoy, he never would have tried to bait Harry, and this whole
mess wouldn't have happened. "He probably didn't want to climb all the
stairs. I know I didn't."
Neville is nearly knocked over, stumbling forward a few
steps and towards the side where he catches hold of something before he goes
sprawling. Still somewhat awkward, he's more than happy to stay there against
the wall like the wallflower that he is. If Ms. McGonagall is here... well...
things must be bad. He hovers in the background ignoring the faint smarting
sensation of getting a shoe knocked against his heel, trying to spot Harry, by
dint of tracing his voice. What now....?
he wonders as he worries on his lower lip. He knows how to stay out of the way
at least.
Harry doesn't blame you for anything Cho. Malfoy would
have baited him without anyone's assistance. "Yeah.." Or he went to
go fall into pieces in privacy. We all know that Malfoy has too much pride and
wouldn't want anyone to see him less than composed. "He'll be alright no
matter what he says." Getting scared like that is good for Malfoy, it
makes him realize he's human. He doesn't quite realize that Professor
McGonagall is about to enter into the room.
Professor McGonagall's footsteps, accompanied by the tall
woman herself, the expression on her face a mix of worry and concern. Well,
here was young Mr. Potter in the hospital wing again! Dementors..? This situation
was not something that she needed now. And did she hear a certain Mr. Malfoy's
name being mentioned? She can only see two beds being occupied, but it's Miss Chang.She frowns as she
approaches the two, clearing her throat to get their attention.
Cho nods at Harry's words. A touch of humanity certainly
wouldn't hurt Draco. But then again, the Dementor's
don't generally give people humanity (just the opposite in fact), so the
chances of him coming out of this better for it are nil. She jumps a bit at the
sound, glancing to see the Professor and any semblance of that smile she was
weakly managing vanish. Now comes the bad part, "Professor," she
manages a weak and a little thin greeting.
Neville will just stay out of the way.... maybe Madam
Pomfrey can actually see him.... eventually. He gulps faintly. Maybe this isn't
such a good place to be.
If it were possible for Harry to pale further, he would
as McGonagall enters, clearing her throat. A weak
smile is mustered, "... evening Professor." Nice weather we're having
huh? Fancy a bit of chocolate with us? Oh come join the party Neville! You know
you want to be in on this fun.
Professor McGonagall sighs slightly at the tired
greetings from the two bedridden students. She is now very awre
of what happened, but crosses her arms, not helping to pale a little bit as she
speaks. "Potter...Chang..are you two..?"
She can't quite form the question. "what happened?"
"We're not hurt.. Really." Cho quickly tosses
in, glancing at Harry. "Just tired and.. drained." The younger
Gryffindor took the brunt of it though. She was at least still conscious when
Madam Pomfrey found them. "We were.. Draco Malfoy was with us... He... The Snitch escaped and flew into the
Neville just twitches at the mention of Dementors..... O.o; but stays quiet otherwise, eyes wide
Harry shifts a bit uncomfortably, pulling up some
blankets over himself. He opens his mouth to give his account, then closes it
as Cho explains. What she said. ".. We're fine now.. Sorry about losing
the snitch..I'm sure we'll find it again soon
enough." Lovely set of priorities huh? Worried about losing a piece of
school property over Dementors appearing.
Professor McGonagall pales considerably. Went into the
forbidden forest to chase.. a snitch?! The snitch could be replaced. The act
itself would risk losing points from the three houses... She blinks. "You
aren't going anywhere to find that snitch. I'm sure Madam Hooch should be able
to -" She cuts herself off midspeech. "Have you eaten enough chocolate?"
And again they mentioned Mr. Malfoy.. "And why isn't Malfoy here?"
She shuts her mouth for a moment and looks around and notices Longbottom, then
turns back around. She's proud of Harry for getting rid of them...but there are
so many 'what of's' to consider. "You do realize
that if those horrid reporters hear about this.." She frowns, not wanting
to imagine what the Daily Prophet would
look like.
Cho looks a little sheepish at the question of why Malfoy
isn't with them, "He didn't.. come all the way up here. We think he
decided to go to his common room. Madam Pomfrey said she would find him."
She isn't at all sure if this is true. The trip up to the Infirmary is all a
blur. She was about exhausted enough to pass out. She made it though, and
stayed consious, unlike Mr. Potter. There's a good
amount of chocolate still set out for them, but she grabs another piece and
eats it, perhaps just so she doesn't feel inclined to have to talk for a few
more seconds. And she does not want to see the Prophet article either. She
might just get a Howler if her name is mentioned...
Neville just fidgits
uncomfortably in the background as he hears more about what Harry was doing. He
suppresses an urge to moan about the fact that Harry might make their house
lose points again.... maybe. ;_; Dementors in the forest.... does that mean the
freakish things might come onto the grounds again?
But we chased 'em off, can't we
get some points awarded rather than taken away? Hrm,
then again maybe not. Harry nods to the professor, "Yes m'am.. We aren't sure. Malfoy might have gone back to his
common room." Well if the Prophet catches wind o f this, we could always
blame the Ministry for not foreseeing events such as those that have been
occurring. They could have done a better job in regards to Azkaban after all.
".. Sorry Professor..." Hmph. Lucky you
Cho. Howler nothing, his guardian is hiding right here in the castle and he'll
catch it in person.
Professor McGonagall sighs. First of all, why is he
apologizing? Oh, right. They were the ones to go after the snitch when they
could have simply told a professor. Sure, there's no reason at all for there to
be supervision in the castle..none at all. She nods towards Miss Chang as the girl takes
a bit of chocolate. She glances towards Harry, waiting for him to take a second
piece. "..back to his common room?" o.o
Students. Perhaps she would leave him to Snape.. she'd have to send a few
owls. "I'll tell Madam Pomfrey to
check on him then." This could be the ministry's fault. They acted too
late as usual, and the damage had already been set. They dementors had been chased off, but that
wouldn't present them from attacking again.
And here the whole reason her parents decided to let her
stay during the holidays was because the school was so safe. They might just
change their mind after tonight's events... Cho clears wipes off any chocolate
residue from her lips, and says, "At least you know they're close
by..." It's a weak attempt to point out that maybe this whole event has a
good side to it. Of course it could also have had a very bad side, where Harry
wasn't able to get them to leave, and the school found itself down three
Seekers.
Sounds like Hufflepuff stands a
chance at the Quiddich Cup at this rate. Neville
can't quite hold back a faint whimper at the thought of it all.
Harry grabs another piece of chocolate. Well we already
know Harry simply doesn't think in some situations. Just like his father. It
must be in the genes. "He might have, we aren't sure." Good call Cho!
"Right.. least this way we know they're about.. so something can be done.."
He'll even volunteer to help as he's one of the few around the castle that
knows the patronus charm!
Professor McGonagall also believes that even though it is
a bit of advanced magic, the patronus charm should be
implemented. "I hate to say this, but you are correct." Of course
children would never think of the danger. If you escape within a hair of your
life it's no big deal because you survived. He is rather like James. At least
there weren't any dementors during _that_ era. "I /should/ take off points,"
she says, not even sure if she wants to anymore. As her duty as a professor,
any thing shouldn't really go unpunished. "I could also reward points, but
that would cancel out, wouldn't it?"
How terribly pathetic that seemed.
"Yes Potter, and excellent idea." She waits for him to finish
his chocolate.
Yes, she could take off points, and at this point, Cho's
honestly expecting it. Hufflepuff might just have the House Cup in one fell
swoop, the other three reduced far enough to make the running feeble. But as
Professor McGonagall says the second part, she lets out a soft sigh of relief, attemptedly covered up by another piece of quick chocolate.
