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.
Cho wasn't supposed to work in this Wing today, but
hiding in the Ravenclaw Common Room doesn't work when other Ravenclaws are also
on your avoidance list. If she has to hear anymore conversations hush as she
walks by, she thinks she might just die of embarrassment. And the people who
assure her that they don't believe a word of that awful article don't make it
any better. It's not like she's going to correct them! She's spending her free
time today in the Hospital Wing. It's a good way to avoid large groups of
people. Meals were not fun the last two days... She's sitting outside of Madam
Pomfrey's office, reading a book of magical remedies, studying up while she
waits for something to do.
Even if that 'something to do' is another headache remedy
for Harry Potter? He's starting to wonder if he's not bringing a lot of these headaches
on himself. Granted he's had enough going on to give the strongest person a
throbbing migraine. Potter has been good and ignoring the Prophet as of late,
but the whispered rumors and rustling of the newspaper /were/ hard to ignore.
Particularly when his most hated rival was mentioned in the same sentence as
his crush. He's not sure as to how much of that to believe. He did see the two
dancing.. but it's really none of his business.. at any rate, he's trudging
into the hospital wing to get something for his headaches.
It gives her something to do besides memorize more
remedies that she already knows by heart. Cho glances up from her book at the
sound of someone entering the hospital wing and immediately freezes at seeing
who the person is. He's probably the second worse person that could have walked
in, but for completely different reasons than the most worse. After all their
conversations of late, she's been worrying over how he might take this
particular bit of news. Would he be one of those who doesn't believe it could
be true or... She finally gives her head a shake, snapping out of it and
closing her book. If anyone in the school can understand how that Skeeter
woman's articles can affect a person, it's Harry. "Good evening,
Harry," she offers a light smile as she moves to stand up. "Do you
need something?"
Harry does not know what to make of the article. He has a
zillion things pinging around in his head at the moment so he's doing what he
can to shove this little ... err travesty aside. Ordinarily he probably would
not be able to cast this off as well as he has. It's just a bunch of horrid nonsense.
So the two danced at the Yule Ball.. the other stuff... it's codswallop, don't
believe it. Focus on more important things at hand.. This keeps getting chanted
mentally, but he still wants to kick something. He starts to greet Cho, but his
throat feels like it's closing up. So he just nods while he tries again.
"... Yeah.." The usual please. @.@
Don't believe it, don't believe it. Too bad she can't
chant the same thing. Now, some of the article is exaggeration and complete misinterpretation,
but enough of it is based of actual events that it's that much worse! If it was
all a lie she could laugh it off. Cho can feel the tension from the younger
Gryffindor, but somehow manages to hold the light smile. "Headaches
again?" she asks to clarify, though she already starts moving towards the
rack of herbs and potion components.
Harry keeps up the good grace of just nodding his head
and not really trying to say anything just yet. Dangit.. He's getting too old
to act this way, or is this the right way to act when one's crush is being
seemingly wooed by a hated rival? (Or should he go punch said rival square in
the nose?) ".. yes.. headaches again.. well still." Why's he being
mopey over this anyway? He holds no claim anywhere and he's being too much of a
boy to say anything anyhow.
"Still? Why didn't you come in earlier? Madam
Pomfrey could have made it for you." Cho looks over at the already famous
Wizard, trying desperately to keep from allowing this to get too awkward.
Nothing is wrong. It was just a stupid article. Stupid, even though based on
actual events. Sigh. She reaches over and starts to pick out the components
carefully. "If you want I can make an extra batch of this, so you can take
some with you." If the headaches happen enough that he said 'still' then
that means he probably needs some to put in his dorm.
Harry resists the urge to rub at his forehead,
"Err... I thought it would pass on its own." Meaning, he was being a
stupid /boy/ over it, thinking he could will it away with the mighty power of
his mind. "Thanks.. that's probably a good idea." With some stashed
in his dorm, he wont' have to sneak back down here later to talk to Pomfrey and
word might not get back to McGonagall. He's about to be smothered with all the
babying lately. One would think he was five and not fifteen.
