(Untitled)

[augury_gold]

Who: Anthony, Michael, Ernie, Hannah, Luna and Pansy

What: After the attack

Where: Hospital Wing

When: November 3, 2007 - early evening

Status: Complete

Anthony sat on one of the empty benches that lined the walls of the hallway outside of the hospital wing. The reason he had given for not being inside was that he didn’t want to get in the way of

Comments

[augury_michael]

(Posting this as a separate thread within the thread. Michael and Ernie will join ASAP.)Neverminding his bleeding nose, which he had managed to smear more than actually wipe off on his sleeve, Michael made a beeline for the Hufflepuff Commons. He stopped only once, uncertain if Ernie was there. He raised his wand with an upturned fist, "Ernie Macmillan. Point Me." He instructed the wand. He released the wand, which glowed and hovered from his grasp. Much like a compass needle it wavered in the air before snapping in the direction of the Commons. Michael seized the wand and made a breaking run for it

[ernie_dt_mac]

After the 'excitement' of the morning's announcement, and after the day's classes were over, Ernie had retreated to his bed with a quill and parchment, and had done one of the things he did best - making a list. Items such as sneezewart, tubeworms, and Doxy eggs were placed under the heading Required Potions Ingredients, while others such as Polyjuice Potion, Draught of Living Death, and Confusing and Befuddlement Potion were placed under the heading Potions to Prepare in Advance. He had realized during the course of the day that in his upset over the last meeting of the DA, he had been remiss in his duty to the greater good, and had immediately set his mind toward preparing in the way he, Michael and Anthony had discussed earlier

[augury_michael]

A bloody-nosed Michael looked down to Ernie as he stood in the door, with a nice bruise forming on his cheek. The blood had been smeared somewhat away to his lip and beyond, but he'd missed some. It left faint pink streaks. Michael's hand reached out and nabbed Ernie's wrist with an expectedly strong grip. What little of Ernie's comments about potion components Michael caught he filed away to discuss later.

"Ernie, its Megan. Come with me. We'll talk on the way." He finally allowed himself a breath.

[ernie_dt_mac]

"Whoah, wait a minute," Ernie protested, pulling back as he realized Michael was injured. "Merlin, Michael, what happened to you? You should be in the infirmary! And what's this about Megan?"

Shaking his head, he pulled out his wand and starting bringing it up, intending on doing a quick healing spell on his friend.

[augury_habbott]

Hannah meanwhile paced the length of the benches quietly, arms behind her back. She occasionally reached up and touched her rapidly bruising eye while she awaited word of Megan's condition. She waited for Ernie and Michael to return impatiently, her eyes occasionally shifting to those outside.

[augury_gold]

Hannah's pacing was just putting him on edge. Anthony sat for a few minutes in silence, until he finally blurted out-

"This can't keep happening." He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. Anthony always prided himself in keeping his cool, but for some reason today he was just feeling too worn out. He felt like he was responsible somehow.

But he couldn't reveal this. Not to his peers. They needed to have confidence in his ability.

[augury_habbott]

Anthony's forced words were enough to make Hannah pause. Part of her was still wondering what Anthony would say to her question, and she felt rather selfish in even considering it with Megan in the Infirmary. Maybe she was clinging to that normal life she wanted back so desperately. Not unlike Anthony.

It hadn't been the most appropriate time to ask him, either. And that made Hannah grimace more. She sighed and flung her bangs off her head. "I hope not." Hannah said with monotoned honesty. She peered out one of the gothic windows. She wanted to offer more comfort, but she herself had doubts.

[augury_luna]

"It probably will, you know," Luna said serenely from where she was standing in the middle of the hallway, staring absently at the ceiling. "It wouldn't surprise me."

[ernie_dt_mac]

Ernie turned another corner, and finally, the doors to the infirmary were in sight. All he could see were the doors, not the others sitting outside of them, waiting for word. He continued running until he reached them, reaching out to open one, but his efforts were in vain. They had likely been spelled shut, or locked in some way by Madame Pomfrey to prevent those inside from being disturbed by visitors prematurely.

However, Ernie was incapable of thinking logically in such a way. He tried shaking the doors open a couple more times before growing frustrated and banging a fist against the wood.

"Merlin, please, just let me see her," he pleaded, leaning his forehead against the door, his breaths coming in heaves from the running and his efforts. He squeezed his eyes shut, his hands gripping the door's handles so tightly his knuckles were growing white.