Harry crams the chocolate into his mouth, basically to
shut himself up. Well.. is it good that McGonagall won't take away points?
There he goes again with his priorities skewed. Dementors again and he's
worried about the snitch and losing Gryffindor more points. He just sits
quietly for the moment, looking up at the head of Gryffindor House.
Professor McGonagall's eye's flicker and rest on Harry's forehead
for a moment, then lower into his eyes. "Is there anything you haven't
been telling me, Potter?" .. First the boy's scar hurts, then this...
she's not even that surprised anymore.
She would have to discuss the idea with Dumbledore, who would most
probably agree with it. The situation was growing next to intolerable and she
wondered if she dare ask 'What's next?'. She nods, watching the students take
more chocolate, almost inwardly smiling. Chocolate can get to taste nasty if
you eat too much of it.. but it was all for the best, really.
Cho follows the Professor's eyes to the boy's scar. That
scar is so easy to forget when she just thinks of him as the Gryffindor Seeker
and just Harry. But then of course the reminder is given (as it had been when
they entered the forest itself) and she has to recall that he is 'The Harry
Potter'. A person that most everyone raised in Wizard familes
heard all about as they were growing up. She says nothing, since the question
wasn't addressed to her, but she does look at him curiously.
Harry should have expected McGonagall to make that
inquiry. He shakes his head, "No Professor. Nothing beyond
headaches." A bit nervously, he raises a hand to flatten his hair over his
forehead, hopefully hiding the scar from view. ".. no funny visions or
anything." Well aside from what he normally he hears in the presence of
Dementors.
Professor McGonagall hesitates a moment, before giving a
small nod. Right. Just like Harry to downplay anything that might be deemed
serious. Noticing his movements, she apologizes
quickly. "Sorry.." She doesn't often notice the scar except for when
Harry has any headaches or any serious ailments..it's
just, concern, that's all. Of course, she also remembers the first time she
ever saw the scar, and she was tempted to smile slightly at the image of the sleeping
baby. But that was the past. "If you're sure." She says firmly,
before looking over to Miss Chang.
Cho looks away after Harry finishes, after he hides the
scar from her view with his hair. She looks at the wall for a moment, silent,
then she seems to realize that the Professor is looking at her and she glances
back, offering a smile that is still quite weak compared to the ones she
usually sports. "Though... I do think it odd that one of the Dementors had
the snitch..." It may not be a important clue or
anything, but thinking back (now that she isn't cowering in cold terror) she
realizes that one of them /was/ holding it.
Harry is quite sure. And while he does downplay
everything, he will come to someone as fast as he can if he gets any disturbing
visions. ".. I'm sure Professor." He glances over at Cho, then nods,
"One of them caught it while I was trying to get the snitch. It seemed
like a leader of sorts as it was the last to leave." Of course this could
mean absolutely nothing.
Professor McGonagall blinks at this piece of information.
The dementors had the Snitch? It could have been a ploy...to get the students
out into the forest and attack them while they were alone and unprotected...
Minerva suddenly as a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach and steps
back to put her arm against the wall. It
was a /planned/ attack then. "Why didn't you say that before?" If that’s
the case, it just may as well be an extremely important fact. If it is true.
How disturbing...how greatly disturbing. "I'm glad you told me." No, no, she's quite all right. At least, let
the students think that.
Cho glances over at Harry, eyes a little wider than
usual, but not really giving away anything much, other than she's surprised by
the reaction. "Of course, Professor. I just.. didn't think of it until
now." Not surprising, since she's a little exhausted in the mind right now
and at the time she hadn't really been looking at what was in their hands, more
where their hands were going (as in, nearer to her). She did notice the presence
of the snitch though, but it didn't register until later.
Harry ahs, ".. Didn't think it was important.
Everything happened so fast.. and it's hard to think with them around." He
idly picks at the sheets of his bed, "Never seen the snitch stray from the
pitch like that before.." Okay, so he's slow on the uptake. It's not
registering that it could have been a trap.
Professor McGonagall nods towards Cho. Of course..the situation must have been horrible. Wait, what
did Harry just say? The Snitch strayed from the pitch? Good lord. It could just
as well have been enchanted.
"Didn't think it was important?" she gasped, in somewhat
disbelief. "Any other information you have, anything."
Cho tries to think, going back to the moment with an
impartial and a mind and spirit that isn't currently chilled and horrified. She
takes a few moments, then she says, "Harry had flown off after spotting the
snitch and told us to wait there. There were two groups. One appeared in front
of Harry, with the snitch, right? And the second appeared around us, Draco and
me. It was like they were trying to box us in. They didn't try to cut him off
from us though..." She's not in Ravenclaw for nothing, you know.
"They easily could have."
Harry erps. Maybe he should
just eat more chocolate and shut up. ".. I honestly can't think of
anything else.. aside from what she said." Good thing Cho paid more
attention then huh? But if anything comes to mind, he'll speak up about it.
Professor McGonagall leaned back against the wall.
"Thank you, Miss Chang," she said faintly, then recovered herself to
throw a stern look at Mr. Potter. "Going off on your own
again..." She sighs again,
wondering when will Harry learn to think before he acts?
The event may have seemed innocent at first...but the snitch leaving the pitch
and following it into the forest? She wonders if she were that age would she
have acted similarly.
Cho tries to think of anything else, but the memory is
just too fogged with the horrible things she was being forced to experience, so
she leaves it at that. "You're welcome. Maybe Draco can add something
more..." But she doubts it. He looked almost as bad off as Harry was, and
Harry passed out as soon as they got up here. And she won't say how Harry tried
to make them stay outside the forest and go in by himself,
but she refrains.
Harry is incapable of thinking before acting! It's in his
blood! Besides, Cho's broom wasn't fast enough to go in and get it and get back
out, Malfoy couldn't catch the snitch if it was taped to his broom and well..
okay, so he was taking charge again.
"Probably. .. Sorry Professor, I don't mean to." He just..
goes off on his own.
As if right on cue, Madam Pomfrey is the first one to
enter the hospital wing, her lips pursed together into a tight line, bringing
along a certain someone with her. Behind the nurse is a familiar figure,
recognizable by that mop of white-blonde, which for once, isn't slicked back.
It falls around his pale face, almost long enough to curl under his chin, but
stopping just short of it. "I managed to find him." She states quite
clearly, stopping in the door and waiting for Draco to step back. "I hope
there's some chocolate left for Mr. Malfoy." The woman manages a bit of a
faint smile, looking towards Professor McGonagall. Draco, however, busies
himself with looking at the floor as he steps into the room. Oooo. Pretty patterns.
Professor McGonagall sighs at Harry's last comment, then glances
towards the interruption. Madam Pomfrey is back...with...her eyes fall onto the
Slytherin student. Thank god. "Thank you, Madam Pomfrey." She says
faintly. "There should be enough.." she frowns as she glances at Harry
and Cho. "Take another piece, you two." She waits as Poppy escorts Mr. Malfoy to a
bed and looks towards Harry again. "I know you don't mean to," Just
like his father. "But you should try more. Even if it feels more natural.
Try more."\
Cho looks towards the door as Madam Pomfrey appears and
actually gasps at the sight of Draco. He looks worse than she vaguely
remembers. They broke him! Hey, she's genuinely concerned here. He's the one
who really didn't want to go into the forest after all. "Is he all right,
Madam Pomfrey? Where did you find him?" And then she gets told to take
more chocolate and she grabs one quickly to comply. They're already lucky to
not have dozens and dozens of points missing from their respective houses, so
she isn't going to argue. The chocolate certainly is a welcome remedy either
way.