Yawning a bit, Angelina enters the Hospital Wing, an
empty bottle of some liquid or another held in one hand. She draws up short as
she spots Harry and Cho, but after a moment she steps into the room completely,
glancing around. "Is Madam Pomfrey about?"
Cho starts to mix the remedy together from memory,
shaking her head for a moment. Silly boys. Willing a headache away usually just
makes it worse. "All right. I'll make another batch with three doses in
it, though don't drink all of it at the same time." Overdosing on remedies
tends to go badly, as she could tell him. At the entrance of the other
Gryffindor, she offers a less tense smile and says, "No, she's out right
now. Do you need something?"
Harry has been finding that out the hard way. But he's
not about to stop now. "Alright. Thanks for the tip." Not that he
would have overdosed himself. He can only begin to guess at the hazards of
doing so with magical remedies. He glances over as Angelina enters,
"Evening."
Angelina nods, looking slightly uncomfortable. "Err,
yes I do. Pomfrey gave me some stuff for my stomach and sleeping problems,"
she holds out the empty bottle so that Cho can see it. "I have no idea
what its called though...and I can't read her writing." She glances at
Harry and offers a warm smile. "Hey there. Feeling alright?"
Cho finishes putting together the headache remedy for
Harry and sets it aside. It has to sit for a few minutes after all. She turns
her attention on Angelina now, taking the bottle and looking over the reading.
She smiles for a moment. Working in the hospital wing, she's learned to
decipher Madam Pomfrey's hand writing quite easily. "I know that remedy.
I'll get it ready for you." Sleeping problems? Is everyone having sleeping
problems? She immediately goes to work on the remedy. Working on these things definitely
helps keep her from thinking about... certain other things.
Harry erhms at Angelina. It seems like quite a few people
are having issues with sleeping and other problems. "I've felt better, but
I've felt worse." That's an understatement. He's still thankful the
headaches are nothing beyond that. He can start to jab a few guesses as to the
root of Angelina's problems. A glance or two is thrown in Cho's direction.
Stupid, stupid boy.
"Thanks," Angelina nods to Cho, then turns her
attention back to Harry as the Ravenclaw student begins to work on the remedy.
I'll bet you could offer some guesses on what's wrong ^_^ All she can really
offer is a sympathetic smile...no clues, no new ideas, no nothing really. And
honestly, at the moment sleep is weighing heaviest on her mind. Ever felt
really tired but have not been able to sleep? Argh, its driving the girl nuts.
Cho would be raising her hand if that question was asked
aloud. That's the main reason she's in this mess right now. She should have
never gone to Malfoy for help on that perfect sleeping potion... She works on
getting Angelina's remedy together in silence, pausing for a moment as she
grabs for one of the components. She shakes her head, pushing the thought away,
and continues on. Don't think about it. Don't think about it.
Harry feels like that constantly. He's lost count of the
sleepless nights and those interrupted by nightmares. As much as he'd like to,
he's not about to ask for anything to help reduce the nightmares or
sleeplessness. Harry doesn't want to find himself dependent upon anything.
"So.. ah.. Cho... Professor McGonagall said quidditch should be back on
soon. I asked her about it yesterday." A nod is given towards Angelina.
Still.. nothing new. This is driving him batty. Looks like he and Ron might
have to have to resort to something drastic.
Angelina nods at Harry's mention of Quidditch being back
on soon. She can't help but regret that she hasn't been able to pass on even a
bit of good news, except for that mention of a possible Auror coming to
Hogwarts by her father. It seems like all the students and teachers are
suffering from the stress of recent events. Oh what she wouldn't give for a
good, normal game of Quidditch!
At the mention of Quidditch, Cho nearly spills the remedy
she's working on, "Really!?" She's able to keep it from spilling
though, thankfully. "That's wonderful. Are they going to post the dates of
the matches soon?" She hopes so, she's looking forward to facing off
against the other Seekers. It would certainly help her stop thinking about these
things. Of course, no matter who wins in the Slytherin-Ravenclaw match, she can
see the rumors already... sigh. She goes back to work on the remedy.
