"You really shouldn't have tried that," Harriet said loudly to Hermione as the girl floated into the infirmary.
Hermione glared at her friend from where she was being floated by Madam Hootch. "A real friend would not say 'I told you so.'" As she shifted slightly, she gasped as more tears of pain filled her eyes. She started sobbing again.
"It wasn't my idea for you to break your leg on that tree," Harriet reminded her friend.
"Madam Pomfrey will have you fixed up with just a wave of her wand," Madam Hootch said comfortingly.
"What happened here," the Mediwitch asked. Madam Pomfrey looked frazzled and confused.
"Just a slight accident while I was teaching these witches a bit about what Quidditch and broomstick flying was all about." The teacher seemed a bit flustered.
"We were ever so insistent. We're muggle raised, you see, and didn't know a thing and we were so very worried about it." Harriet gave her most sincere look. That wasn't quite accurate, but they had been having quite a bit of fun until Hermione had lost control of her school broom. Madam Hootch had explained that it was because the school brooms were quite substandard.
"Oh, yes. Quite easily handled." Madam Pomfrey took out her wand and with a negligently seeming wave, cast a spell.
The effect was not quite what they expected, as the wounded leg seemed to collapse.
"Oh, dear. I seemed to have disapparated the bones, not fixed it. I do apologize, dear. I'm afraid the only way to fix that is with some Skele Grow. I'm afraid you are in for a rough time of it tonight." Madam Pomfrey seemed truly upset, but very confused. One eye was dilated wide, giving her a mad look. She had Madam Hootch put Hermione into a bed.
Harriet squeezed Hermione's hand in encouragement. "Don't worry. I'm sure she will be able to help you."
Madam Hootch looked worried. "I've never seen her bungle a bone-knitting spell so badly. And I've known her for ten years."
"You don't suppose she's on drugs or something, do you?" the raven-haired girl asked.
"What? No, she's not that sort of person. Some student probably hexed her because she got them in trouble with their parents last year." The teacher looked positively scandalized.
"Trouble?" Hermione asked as she stared at her leg in shock. It didn't hurt anymore, that was true, but it looked like it was made of flesh colored rubber.
"They got themselves pregnant," she replied delicately.
"Oh!" Harriet was blushing profusely.
"Here we go! Drink the whole thing, dear. Madam Hootch? If I could talk to you privately?" The nurse pulled her down the empty room.
Harriet's curiosity got the best of her and she listened as closely as she could.
"I'd really appreciate it if you didn't mention this to Professor Dumbledore. It's just, I've had a very hard week. I'm pretty sure that I've been jinxed to, but I'm feeling better. I just need a few days to get over it." Madam Pomfrey was whispering just a little too loud.
"Just because we're friends. Those rotten kids. Do you think it was that Wentworth girl?" Hootch asked worriedly.
"I think so. Oh, I'll figure it out soon, I'm sure!" Madam Pomfrey started to walk back, her shoes clicking on the hard floor.
Harriet moved back to Hermione's side. "It can't be that nasty, can it?" she asked in disbelief at the faces that the other girl was making.
"You want me to break your leg and force you to drink this?" Hermione said with an angry glare.
"Finish up the whole thing! That is the only way to regrow your bones!" Madam Pomfrey ordered. Once Hermione finally gagged it all down, she refilled it. "This too. That is a very large bone you have to replace. I'm afraid this is going to hurt quite a bit."
Hermione gagged down the large container again. "That is the most horrible thing I've ever tasted!" she declared.
"May I stay with my friend?" Harriet asked.
Madam Pomfrey stared at Harriet for a long second, an itch started to hurt her forehead from her lightningh shaped scar.
"Of course. She may have to stay the night." Madam Pomfrey smiled as congenially.
-
"Here, lean on me," Harriet said that evening. "I don't think your leg is fully healed."
Tears in her eyes, Hermione complied. "I thought it was better, but it's starting to really hurt now that I've walked on it a bit."
They finally made it through the portrait hole and into the Gryffindor common room. Hermione just couldn't make it any further. With a bit of help, she was laid out onto the couch.
"That nurse is just incompetent!" Harriet declared loudly. "I can't believe she let you out like that!"
"Now that is just odd, isn't it Fred?" an older Weasley said to his identical twin.
"You've got that right, George. Madam Pomfrey usually won't let anyone go until they are one hundred percent healed up."
The first twin, George, smiled at the girls who were two years their junior. "Even if they are scrapes that we earned by planting some prank somewhere."
"Er, hello. I'm Harriet Dursley."
"And I'm Hermione Granger," Hermione said as she massaged her leg. "I need to get up to my bed and I don't think Harriet can help me that far. Oh, it's really starting to hurt now."
Fred and George suddenly looked very worried. "As much as we'd like to be able to help you, the stairs will just drop us all down here." They looked at each other for a second. "I've never heard of anyone hurting this badly after visiting her," Fred chimed in.
"I heard she been acting a bit wonky this year. I, er, overheard Madam Hootch talking to her about some girl named Wentworth jinxing her because she got into trouble last year." Harriet was blushing about revealing that.
"Ah! That's what that was all about. She's a Ravenclaw, should be seventh year now. I'd heard that her father was going to marry her off to some guy from Slytherin when she is out of here." Fred seemed pretty smug about that.
George suddenly looked confused. "Did she come back to Hogwarts? I thought she dropped out?"
"Well if she didn't jinx Pomfrey, who did?" Harriet asked.
A sudden grumbling of Hermione's stomach caught all of their attention. "Sorry. I guess I'm hungrier than I thought." She looked quite abashed.
"Say no more, fair maiden! Gred and Forge will procure you a feast worthy of the Minister of Magic!" Fred pronounced as the twins took off out the portrait hole.
Hermione and Harriet shared a surprised look. Those two were quite the characters, it seemed.
Not more than ten minutes, they returned with a platter filled with food. "Your feast awaits!" they crowed in unison.
-
"Professor Dumbledore?" Harriet asked the teacher behind the desk. The first Defense Against Dark Arts class for the week had just adjourned, so she was alone with the professor and Hermione.
"Yes, Miss Dursley?" he asked with a twinkle. As if he could sense her concern, he inquired, "What seems to be the problem."
"I was wondering if you could help us identify a jinx," she asked sincerely. "It seems to be cause confusion and contradictions in the subject. It affects spell casting but still allow function in society for the most part. The odd part is that it can cause the subject to lie about their condition or that there is a problem."
"STOP!" Dumbledore thundered. "Why are two first years investigating an Unforgivable?" He was standing up tall, no longer the kindly grandfather figure but a terrifying wizard of awful power. His eyes no longer twinkled, but had turned into sharp-edged glinting ice-shards.
Harriet and Hermione shared a surprised and confused look. "Unforgivable? I don't understand, Professor."
He stared at them with intent curiosity. "There are three spells that are so evil, so vile that their very use is a life sentence in Azkaban."
Hermione suddenly asked, "What is Azkaban?"
"Azkaban is the Wizarding prison of Britain. It is guarded by Dementors, creatures that only live to suck all happiness from their prisoners." The old wizard paused for effect. "No one has ever escaped. Many have put forward their opinions that death would be a kindness instead of imprisonment in Azkaban."
"But professor, we didn't know we were seeing an Unforgivable on someone. We just wanted to know why she was... acting odd." Harriet was very scared.
"Who! Who is under the Imperious Curse in Hogwarts, Miss Dursley!" the headmaster thundered.
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See other episodes by Arthur Hansen
(Posted Mon, 29 Nov 2004 02:18)
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