Harry looks over at the door. Well there's Malfoy. Ugh..
he doesn't want more chocolate.. He does try, and winds up
doing what he thinks is the right thing <tm>. It's so hard being him you know. He's never
going to eat chocolate again willingly .. at least for a few weeks after this.
Another piece is taken as he eyes Malfoy's entrance into the hospital wing.
"Hey Malfoy."
Madam Pomfrey makes sure that she leads Draco to a bed
where he sits on the edge stiffly, eyes still cast to the floor. Harry passed
out, he's on the verge of doing so. The nurse makes sure he's comfortable to
the best of her ability, considering that she can't even get a response from
the pale young man. Giving up on that, Poppy makes her way over to retrieve
some chocolate and Draco finally looks up at the sound of his name, his face
expressionless, some of the white-blonde hair slipping over his blue eyes.
"Hey, Potter." Looks like he isn't broken, because the words come out
as a bored drawl. He hadn't even noticed you there. But then again, he wasn't
even looking up, so.
Professor McGonagall shakes her head. "Where was he,
Poppy?" She asks the nurse, who hands Malfoy some chocolates and instructs
him to eat them. As she is distracted, Minerva frowns. Such a state he was in
too. This simply couldn't be tolerated. "I'll have none of that," She
said to Harry. "Let him eat some chocolates first before you begin
socializing." She's only remotely
surprised at how civil the two seemed towards one another. Then again, any
situation could bring opposites together. It almost reminded her of Sirius and
Snape. But where was she..? Good. They were eating the chocolates. She wondered
if they were aware by now that it was a trap, or should she not bother them
with the details?
Oh good... he's not broken. Cho isn't very relieved
though, as he still looks horrible, in a about to pass
out way. She doesn't try to socialize with him, as she's currently trying to
munch on her last piece of chocolate (good thing Wizards have wonderful potions
or she might worry about her teeth rotting) and looks from one to the other. At
least they aren't bickering like they were in the forest.
Later Harry might feel a bit of smugness at seeing Malfoy
like this. Then again, there's nothing funny in facing Dementors and he hasn't
any room to feel any sort of satisfaction. Still.. it's a good thing that
Malfoy isn't broken. He supposes. He blinks a bit at the chastisement, then
looks down at the bed. Whups. Oh c'mon Cho, that
wasn't bickering. That was a civil conversation!
It was indeed a civil conversation. As civil as a
conversation between Draco and Harry can get. He accepts the chocolate from
Madam Pomfrey and looks at it for a moment, recalling the incident with the
dementors two years ago. Right... this will get rid of that cold feeling, won't
it? Well, he might as well. He pops the chocolate into his mouth and chews on
it, looking back down at the floor. "He was at his common room, Professor."
Replies Madam Pomfrey, "Looked a dreadful state when he answered the door
and came with me down to the hospital wing." She leaves out the fact that
she had to persuade him to take one step out, however. "If you need
anything else, Professor, don't be afraid to ask. I have a few things left to
do. I'll be in my office. If you'll excuse me." She expects McGonagall to
release them when she sees fit to do so. And, with that, Madam Pomfrey exits
into her office, closing the door behind herself.
Professor McGonagall is shocked that Mr. Malfoy made it
all the way down to the dungeons. "And no one thought to tell you to come
up here?" Or rather, "What on earth were you thinking, going back to
your common room when you should have at least asked for help." Great
another one who believes in self-sacrifice. Oh I'm fine, really. NOT. She
frowns. "If I ask you how you are, I do not want to hear that you are
'fine'. We both know you really aren't. When you compose yourself, I would like
to hear your interpretation of the incident." She hopes she doesn't sound
too cold. Or worse, Madam Pomfrey could
burst out of her office any moment now. But she's not being too stressful on
the students..they survived this much.
Sounded like bickering to Cho. She wouldn't have been at
all surprised if that was what attracted the Dementors, but she is going to
refrain from that comment, especially after the rather bad thoughts that
Professor McGonagall put in her head about how the snitch left the pitch and
just happened to lead them towards the Dementors in the first place. A rather
odd occurrence, that is. The thought that the bickering lead
them in the three Seekers' direction would actually be a lot nicer of a
thought. She sympathetically looks down as the Professor says that to Draco. She
is interested in hearing if Draco noticed anything she missed though, so she
keeps both ears ready, even if her eyes are now focused on her hands.
Harry and Cho called it. The git scrambled to his common
room. He pulls his glasses off, setting them in his lap as he rubs at his eyes.
He does keep quiet and doesn't flinch or anything listening to McGonagall
turning her attention on Malfoy. He's used to her sternness after this time. It
still doesn't make her any less formidable.
Looks like that chocolate really works wonders, more than
the shower did. He didn't feel like going straight to the hospital wing, he
wanted to think, think about what he had seen while in the dementors presence,
he wanted to be away from everyone else and if suffering with that cold, 'I'm gonna pass out' feeling was the only way to achieve that
solitude, then so be it. Draco looks up, over towards the Professor with a
rather level, slightly stony gaze. "I'm fine, now." Smart-ass. ~o~
"The snitch got out because I kicked the box. It was loosened by the bludgers." He's assuming that this is what she wants
to know about, the dementors and how they wound up in the forest. "We
tried to catch it, but it went into the forest. Potter offered to go in after
it, but we came with him. The dementors surrounded us." A bit of a pause.
"There was a deer or a stag of sorts. Potter told us to say this spell. It
frightened the dementors away, then we left on our brooms. I went straight to
the common room. I needed to be alone." Also, for one, he was in his quidditch gear and wanted out of it. For another, he forgot
completely about the chocolate and its wonderful effects. Like he'll admit that
out loud, though.
Professor McGonagall meets his stony gaze with an even
fiercer one. Just wanted some time alone to be introspective? What about
getting killed? Of course that never occurs to students. Self suffering does
wonders. NOT. Ask Harry, he's been through enough. "Let me get this straight," she says,
trying to keep her voice from shaking. "You freed the snitch, and
Potter-" Why am I not surprised. She shakes her head. But even if young
Malfoy did release the snitch, the snitch speeding off into the hand of a
dementor didn't make any sense. Of
course, it could have been bewitched for quite some time, or after the last
time anyone used it. It's so difficult
to avoid getting into trouble, isn't it. First deatheaters,
now dementors. 'Am I even sure that Hogwarts is the safest place to be?'. Well,
of course it is. She stares down at Draco, wondering how he managed to keep
himself calm and collected under her penetrating stare. After everything that
he had been through.
Frightened them away isn't
exactly what Cho would call it. More like they opted to leave. But that could
just be because she was horribly terrified and cold and trying to grasp on to
the happiest thoughts she could muster at the time and couldn't really picture
then getting frightened of anything a couple of kids had to throw at them,
especially when the charm didn't even produce a spark for neither Cho nor
Draco. She adds after a second, "Harry also told us to think of something
happy." She glances over at Draco, silently wondering what could ever make
him happy.
Harry stares over in Malfoy's general direction as he
hasn't placed his glasses back on and he can only see a fuzzy shape topped by
blonde colors. Did Malfoy just.. admit.. it was his fault in so many
words? ".. Since neither Cho nor
Malfoy know how to perform the Patronus charm.. it
couldn't hurt to have them try it anyway. Besides.. the more of us trying to
force happy thoughts at them, the better.. I didn't expect to be able to teach
them how to do it that one time."
He could have put in that the kicking of the box was an
accident, but Harry could just as easily provide evidence that it certainly
wasn't something that wasn't unintentional and being as McGonagall is the head
of Gryffindor, he already knows which side of the story would come out on top.
