Across the Quidditch Pitch

Please review!


Chapter Three: The Hospital Wing


Minerva Mcgonagall swept into the hospital wing, and saw the thin frame of Mary Macdonald wrapped in a warm blanket. Her friends surrounded her bedside: Lily Evans, Sirius Black, James Potter, Remus Lupin and then there was Peter Pettigrew.

Mary sat up straight and smiled at her teacher.

“Good heavens dear? Are you alright Mary?”

“Yes, professor,” she said cheerily.

Mcgonagall glared and looked askance at the four boys. She had ordered them to take the then unconscious Mary to the hospital wing. Now she demanded an explanation.

Lupin seemed to be the quickest to interpret Mcgonagall’s confusion. “Madam Pomfrey gave her a calming drought, professor. It was done as soon as we got her in here.”

“Oh…” said Mcgonagall. But she was still flustered. She clutched her chest convulsively; remembering the sight of Mary sprawled on the shower floor. Tears that didn’t fall wedged into the corners of Mcgonagall’s eyes. “I trust she arrived here alright?”

James answered reluctantly, “Well…no. Not really.”

“What do you mean by ‘not really’?”

Sirius answered, “The Silencing charm you put onto Mary broke, professor. Tons of people heard her screams, and some of them even watched us wheel her into the hospital wing.” Sirius looked hard at Mcgonagall. He had spoken this in a pained voice. And now Sirius glanced down at the nonchalant, almost happy face of Mary with regret. His jaw was set and his eyes were hard, the mirth they usually exuded gone.

James smiled at his friend Sirius and looked back to their teacher. “It was much harder to silence a girl…Than silencing a raven or a bull-frog in Transfiguration!”

Lupin broke into a smile and Peter chortled stupidly. Sirius couldn’t help but laugh along with James. The only one in the room who wasn’t amused was Mcgonagall.

“You boys and you too, Ms. Evans….You must not repeat any of the facts of what happened today. Hogwarts doesn’t need to create rumours or even know the truth. For it could befoul Ms. Macdonald’s reputation…Among other’s. Am I quite clear?”

They all nodded at her.

“Very well…Let’s treat it like it’s over and done with,” she concluded. And Mcgonagall looked down at Mary not unkindly.

“Mary…” she offered in a voice that was unusually soft.

“Yes, professor?” the girl said innocently, her wide blue eyes shining anxiously.

“Do you remember who did this to you?”

“I do. It was Mulciber. What a prat! He performed the Imperius Curse on me! Merlin only knows what he was going to do next….But I think he was only getting his kicks out of using the spell.”

Mcgonagall raised an eyebrow. It was clear Mary did not know he attempted to rape her. And that made sense, as the girl hadn’t actually seen the boy make the moves on her, as all of it happened from behind her view.

“Yes, that was probably true,” lied Mcgonagall convincingly. She suddenly noticed the friends around her bedside were watching closely.
All but Peter Pettigrew looked suspicious.

“Has Madam Pomfrey offered you the visiting hours timeframe?”

Lily spoke resolutely, “Professor, we’re staying with Mary until she leaves. Madam Pomfrey says she should be fine to go later this evening.”

And Sirius added protectively, “And we’re certainly not leaving her to walk alone! We’ll accompany her to the Common room!”

“Of course. Well good day,” said Mcgonagall curtly. She walked alone out of the hospital wing.

Now that the teacher was gone everyone settled in comfortably around Mary’s bedside. Sirius and James dragged a few chairs from the other end. For a minute nobody spoke.

Sirius kicked his heels up on the footboard of the bed and lit a cigarette.

Lily regarded him with a frown. They all knew she didn’t approve of the habit. “Well I guess it’s alright, as long as Madam Pomfrey doesn’t see you…” she conceded.

But somebody else entered the room. The chairs creaked as they turned their heads and swiveled in their seats. They saw that it was Professor Dumbledore. All four boys and Lily rose at once, in respectful recognition of the headmaster.

But Dumbledore wasn’t watching the others. His eyes fell onto Mary curiously. He was already performing Legilimency to surmise just how much Mary knew.

“I offer my deepest condolences that this had to happen to you, Ms. Macdonald,” he said with both pity and sincerity after a moment.

Mary said, “I’m fine, sir. It was nothing. Really!”

Sirius frowned darkly, at Mary’s proclamation it was nothing. He was terribly angered by it and was even starting to suspect the worst. He looked back at Dumbledore, still holding a lit cigarette. “You do know that it was Mulciber who tried to hurt her, professor?”

“Yes. I have spoken with him already,” he answered calmly. Dumbledore could see that maybe Mary didn’t need her memory modified. For clearly, the girl had never discovered what her assailant had intended.

Sirius went off into an explosive tirade, “Well I hope he’ll be expelled! Or at least punished for this-“

“I have already decided on Mr. Mulciber’s fate. And whatever I did decide for him, it is not of your concern. Furthermore, I forbade Mr. Mulciber to speak of the incident…”

“Well. I’m glad you’ve taken care of him,” Sirius huffed, suppressing the full extent of his fury. He crossed his arms.

“Yes,” said Dumbledore almost tranquilly. “And to be fair, just as I have told Mulciber to speak of this to nobody. I am asking all of you not to confront Mr. Mulciber. He does not need to be threatened.”

There were many irritable sighs and withheld retorts to this request. But finally Mary’s friend and the Marauders obeyed.

With a flurry of activity, Madam Pomfrey entered the scene. Immediately she admonished Sirius, “How dare you smoke in front of the headmaster, boy! Remove that cigarette at once!”

Sirius jumped as though scalded. He glanced at Dumbledore.

“No. No. I am quite fine with that,” said Dumbledore. “The boy may smoke if he so chooses to. Even in front of me.”

Sirius smiled and took another puff of his cigarette. It was quite ironic that Sirius was being permitted to smoke. In 1970s Britain, a muggle school would treat it as a serious offense, one that usually constituted a caning.

“I suppose, I’ll find you as healthy and happy as you right now in the Great Hall tomorrow?” said Dumbledore.

“Yes, I think she’ll be well enough to leave later this evening,” said Madam Pomfrey.

Mary nodded at Dumbledore and he turned to leave.

A little while later, the others left to go to dinner, in which they promised Mary they’d come back right after.

The Marauders went down the corridor that led away from the Hospital Wing. Lily went the other way, saying she needed the loo before dinner.

James was looking at Sirius mischievously, a knowing grin on his face. “Admit it Sirius! You’ve got a thing for Macdonald. It was so obvious back there!”

“I do not,” said Sirius through his teeth. “Alright – maybe I do,” he admitted.

James laughed. “Why not ask her out?”

Sirius jumped suddenly, and his face whitened. His mouth seemed to go dry at once. He hadn’t even thought of it as an idea! But now that James had brought it up, he felt a duty to. And it terrified him.

James continued, “Ask Macdonald out. You can do it. Even if she rejects you. I mean, how many times have I asked Evans out? Persistence does pay off. She’ll be mine…One day. I know it.”

“Yeah, I guess so. I’ll ask Mary to the dance. But don’t hold me to it until the Quidditch championship is over.”


Note: Please review!