Harry shakes his head, "Professor McGonagall didn't
say anything beyond soon. She got shirty with me." That's putting it
mildly. Quidditch would definitely help everyone forget current events briefly.
"She did say that indoors games and such were being talked about to keep
us all busy." He can just imagine the great hall cleared out for a
friendly game of dodgeball between houses. @.@ That sparks another thought..
planting the ball square in Malfoy's face, breaking his nose again. Oh wait,
he's the good guy, he shouldn't harbor such thoughts.
"Indoor games, well that's something at least."
At the moment, Angelina would almost give her new broom for a game of Twister.
Almost. She glances back at the Ravenclaw Seeker. "You're Cho right?"
she asks. "The one who"--she colors a bit--"The one that Skeeter
woman talked about in her last article?" The Gryffindor Chaser's face
splits into a mischievous grin. "That letter from the fake Snape got me
thinking...want to make up one of our own to get her back?"
You know, Cho was about to get to work on the extra bit
of Harry's remedy, but at the question of her name, she nodded. But the rest
makes her face turn so red it isn't even funny. Her mouth works for a moment,
but then she looks away from the two of them and says, "No, it's-- you
don't have to do anything like that. I don't know where Ms. Skeeter got her
information, but I don't think making up an article will solve anything."
The blush does not fade, but she does try to change the subject, "What
letter from a fake Snape?" Fake Snape? This is news to her.
Harry doesn't mind the idea of indoor games.
Unfortunately the only muggle ones he's experienced at any length involved
Angelina can't help but notice your choke turned cough,
but she doesn't comment, only smiles. Heck, she's got her own theories on who
sent that letter, and they probably aren't too far from yours. She nods again
at Cho. "Aye, it was hilarious. I wonder if I still have a clipping...I
could show it to you. The pseudo-Snape went and professed his undying love for
Rita, and then asked her to marry him." Just the thought of this is enough
to set her chuckling under her breath.
The blush thankfully fades down as the subject stays on
the fake Snape letter. Cho smiles and shakes her head, "That's horrible,
but I can't say that I feel exactly sorry of Ms. Skeeter." She still wants
to know how that woman got her information! But she isn't going to say that,
because it would bring the subject back to what she wishes it to stay away
from. She looks back to the remedies and starts working again. Remedies.
Remedies. No thoughts about /that/ article. "Your's is ready." She
hands over Angelina's.
Harry snorts out a laugh, "It was beautiful."
Oh he's confirmed the author. Said author even wanted to use a certain
brother's owl to send the letter. "That made reading the Prophet well
worth it. Can't say they normally publish anything worth reading.. even when
there is a bit of truth to the article." Of course even if there was more
than a grain of truth to the article about Cho and Malfoy, he's still more than
a bit disturbed by it. "Horrible yes, but funny."
Angelina takes the bottle from Cho. "Thanks a
bunch." She sniffs it and grimaces. "Yep, that's the same stuff
alright. Smells like something died while eating rotten meat." The girl
considers for a moment, that mischievous look still in her eyes.
"Mmmm," she muses, almost to herself. "What if poor pseudo-Snape
had a rival? They could challenge each other to a duel over the right to pine
over Rita Skeeter." Okay, its obvious the twins have been rubbing off on
her. She closes her eyes and positively *grins*.
Cho is just glad no one has asked her just how much of
that article is true. She isn't sure she could survive the embarrassment of
that. "Some remedies do that. Not all remedies are chocolate after
all." She grins for a moment, remembering the most pleasant remedy she
ever had. As Angelina talks more about the false article, she can't help but
smile, even though she doesn't agree with the that particular form of mischief.
She picks up Harry's original remedy and holds it towards him, "This is
ready, but I still have to get the extra made for you."
The twins start to rub off on everyone when in too much
contact. Harry just shakes his head, "Poor Skeeter. I bet she's never had
this much attention." What mischief
makers Hogwarts houses! Back to that article.. Harry isn't sure he wants to
know how much of that was truth. That train of thought derails as Cho hands the
headache remedy to him, ".. thanks.." He stands there holding the
remedy before deciding on taking the dose, immediately grimacing. "..