He's not stupid. Ever wonder why the first person Draco tends to tell about
things that go on is Professor Snape? Compared to facing the dementors, having
McGonagall glare down at him is not a threat nor is it at all frightening, so
he can hold his composure, keeping his gaze level still. If the Professor were
to turn into a dementor, though, he may just break down and start crying like a
little girl. His hands haven't seemed to of gotten over the shakes, at least,
but he has them hidden in the arms of his robe to hide them from view.
"..."
Professor McGonagall knows that Harry wouldn't have been
able to teach it on the first try, but then arises the
reason of why Harry knows the charm in the first place. There are times when the Patronous
charm can fail, and then she'd have three dead ... well, not dead... she
shuddered, not wanting to think of what would have happened had things gone
wrong. She directs her gaze back at Mr. Malfoy. "Very well then."
Well, if it'd had failed, Hufflepuff would certainly win
the Quidditch Cup this year... If they didn't cancel the matches all together.
Cho stays silent for a few more moments, looking between the three fellow
people. When she does speak, she directs a question at the Professor, rather
softly, "Professor, what do you think will be done about them?" She
isn't really sure if now is the time to ask this, or if the question could even
be given, but she'd probably feel better if she had an idea what is going to be
done about them.
Hey Malfoy, the Dementors send their love! :P All kidding side, Harry's not going to give
the boy a hard time over this. He can't help but wonder what kind of lecture he
may get from Sirius later. Truth be told, he'd rather be here at Hogwarts
facing the dangers of the wizarding world than living
at Number 4 Privet Drive. His glasses are placed on the bedside table as he
leans back against the pillows. If the Patronus had
failed, everyone would have to kiss themselves goodbye. He turns his head to
look over in Cho's direction. ".. Good question. It'll be hard finding
people to keep up a patronus." Also, who knows
if the Dementors can become immune to it with continuous usage?
This conversation is losing his interest and he doesn't
have anything to add that hasn't already been said. He looks down to the floor,
again. All in all, Draco Malfoy doesn't care if he couldn't perform the patronus, his father may be a little disappointed about it,
but at least there was someone who could, that saved them. Thank god. Does this
mean he's in debt to Harry Potter, though? x.@; Urg.
Thinking that, he'd rather be back in the
Professor McGonagall feels rather ill at the thought that
the Dementors could become immune to the patronus,
which was also likely. It wasn't much of a defense shield either, if you
actually thought about it. For now, it's the only defense we have.
"...." She glances at the
Ravenclaw seeker, and then Harry. She's surprised by the question. Right now
she's not even sure if she knows HOW to answer that question. But she had to
give some form of an answer. What use wuld she be if she didn't know what was going to be done?
"Something _will_ be done, of course." She detests being put on the
spot and is quite flustered. The situation would be handles. Perhaps cancel
Quidditch for a while, make sure no one left the castle, Hogsmeade.. "The consequences may not
rest well with you students, however."
Oh, but wouldn't that be the perfect situation or a dementor? She
glances at Malfoy. "Instead of trying to make us feel sorry for you, just
lay back." She frowns. So much for cooperation.
Wait, cancel Quidditch!? No! Let the dementors come!
Anything but canceling quidditch! That's a happy
thought in and of itself! Don't take it away! Ahem.
But it's a good thing that isn't said out loud because Cho would say something
that would likely make her sound... well... superficial. She does not like the
sound of consequences though and reaches up to run a hand through her mused up
long hair. At the Professors words to Malfoy, she glances over, a small frown
appearing, "What's wrong with your hands?"
Harry flat out does not expect Malfoy to show gratitude
towards him. Wouldn't the world spontaneously combust were that to happen? He
blinks in surprise, "Consequences? What?" Quidditch /can't/ be cancelled for a second year running. He'll go stir crazy,
you know he's impossible to keep locked up inside. He's right there with Cho.
If that was said aloud, you can bet he'd be on his feet, protesting quite
loudly. He sighs and glances towards the door. He wants to go find Ron and Hermione
soon.
He looks up... and appears rather furious for a few
moments. HIM? TRYING TO GARNER SYMPATHY?! That's the LAST thing Draco Malfoy
wants at the moment (It's also the last thing he wants at a lot of other
times.). Can't he think without someone believing that he wants people to feel
sorry for himself? Can't he just look at the floor? Can't he fume in silence
over things without those looks of pity? GRR! The fire leaves his eyes, though,
he tightly clasps his hands together inside the robes. "I prefer
sitting." THANK YOU VERY MUCH. "There's nothing wrong with my
hands." He even goes as far hold his head up, high and proud, the
white-blonde hair framing his sharp-featured face on either side. There'd even
be a bit of a sneer, if he could manage it, but he'll settle for this. It's
good enough.
Professor McGonagall frowns. Of course they never can
appreciate whenever something is done in their best interests...then again,
placing Harry with the Dursley's WAS in his best
interest, and look how that fell through @.@ "...." Surely Harry
doesn't remember that the Dementors came to quidditch
matches themselves, or has he forgotten this little fact? At least, indoors, it
would be easier to prevent them from entering. And she didn't say it was
definitely going to happen, just a precautionary she was going to mention to
Dumbledore. "You don't think that we'd let a serious matter like this be
swept under the rug?" She's sick of it. And of course Mr. Malfoy has
himself in one of his attitudes. Riiight... you're
lucky I didn't take points away from your house. Just keep up that attitude,
buddy. "Eat more chocolate." Her lips twitch angrily for a moment.
Cho certainly doubted he wanted sympathy. She can
remember the look of disgust he gave her when she tried to be concerned with
his well being. "Then why are they hidden." She says, not really
toned as a question. She doesn't expect him to answer after all. She looks back
at Professor McGonagall and says, "It shouldn't be swept away, Professor,
we know that, it's just... We don't even know how long they've been there and
they may have no intention of leaving the
Harry shakes his head at Malfoy. Well that attitude is to
be expected with the boy. No, Harry hasn't forgotten that the Dementors love
flocking to large gatherings to feast upon human emotions like vultures
fighting over carrion. ".. No Professor, I didn't think that at
all.." He doesn't intercede on the conversation between Cho and Draco. If
he does, it's sure to make things worse.
Would you just back off and leave him alone, woman? ~.~
Stop drawing attention to his hands! He can't hold that act of attitude for
long, though, moving to take another slab of chocolate. And if you're REALLY
observant, Cho, then maybe you'll notice why Draco had kept his hands hidden,
for even now, they still shake as though he were suffering from the cold.
Quickly, he pops the chocolate into his mouth, his hands, right afterwards,
returning to hide inside the robes. "..."
Professor McGonagall looks towards Harry., then glances
over at Cho. "You are right about that," She said, her voice still
stern. "And believe me, it pains me to suggest this as well, but this is
all for the safety of the students. They may as well be congregating in the
forest-" oops. She didn't want to say THAT aloud. What IF they congregated
in the forest? But the forest was forbidden anyway. She could always check it
out for herself later on...but, no, no, time to focus on the students now.
"Besides, Miss Chang, if that is true, you wouldn't be able to play quidditch anyway. At least for sometime now I must suspend
it. And how many times must I reiterate that you must not go flying
unsupervised?" this last part she directed towards Mr. Potter.
Cho looks away from the Professor as she actually says
the no Quidditch thing. Siiiigh. There goes her second best happy thought.
Hopefully they'll get rid of the nasty creatures before the season starts.
Please? It's the one hope that she can hold on to. She was really looking
forward to facing both these two boys against a Snitch. Not in the forest next
time though. And her eyes do follow to Draco and... what is up with his hands?
She's going to lay off for now though, instead saying
to the Professor. "Do you think Madam Pomfrey will have us stay here all
night?"
Harry blanches at the chastisement before it changes to
jaw dropping surprise, "What!? Cancel quidditch??
You can't Professor!" Well he knows he bloody well can't tell a teacher
what they can or can't do, but it still doesn't stop his outburst. He honestly
keeps forgetting that he's supposed to be supervised when out on the pitch
practicing. But isn't that a moot point at the moment?
Che. Canceling quidditch. He's not really surprised, though slightly
disappointed, but unlike Harry and Cho, all Draco does is let out a little bit
of a sigh. Does this mean that Slytherin won't be able to mop the floor with
the other houses for a while? By mop the floor, that also could mean 'beat the
crap out of'. "..." Geez. Must be one of
the first times, ever, that the blonde Slytherin doesn't have anything at all
to say. One can be sure that the incident with the dementors will probably cow
him for at least a little while. Give it about a week. He'll be back to normal,
then will probably run around, blaming Potter for ruining their chances at
being able to play Quidditch for the year.
Professor McGonagall is very tempted to lift her hand and
smack herself in the forehead, of more disbelief than anything. "Have you
children no priorities?"" Oh wait, of course they don't. "There
is a method to things." Yeah, yeah, so Quidditch is one of your only happy
pastimes. But is flying a broom more
important than your lives? Sometimes she
wonders how she manages to keep herself calm and stern in these situations. Her
arms are resting at her sides, and she's eyeing each student carefully. She's
sorry she said anything now, but..they asked. "If you were supervised, none of you
would have gone into that forest." The dementors were smart enough to see
how gullible you all were. Oh bother.
She is very aware of what she can and cannot do, Mr. Potter, so be very
careful. "I'm sure Madam Pomfrey will tell you when she sees fit." she
says, in response to Cho's first question. "But you still seem pretty weak
to me.
Yes. Flying a broom is... okay, no it's not. But it's
still important! "Well, Professor McGonagall, it was right after Slytherin's team practice, that's why the snitch got loose,
Draco was putting it away. Harry and me just happened
to be there..." Cho's trying to make it sound like they weren't /really/
acting like bad kids. Yes, they were unsupervised and she's really not saying
why she and Harry happened to be there. For one, she has no idea why Harry was,
and for the other, well... another story.
Harry has priorities! It's just that.. quidditch is one of his only escapes! Oh hang it all! This
isn't ruddy fair. Even if there was supervision, the Dementors would still be
there. "... Professor.. the Dementors probably would have come onto the
grounds proper even if we were supervised." Yeah! We weren't being bad
kids!
Professor McGonagall didn't say that you were being bad
kids. She's concerned for your safety, that's all, and no one wants to give her
that much credit for it. x.x Frowning, she glances
towards Madam Pomfrey's office door. "Besides, if they had come, that
person would have prevented you from chasing after the snitch in the first
place." She says with a frown. "I'm going to go talk with Madam
Hooch. You just keep eating your chocolate. I shan't be too long."
Besides, right now she is really feeling quite ill and could do with a remedy
of sorts. She hasn't been herself for a few days and hopes that the students
haven't noticed.
Oh. That's is stupid. He's being
grouped with a mental Gryffindor and a love-sick Ravenclaw. Draco never even
wanted to go into that forest in the first place, but winded up entering for
whoever knows what reason. He never said a word about Quidditch being cancelled
and yet, he's being treated as though he were. Wait till my father hears about
this, thinks Draco bitterly. He just reaches out for another piece of
chocolate. One more should be good enough. Then he'll leave. He's not going to
stick around, after all.
Love-sick? Is that how he pictures her? But then if he
pictures Harry as mental, maybe that's not such an insult. Cho does not reach
for another chocolate, but she does sit up more and grab her wand, sticking it
into the folds of her robes. If she's going to spend the night here, she's
going to have to get comfortable. "Well, our teams are going to be really
happy with us..." she muses softly, shaking her head. "And I hope the
Prophet doesn't find out about this..." She's already going to have a fun
time explaining this to her parents via owl-mail... She's not looking forward
to telling her parents, unlike Draco.
Harry is NOT mental. He's perfectly sane, which is an
amazing accomplishment given the circumstances of his life thus far. Feh, Draco, what's your daddy going to do? He probably had
those Dementors come to the school! Who knows what sort of dirty business your
daddy is into right now? It's fine by Harry if you don't stick around Malfoy.
"It's not our fault Cho. It's not as if we actually /did/ anything. Sure
we went into the forest.. but if we hadn't of gone in there, the Dementors
would have gotten closer to the school. I'm sure the Prophet will find out.
That Skeeter cow has her ways." He shoots a
glance at Malfoy, you know what he's talking about.
Shoot him as many dirty looks as you want, Potter. He's
not even paying attention to you. Mental Gryffindor. Like the other two pieces
before the one he holds now in his slightly shaking hand, Draco eats his last
bit of chocolate for the evening. It's probably all he'll need to make the
remainder of those feelings go away. "..." His hands disappear
immediately back into the folds of his robes and he starts to rise from the
bed, slipping off the end to stand at the foot of it, instead. I hope you're
happy, Potter! Why, if you hadn't of decided to go into the forest, none of
this would have happened.
"I know, but I have a feeling some of them won't
feel the same way." Cho shakes her head, thinking about the looks she's
likely going to get from her team. It /is/ better that they know the Dementors
are there... and they might have done something horrible if they hadn't been
the ones to find them. If Harry hadn't been there... well... bad. Then of
course, Draco has to go and be a stubborn little jerk. "Draco! You can't
just.." She pushes herself, swinging her legs over the side obviously
planning to chase after him if she has to. "Please, Draco, just sit back
down, you need rest. And more chocolate... and.. your hands..." She's
trying to not make it sound like he's the worse off of all of them, but... c.c;
Harry IS NOT MENTAL >.< How are you so sure of that
Malfoy? The Dementors could have been waiting to enter the Pitch. There's no
telling what would have happened. Once again, he just doesn't say anything
between Cho and Malfoy. It's better that way.
"SHUT UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE!" Oh. Well. Draco
snapped. He doesn't want to be fussed over. He doesn't want people to tell him
that he needs rest. He doesn't want people feeling sorry for him. The thing
that he wants, more than anything, right now, is to be away from here, away
from you people and somewhere where he can be alone. He came with Madam Pomfrey
only because she reminded him of the chocolate. Now that he's gotten what he
came for, that's enough. No more. He's leaving. "I don't need your
pity." And with that, he moves away from the end of the bed and heads for
the door, letting himself out and slamming the thing loudly behind himself.
Cho blinks from shock as she gets yelled out. She says
nothing, eyes following him as he walks out and leaves. She even flinches a bit as he slams the door. She stays completely
silent as she pushes herself back onto the bed and takes a deep breath. Yes, it
seems that Draco does not want her pity and he's made it very clear. Not that it wasn't clear before, but now it's just been
shoved into her face (and ears). Well, that went nicely...
Harry does sit up with an audible growl like noise as
Malfoy snaps at Cho. "... He's lucky he walked out right quick. I'll give
him what for later." For daring to snap at Miss Chang. She's only trying
to help, granted Malfoy doesn't want help but there's no excuse for that! He
glowers darkly at the door of the hospital wing as if daring the boy to come
back inside.
Cho gives her head a shake, as if she's trying to get
dust off or something similar. "No.. it's all right. I should have just
left him alone." She takes a few breaths, trying not to let any sign of
hurt show. She's not hurt, honest. (Well, maybe a little.) But she didn't
really expect anything more from Malfoy than that. "So are you going to go
back to your common room now that you have the chance?" She looks over and
offers a rather pale smile.
Harry sighs softly, "don't worry about it. Malfoy
would have found a reason to blow up no matter what." He reaches over to
retrieve his glasses, placing them back on his face. "... maybe in a bit..
don't quite feel like walking just yet." As much as he doesn't like being
stifled in here, the company isn't so bad and he is speaking the truth about
not feeling up to walking.