Definitely doesn't taste as pleasant as chocolate.."
Angelina couldn't really care about the most recent
article either way. The way she figures, its either complete hogwash, or
something that's none of Skeeter's business anyway. After all, who cares about
random teenage romances in the wizarding world? Maybe she ran out of things to
call Minister Fudge or something. She'll wait to try her own medicine.
"Too bad chocolate isn't a cure all. I admit, I didn't mind all the
chocolate that was being passed out the year the dementors were here." She
chuckles. "So what do you think, Harry? Should I do it? Sign it from Marlo
Marfartle or something silly like that. Or maybe I'll talk Fred into it...I'm
sure it wouldn't take much convincing."
Cho can't help but continue to smile, through it all.
Harry gets a sympathetic look and she says, "I'd make it taste better if I
could, but I'd rather not experiment with these remedies too much." She'd
be even more horrified if she accidentally caused someone harm than that
article caused. She makes no comment on the prank towards Ms. Skeeter, just
turning back to the remedy components and getting Harry's extra doses ready.
Harry errrs.. "I think I've had more chocolate than
I want to see.." He does blanch slightly at mention of Dementors. Ugh.
Foul things.. "Uh.. It won't take too much to talk Fred into helping with
that. It would serve her right." As long as she can't find out who the
letters come from, there shouldn't be a problem. He shakes his head at Cho,
"Don't worry about it. There's a muggle saying along the lines that
medicine that's tasty can't be good for you." Or something like that..
Angelina continues to grin. Well she's got her
plan...whether she decides to do it or not remains to be seen, but for the
moment its cheered her up immensely. "Sure would! Blasted woman, sticking
her overlong nose into everything and anything that doesn't concern her."
She finally decides that she may as well take her own remedy, seeing as how its
getting late. Only a sip is necessary, but nevertheless, the girl gags and
holds her stomach a bit as it goes down. Agh. Nasty. "Sounds like
something my dad would say," she remarks, trying to wipe the grimace of
disgust from her face at the medicine's flavor.
Having been born in a Wizardry family, the saying is
somewhat new to Cho. She does nod and say, "That's true, most the remedies
I've found that taste remotely good have the worst side effects." She
offers a smile over to the two, then again, with the apologetic look to
Angelina as she gags. "Do you both feel a bit better at least?" She
asks as she goes back to finishing up the extra doses of Harry's remedy
Harry nods a bit, "Yeah, this takes the headache
right away.. Too bad it comes back later." Much to his distress. But
still, these mild headaches are preferable over the alternative. "And here
I used to think my aunt found the foulest tasting medication just to make me
more miserable." Well, she did... but that's another story.
Angelina nods at Cho. "Oh yes, its just the initial
gag reflex as it goes down is all." She peers once more at the scribbly
writing on the bottle, but quickly gives up and stoppers it. "I hope my
dad's got something similar to settle his nerves. He's been feeling really
awful lately. Maybe I should suggest it to him." She slides the bottle
carefully into her shoulder bag for future use.
"She might have. There are times Madam Pomfrey slips
the worst tasting remedies to people." Cho admits, smiling a moment. This
is obviously something she wouldn't have told if she wasn't searching to find a
subject to talk about that doesn't involve that article. "She does it
mainly when she thinks some people take more of it than is proper. Kind of an
incentive not to take more than is needed." She finishes up the extra
remedy, and puts it in a sealable bottle before she hands it towards Harry.
"You've taken this enough you know the proper dosage, right?"
Harry slips his hands into his pockets. "I think
there's enough going on to make most people upset and ill." As the bottle
is handed to him, he nods, "Unfortunately, yes. Thanks Cho.." A
slight smile is given, "I can see that as reasoning for Madam Pomfrey. I
still think the worst stuff I've taken was the Skele-Grow." Uhm, as far as
medication, as for other... things.. that polyjuice takes the cake.
Angelina winces at the memory of the occasion where you
had to take Skele-Gro. "That idiot, Lockehart," she mutters.
"S'lucky you were able to play at all after that! I swear, I thought
Oliver was going to go nuts when he heard what had happened." She
considers for a moment. "Have you seen Professor McGonagall lately, Harry?