Cho runs a hand through her hair, straightening it a bit
more than it is now. It still doesn't look bad, even though it is a bit
windblown from all the flying they'd done. She tries to find a non-Malfoy
subject to throw out, and the best she can seem to come up with is a,
"So... guess we're not going to get to have another practice with the
snitch anytime soon. Admittedly, tonight wasn't what I had in mind, though I if
it wasn't for the Dementors I rather would have liked to chase the snitch in a
forest. It would be a great maneuverability practice."
Harry has no complaints about your hair. It looks quite
nice to him actually, not that he was staring mind you. "Yeah.. the forest
provides enough obstacles. It's not someplace you really want to be, night or
day." Well this makes the third time he's been in there. "Great.....
no Quidditch.. Maybe Professor McGonagall will change her mind.."
Cho smiles lightly, "Well, I don't particularly
/want/ to go in that forest. Maybe another forest though." At the repeat
of the no Quidditch she flinches again. She still feels it's all her fault. She
was the one who kind of suggested going into the forest after all. "We can
hope. Maybe they'll get rid of the Dementors before the season is supposed to
start..."
Harry nods his head and says quite ruefully, "No
Quidditch last year; that was all I could focus on over the summer was getting
back here and playing." Thoughts of Quidditch and flying worked wonders as
a mental block it did. "This is just great."
"I'm really sorry." Cho apologizes, though it
isn't really her fault and part of her knows that. "There's still months
left. Even if the season starts late, we could still get all the games in. The
Cup would just have to be given a little later than usual." Damn Dementors
have to go and ruin everything.
Harry waves his hands, "You don't have to apologize,
and it’s not your fault. Malfoy was baiting me by letting the snitch loose.
Hopefully they'll let us play again soon. Otherwise we could always drive them nuts by storming the Great Hall and improvising
practice in there." It's an idle threat, but then again, would all four
house teams be brave enough to do that as a protest of sorts?
Cho raises her eyebrows. That's an insane idea. But it's
actually perfect. Her Ravenclaw brain starts to think in overdrive. "I
wonder if there are other rooms that might be big enough to stage a practice
in. There are so many rooms here, and some of them might be. We wouldn't have
to use the Great Hall if we can request some kind of... indoor pitch for
practice purpose. Too bad it's unlikely we'll find one big enough for the
stands as well as the pitch itself. The games won't be able to be held inside,
but if we had an indoor pitch set up it would certainly be advantageous."
Harry laughs.. "I can't believe I just said that..
it's something Fred and George would suggest. I was only kidding." But the
idea sounds delightful. ".. I think the Great Hall is the largest room,
unless there's another hidden chamber about that we don't know of. Which is quite possible." He's found quite a number of
those.
Cho grins. She's heard of the twins, obviously. Never
been a brunt of any of their mischievous jokes personally, but that doesn't
mean she isn't amused. "Well, it wouldn't hurt to ask either way. The most
they could do is say no. And as it is, unless the Dementors decide they don't
like the forest we're not going to be playing for a while anyway, so no loss if
we ask."
Harry can't help but keep chuckling at the very idea.
"Or we don't ask, we just invade and claim we're protesting. Seems to work
for muggles with some causes. But you're right, the
worst they'll say is no." His expression sobers a bit, "They'll not
stay around the forest long. I'm sure they'll flock to the next populated
area..." An audible groan escapes. ".. I hope Dumbledore alerts the Ministry
as soon as possible... I wonder if this
is the same group that's been terrorizing settlements."
Cho grins, laughing briefly. "Or we could claim to
be... protesting. That could work and we'd at least get a few rounds of
practice before they can stop us." At the last bit, she stops laughing
though. "The nearest populated area, besides here, would be
Hogsmeade..." That actually makes her pale.
Harry finds himself laughing again. "Let's do it.
I'm sure the Gryffindor team is game for this." The laughter dies down
immediately and he nods, "Yeah.. At least we know they're about.."
Prof Major comes into the Hospital Wing following Hegwid.
A look of concern is on his face, and seeing that Harry is not alone in here,
he quickly forces it to a more neutral expression. He still moves quickly to
Harry's bedside. "Harry? What happened?" he asks.
The Ravenclaw team would likely be less forthcoming with
the idea, but Cho is sure she can talk them into it. She looks a little bit
pale, as if she just thought of something horrible, then she blinks as the
Professor comes in and she sits up a little bit, but stays silent.
Hedwig soars into the room, landing on Harry's shoulder
and ruffles her feathers proudly, even nipping at the boy's hair. Yeah, the
Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students may prove to be a bit reluctant. He was about
to say something else but Hedwig's arrival surprises him, then the entrance of
his godfather. "Ah.. errr..." Well he looks
alright, still pale, but fine. Chocolate is still seen at the bedside tables.
He clears his throat and scratches lightly at Hedwig, ".. We, that is, Cho, Malfoy and I had a bit of a run-in outside
earlier.."
Prof Major says, "With WHO?" he inquires in a
stern, concerned voice. He moves closer
to Harry to look him over. Not that he
has any medical experience, but he looks for an obvious damage or wounds. He notices Cho for the first time, and gives
her a nod. "Miss Chang, were you with him?" he asks even before Harry
can answer. He wants answers dammit, and now.
Cho smiles lightly at the affection showed between Harry
and his owl, but then the Professor goes stern and concerned and... then turns
his eyes on her. She nods quickly under the look, "Yes, Draco and me
both." And though she doesn't know the reason this particular professor is
so concerned with Harry's well being, she does notice it. Perhaps she'll think
more on it later, but right now she just dismisses it as Harry being a favored
student or something. He /is/ Harry Potter after all.
Harry errs and sits up a bit straighter, doing so
carefully as to not disturb Hedwig. ".. Dementors.." gets mumbled in
response as the professor moves in his direction. Can he have McGonagall
looking at him sternly instead? ".. there was a group of them outside.
Malfoy let the snitch out on purpose, it took off into the
Prof Major gets a VERY intense look in his pale eyes,
Prof McG has NOTHING on him, and even Snape would
back down from this look. "You
went, WHERE?" he booms, staring at Harry.
"You went INTO the
Cho cowers a little bit as the Professor yells at Harry.
And she was worried about a Howler from her parents? She should have been
worried about Professors getting upset. "It.. It wasn't Harry's fault.
It.. he.. we.." Uh. She's not able to get much more out, because.. well..
She's not.
Hedwig gives a mighty screech in protest at the shouting
and flies off towards a window, smacking Harry in the head on purpose with her
wing. He winces and rubs at his head, then visibly quails under the Professor's
verbal onslaught. "... I didn't think..." Once again that much was
obvious. "How were we to know Dementors would be
out there! I was going to fly after it.." He figured the air would be
safer than the ground.
Professor McGonagall steps out of Madam Pomfrey's office.
The yelling startled her out of a brief rest, and she had shouted a few choice
words to Madam Pomfrey for allowing her to doze off like that even if it were
an after affect of the potion she took. Wearily she saw that Harry and Cho were
still in their beds, and Professor Major. So Harry's finally seen his
godfather, she thought, shaking her head. She hovers near the door of Madam
Pomfrey's office. "Has everyone been behaving in here?" Well that's a
dumb thing to ask. And where is Dumbledore anyway? So many things to do..
Prof Major continues to berate Harry, just like a...
relative or something. "Harry, you
as well as anyone should know WHO lurks in that blasted wood! You should NEVER EVER be in that forest, I
don't care if they are giving out gold
plated Firebolts! Do you understand me??" he
growls, and then he glances at the pale face of Cho, and Harry. Oops. Maybe that was a bit over the top. Just then Minerva arrives, he turns to her, "Did you hear about this?" he asks, still agitated
but obviously toned down a notch or two.
Oh, nothing bad's been going on
Professor McGonagall. Unless you count Draco yelling at Cho and walking out and
Cho and Harry plotting for the future of quidditch.
Nope. Nothing bad at all. Cho sits up at the return of the Gryffindor head and
says, "Yes, of course, Professor... but.. Draco decided to go back to his
Common Room. Probably for the best." He'll... probably heal better away
from.. well.. certain people. At Major's words she pales a bit more.
Harry jumps slightly as McGonagall returns. ".. Yes m'am." We're all in one piece, Harry didn't go after
Malfoy.. Speaking of which, he points that out, "Malfoy went back to his
common room." Okay, that was unnecessary, but he's now feeling sullen and
quite grumpy and takes it out this way. But it also explains why he's behaving.
No Malfoy to be shouting at. He continues to shrink back from the shouting not
yet daring to shout back.
Professor McGonagall is taken aback by how everyone's
turned on her so quickly. "Yes, Professor Major." She says after
regaining that stern composure of hers. "And I've already gave them
lectures." You know as well as I do that children refuse to listen.
"There's not much we can do about that now. What we need to do is focus on
what to do now." Meaning about the dementors, how to prevent against them.
She's unsure at the moment whether to mention to Prof Major about her
suspicions. she turns towards Cho and Harry sharply. "Did he take
chocolate with him, at least?" And of course Mr. Malfoy still has his attitude problem. No, nothing's changed at all. She's just
weary as has a bit of a headache. "....."
Prof Major nods in agreement with Prof McG, this in itself makes James roll in his grave, and then he turns to Harry. "I would strongly suggest that you
listen to Prof McG and the rest of your advisors
Harry, or perhaps we will have to take stronger measures..." he says, then
looks back at Prof McG. "Gryffindor may have to look for another
Seeker if this continues...." he says with a dead seriousness to his deep
voice as he slowly levels a look back at Harry.
Cho nods at the bit about the chocolate. She's not sure,
but she thinks he grabbed a couple extra before he left. If not, he can
probably bully some off of a Slytherin. She tried to stop him, but.. well.. As
the Professor threatens Harry's position, her mouth opens a bit. But what can
she really say? She's not even a Gryffindor, but she can empathize. She knows
how she'd feel her Professor Flitwick had said that
to her and it certainly wouldn't be a pleasent
feeling.
Harry shakes his head, ".. I didn't see if he did or
didn't." But let Malfoy do as he pleases about this. It's probably for the
best and.. "What!?" Oh you did not just insinuate... Sirius did. The
threat, or was that a promise, sinks in and he shuts his mouth before he utters
something he may regret. He fumes inwardly.. It's not. his. fault.
Professor McGonagall pales slightly at Prof Major's
statement, more of shock and surprise that it was he who offered the
suggestion. But why should she be surprised? Worried about Harry's safety, of
course. Her mouth a thin line she slowly nodded. "Well...we don't have to
be that desperate yet. For now, Quidditch will be cancelled." She's
decided to go herself to check the forests, but hasn't mentioned this to
anyone. "what bothers me," She says, speaking more to Prof Major,
"Is how the snitch went off into the forest in the first place. Now, Mr.
Potter was not the one to release it, but he does not have his prioreties in order. If ...the dementors, are building a
stronghold...we're aware of it."
She frowns again again. Here was the whole
"doing what's best" argument again.
"But I will be taking all your brooms and locking where they are
stored." Another thought occured to her. "We should do a checking of all the
other quidditch supplies as well..." Oh what a
day. She leans back against the door and
closes her eyes.
Prof Major nods in agreement, and as Cho is looking at
Prof McG in shock about the Cancelling
of Quidditch, he shoots a look at Harry that belies his true feelings, /I am sooo... sorry,/ his tired eyes seems to say, /"I have
to do this.../"
Harry groans audibly as McGonagall mentions Quidditch
being cancelled again. At the next bit, his jaw.. drops.. and he's left staring
at McGonagall, gaping like a fish. He stammers for a few minutes, unable to
produce anything intelligible. Not his broom!
"..N.. NO!" Take his arm instead! "That's not necessary!
I'll keep it up in my dorm, I won't go off into practice!" Besides, what if another occasion for him to
play hero arose? He might need the broom! Better yet, just leave the broom with
Major..
Cho's jaw drops. It had been hanging open a bit at the
threat to Harry, but now, it's dropped. No Quidditch. And now locking up their
brooms! Cho's happens to be right over there on the floor of the infirmary. She
used it to help get up the stairs after the "attack". She glances at
Harry, giving him a 'there goes that idea' look. She doesn't notice the
exchange between Major and Harry though.
Professor McGonagall glances at Professor Major, more of
an 'I told you so' glance, about how they couldn't appreciate what was best for
them... she hated doing it, really. she just had a million things on her mind
at the moment, and what she really wanted to do was think of herself last. The
forest would definitely have to be checked, perhaps after Professor Major was
finished with Harry he'd check it with her.
But she was feeling very overcome with
weariness; Madam Pomfrey's potion must not have worked. Maybe she has something else. She grabs the handle of the door behind her.
"I'm really sorry, Potter, Chang." She addresses them again. "But
I don't ever want you students to be in a situation like that again."
Maybe she should have deducted some points after all. She closes her eyes again. "I'm going
into Madam Pomfrey's office for a few." At least, she hopes so.
"Professor Major, if you can, please send owls
out. I did earlier, but haven't heard
much." She is aware that Professor Major is fully capable of handling
things. She wants to add to him not to get his personal feelings in the way,
but she closes her mouth and goes into the office.
Prof Major nods to the departing Professor, then turns
back to Harry and Cho, "I won't give you both the "it's for the
best" speech. We all know it will
do no good. Your actions have shown
that. No one wants to see Quidditch
suspended, but these are dangerous times, and measures need to be taken. Prof Kane suddenly gets a fleeting look of
pain on his face, as if thinking, /Did _I_ just say that??/
He gives the students a last stern look and moves toward the door of the
Infirmary. There is nothing more to say
to Harry, he can't with Cho here, so he has to play the role of stern
professor. "I want no trouble from
either of you, do I make myself clear? I
do not want to remove house points from either of you." He pauses at the door, and then says,
"Accio Broom!" and Cho's broom rises, and flies into his waiting
hand. He looks at Harry, and says,
"I will have yours brought down from
Cho stares longingly at her broom, but then sits back on
her bed and traps her hands under her arms. Perhaps a method to keep from
grabbing her wand and getting her broom back. Her Comet may not be particularly
impressive, but it's /her's/. She's had it for years!
It's a sentimental thing. Harry'd understand at
least. "Understood, Professor," she says stiffly. Please let the
dementors get bored sucking the forest cold and move on somewhere else...
Harry's broom is on the floor near his bed too. Clinging
tightly to it and his wand kinda helped on his way
into the castle. It was something to hold onto. That broom means the world to
him! A heavy sigh escapes. C'mon... have a heart.. you know Harry's going to
find other ways of getting into trouble, or rather it finds him. A sinking
feeling enters his stomach. This is so unfair.. It appears that this is
becoming the word of the day. ".. mine's right here." He could lie,
stay still and hope that his Firebolt isn't noticed
right there. But curse that honesty streak he possesses. Pardon while he looks
away. Here, just chop his arms off while you're at it. He's going to just sink
down under the covers and be miserable.