I think this whole thing is wearing really hard on her too. I wonder where
Dumbledore's got off to."
Cho can briefly remember mention of the incident that
caused Harry to have to have the bones in his arms regrown, but she wasn't
front stage for it like Angelina, so all she can do is give a sympathetic smile
again. She has read about Skele-Grow after all. It's not a very nice potion to
have to take. She doesn't say anything for the moment as she starts to put away
the bottles and jars of remedy components back where they went.
Harry grins a bit, "No, that wasn't pleasant."
But he caught the snitch! "But Lockhart got his in the end. Mind you it
was probably more than he deserved... I wonder how he's doing anyway." And
if Mungo's will turn him loose into the world. @.@ "I haven't seen
Professor McGonagall since yesterday. Yeah.. I agree.." Considering what
he overheard between Snape and McGonagall.. "Snape told me he was away.
That's all I know. He can't be away for too long.. Or perhaps he's just
incredibly busy in his office." That's a more comforting thought. At least
Dumbledore would be on Hogwarts grounds.
Angelina brightens suddenly as Harry wonders out loud
about the current state of a certain Gilderoy Lockehart. "Oh! Oh I've got
it!" The Gryffindor Chaser actually *giggles* which is not something she
usually does. She immediately sits down on the edge of a bed and starts pulling
quill and parchment out of her bag. She glances for a moment at Cho, but then
plods on forward with what she's going to ask anyways--she figures Cho
certainly won't spill, not to Snape. "Harry, am I right in guessing that
Fred cooked up that Snape letter to Rita? Did he tell you if he did?"
Well, Cho isn't going to go and tell the teachers that
someone wrote a joke letter to Rita Skeeter, so the information is safe with
her. She puts away all the remedy jars and starts to clean off the table,
wiping it with a cloth left there for that purpose. The Hospital Wing is
usually kept quite clean after all, and Cho's a bit of a neat person anyway,
so... Heh. When she's finished, she looks over at the two and again, stays
quiet, but she's smiling. That certainly did sound like something one of the
Weasley Twins would do.
Harry grins widely at Angelina. "Fred would be
insulted if anyone else was credited with the letter." He catches himself
watching Cho from the corner of his eye and forces himself to look back at
Angelina. Fred couldn't possibly want this TOO secret save for maybe from Snape
as he didn't take too many secrecy measures.
Angelina claps her hands together. "I knew it! Yes
that's just like Fred. Well lets see..." She props up the parchment with
her Standard Book of Spells (grade six) and begins to scribble madly.
"...what his pseudo-Snape can do with this..." It's obvious a plan
has struck her, and she's not to be deterred.
Cho shakes her head, smiling brightly, letting it touch
her eyes. She may not particularly approve, but she finds the humor in this
particular situation. And she actually doesn't mind Snape too much. He's harsh
and all, but Potions is one of her favorite classes, after Herbology. They have
so much to do with medical magics after all, and if she wants to do that when
she finishes here, she better at least do those classes as best she can. She
certainly won't speak for the defense of the Skeeter woman though.
Harry can't help but think he's possibly sparked a
bonfire. The medicine is pocketed, "Now that this headache's taken care
of, I think I'm going to go try and get some rest while I can. Thanks Cho.. see
you later Angelina." Hanging around, trying to avoid and yet not avoid
looking at Cho is getting a bit difficult. So yes, sleep sounds like a good
idea. He offers the girls a smile before walking out of the hospital wing.
Angelina watches Harry leave, and then rolls up her bit
of parchment, still laughing to herself. "I'd best be going too...I can
feel the sleep part of that remedy starting to kick in. See you later,
Cho!" She waves goodbye and makes for the door.
Cho waves goodbye to both of them, feeling bad that Harry
has to avoid eye contact with her again. Damn that Rita Skeeter. "See you
later. I hope you feel better soon." She says that to Angelina as she
starts out, before she goes back to where she was sitting when Harry first
entered, planning to read for a bit longer. She doesn't want to go back to the
Ravenclaw Common Room til some more people likely go to bed.