Prof Major sees the pain in the st
udent eyes, and they have no idea how close he is to
tears himself, the strain and worry of this situation wearing on him, and he
has no one to turn to. He does not use a
summoning spell to retrieve Harry's broom, instead he goes over to Harry to
collect it by hand. He places himself
between Cho and Harry, blocking her view of his face. As he takes the broom from Harry, he gives
his hand a reassuring squeeze, and mouths, "I am so sorry," then
turning he says, "Thank you Potter, I appreciate your honesty and maturity
in this matter."
Cho glances away towards the wall as he takes away
Potter's broom by hand. At least they can be miserable together. Death's kiss
was threatening them just hours ago, and suddenly that doesn't look so bleak
anymore (never does in hindsight though). Now all she can seem to think about
is how she's been /grounded/. Stuck to rely on two feet firmly on the ground
with no hope of one of the joyful events that she can indulge.
Who wants to be mature? Harry has a good mind to throw a
tantrum of
Prof Major sighs heavily, his tall shoulders slooped downward as he turns and makes to leave the ward
without another word or explanation.
Being the RESPONSIBLE one here really sucks.
And to think, Cho's supposed to be 17 in not too long a
time and she'd rather have a Howler fly in via owl right this second then have
the Professor walk out with her broom. She's able to keep from getting up or
doing anything too childish though. "This is going to be a wonderful New
Years." she mutters softly, in a dejected voice. She doesn't sound like
she's about to cry, but... she certainly doesn't sound thrilled.
Harry glances up, watching Major leaving. He sighs and
will have to go have a private talk with the man later. No kidding, he'd almost
rather face another Dementor than have his broom taken away like this. "..
happy new year.." He's unable to muster up the urge to say, still things
could be worse.
How so? This seems pretty bad right now! Oh wait, they
could be dead. Or worse than dead. But still! Taking away a Seeker's broom is
about the same! ... Only another Seeker would understand. Cho glances over at
Harry and can't even manage a small smile this time. "Yeah...
Thanks..." Too bad Draco wasn't here to get his broom taken away.
Harry is sure Draco's broom
will get yanked away later too.. Once again, he echoes that this is just not
fair. He is glad that Malfoy walked out so he's not about to see this. "..
can't believe they took our brooms..."
Cho sighs, looking over at him. "So much for
protesting in the Great Hall, huh?" She obviously is having the same
thoughts at this very second, though she wouldn't have minded Draco's presence as much. Even after he yelled at her, she
still doesn't have the reasons to hate him that the Gryffindor does.
Harry grins weakly, "yeah.. so much for that. We
could always find other ways of protest I'm sure.." When he feels up to
the mischief. "Now what is there to do on the side? I'm sure next up
they'll take away privileges outside.. I'm going to go nuts."
Cho manages a very small smile now, feeling a little more
sympathy than before. If all else fails she /could/ go home until the new term
starts up (though she'd rather not right now). Harry doesn't have that option.
She doesn't know much about the family he stays with, but what she has heard...
didn't sound pleasant. "You and everyone else I think... There are only so
many games of Wizard's chess a person can play..."
Harry sighs and lays back, plopping a pillow over his
face. "mmmemrrph.." What was that? The
pillow is pulled back off, ".. Least I could work on my strategy until
classes start back up." He could also get a head start on his studies too.
But who wants to do that? He's certain that the Slytherins
are going to find a way to make this whole fiasco out to be his fault.
Well, the fault lays in all three of their hands and the
hands of those creepy Dementors as well. Draco released the snitch, Cho
suggested they go in after it (or that's how she perceives her reaction to the
snitch entering the forest), Harry actually took the next step and did. It's all
on their shoulders, so if any one person gets blamed... well... Cho might just
set them straight. "Yeah, but with all the students around... if we're
/all/ stuck in doors... Things probably won't be very pleasant. I have a
feeling I'm going to have a lot of work here in the Hospital Wing... when I
stop being a resident that is." Not that she /minds/ working in this wing,
she loves it! But she likes flying more... ._. "Well, maybe we'll get our
brooms back by my birthday..."
Harry nods a bit. "I expect a lot of fights'll be breaking out. Ah, you ought to feel loads
better in the morning. Chocolate helps speed things up, rest helps a lot too. I
mean, after dealing with Dementors in the past I feel better a few hours later
even after hearing my.." He falls silent, then amends, "what I hear
when they get too close.. When is your birthday?" He's not sure.. and that
isn't too rude to inquire is it?
Cho raises eyebrows at the bit about hearing something.
She had heard that the Dementors gave this particular student some rather...
unfortunate effects. The Slytherins had made sure
everyone heard how they made him faint, and almost everyone saw that horrifying
fall at the Quidditch game. She doesn't ask though, just nodding at the bit
about the chocolate, "I feel better, but a night's sleep will probably
help." And if she takes any offense to the question of her birthday, it
doesn't show, she responds immediately, even smiling a bit, "The tenth of
January. Here I was hoping for a new broom, but now I just want my old one
back."
Cho raises eyebrows at the bit about hearing something.
She had heard that the Dementors gave this particular student some rather...
unfortunate effects. The Slytherins had made sure
everyone heard how they made him faint, and almost everyone saw that horrifying
fall at the Quidditch game. She doesn't ask though, just nodding at the bit
about the chocolate, "I feel better, but a night's sleep will probably
help." And if she takes any offense to the question of her birthday, it
doesn't show, she responds immediately, even smiling a bit, "The tenth of
January. Here I was hoping for a new broom, but now I just want my old one
back."
Harry nods a bit, pulling his glasses back off, rubbing
at the bridge of his nose. "No kidding.. Can't wait to hear what Ron and
Hermione have to say about this." Hermione will probably give a lecture,
he can hear it now.. and Ron will probably be simply outraged. Speaking of the
two, he hasn't seen 'em recently. *sigh* "Maybe
we'll get the brooms back at least soon enough.."
Cho nods. "I hope so." Her expression altered
briefly as he mentioned his friends. He does have a few extremely good friends.
A rarity, as far as she's concerned. She settles back into the bed and looks up
at the ceiling, "I guess we should probably try to get some sleep..."
She might actually manage fairly well tonight (sheer exhaustion, even with the
chocolate pick me up), even if she'll likely have bad dreams. Dementors
certainly don't inspire nice dreams after all...
Harry sits up long enough to deposit his glasses on the
bedside table. His wand is slipped under his pillow just in case, and he lays back down with a slight flop. A light *fwump* noise is issue from the motion. "Yeah.. sleep
sounds good." He can only hope he doesn't wake up at some point shouting
in response to his dreams. Some nights he can make it through without waking up
in a cold sweat, but others he finds himself suffering with nasty dreams and Voldemort's laughter ringing in his ears. A yawn is stifled
as an arm is laid across his face.
Hopefully they'll both sleep soundly, but if they don't..
well.. Cho glances over towards the younger Seeker. It does feel a tad awkward
to be sleeping so close to someone who isn't one of her fellow 6th year
Ravenclaw girls, but it's something she can adjust to. She tilts her face back
towards the ceiling and lets her eyelids close, blocking out some of the light
left in the room, but still leaving a distinct red tint in her vision.
"Guess I'll see you in the morning." the end is a bit dragged out, as
she inherits that yawn. Bloody contagious yawning.
Harry is quite used to staying in the hospital wing.
Mixed company doesn't bother him. Under normal circumstances he might be all
flustered since this IS Cho we're talking about, but at the moment, he's too
weary to feel that way. ".. 'night." It doesn't take him long to slip
off into sleep after that. If only he could pass out this quickly most nights.
Cho can certainly second that 'if only!' Of course, her
dreams aren't haunted by You-Know-Who and the connection that the two share, so
perhaps her 'if only' is less drastic. She too eventually slips into sleep. Not
as quickly as the young Gryffindor, but certainly not far behind.