[augury_habbott]

At Ernie's sprinting past them, Hannah glanced up at Anthony with a sort of grim I told you so. She again patted Anthony's hand and then had to slip from under it before Ernie beat the door down. Sensing he was completely out of it, Hannah knew she had to put on the Mom tone.

Beating on the door until Pomfrey stormed out and deducted Hufflepuff 30 points would do no good, and could harm Ernie's chances. After all, Pomfrey didn't much care for Ernie after the last time. She put her hand assertively on his shoulder and squeezed. "ERNEST. DINNYWICK. THATCHER. MACMILLAN!" Hannah announced in a stern voice. "If you do not step away from that door, I'm docking Hufflepuff fifteen points. If Pomfrey hears you, you will never see Megan. Now come over here and sit down." She snapped her fingers and pointed to one of the benches. Her hand on Ernie's shoulder tugged for emphasis.

[ernie_dt_mac]

Ernie's hands flexed on the door handles, his eyes blinking open at Hannah's words. He immediately paid attention to her voice, as it was one of the few things that could get through to him when he was completely gone in his own little world. Furthermore, there were only two people in the world who ever referred to him by his complete name - Hannah, and Mum, and both had the powers to cow him when necessary.

However, his desire to burst through the door to see if Megan was all right battled against his instinct to listen to his best friend. At the tug on his shoulder he finally turned away from the doors to face Hannah, momentarily wondering where she had come from. He wanted to argue, however, of the many things she had said, one stood out above all others - If Pomfrey hears you, you will never see Megan.He let go of the doors and turned around, hands reaching out to grab onto Hannah's shoulders. "Do you know what happened? Please, just tell me she's all right

[augury_gold]

"It's alright, Ernie," Anthony replied, calmly. "I'm sure she's fine. Well...perhaps not completly fine," he paused for a moment to reconsider his words. "But she was conscious when we brought her in and she did walk..."

Anthony couldn't help but admire the sort of power Hannah could exhibit when the situation called for it. But he put those thoughts aside for the moment and gestured toward a bench. "Hannah's right. Sit down and relax until Madam Pomfrey comes out."

[augury_pansyp]

"Right now, if you use a spell. Here I thought you were a wizard. My mistake." Pansy walked forward towards them, her arms crossed over her chest. The letter in her pocket seemed to burn right through to her skin. She remembered all too clearly standing outside of the Infirmary waiting to visit Draco after that maniacal bird had attacked him in their third year, waiting white-faced in that very spot after Scarhead had sliced Draco's chest open. Funny, how no one ever mentioned THAT. She almost felt a twinge of sympathy for Macmillan. Almost. "Nice look by the way, Abbott."

[augury_gold]

"Pansy, didn't your mother ever tell you that if you didn't have anything nice to say, than don't say anything at all." Anthony's words were polite, but he doubted Pansy would take them as such. Not the mention he didn't like the way he talked to Hannah- someone he should be respecting as an equal.

"We will wait here until Madam Pomfrey decides it's time to get us." He said sternly. "There's no need to barge in or get in the way."

Or see blood and other such gore.

[augury_habbott]

Hannah bristled at the voice and pivoted on her heel to find herself looking at Pansy for the second time today. Pansy was able to get Hannah to subconsciously reach for her eye again, and fluttered her fingertips against the purpling bruise. "Well its what happens when someone actually does something," she said back in a sickeningly sweet, smirky tone.

"And nobody's using any spells on the door. Unless you want thirty points docked of course Pansy. That's what Pomfrey would demand."

[ernie_dt_mac]

Ernie saw Pansy standing there and wondered why she always seemed to show up when she was least needed. First, she was there when the prank on Zach went awry, and now here she was again. He found himself speaking before his mind could catch up to his words.

"A wizard did this to Megan, and if that's what being a wizard is all about, then I want nothing to do with it anymore," he said angrily. It was true, that with every revelation of the uglier side of his world, he became more and more embarassed of his own history. He remembered his uncle, the one who had been arrested as a Death Eater before his very eyes, and prayed to Merlin that he never ended up like him.

"And leave Hannah alone. I'd like to see you looking much better after handling something similar. Merlin, I'd like to see you try looking better on a good day!"

He really knew he should be getting a hold on his temper, but he was upset, angry, guilty, and wanting to strike out at the nearest target - and Pansy seemed to have unknowingly volunteered.

[augury_pansyp]

“No.” She replied, calmly meeting Anthony’s eyes. “My mother did not. Clearly I’ve missed out. But my father used to tell me to use any advantage in a situation. Did yours tell you that?” She knew she shouldn’t let that blonde-plaited twit get to her, but she was still sulking over being manhandled in the library. Pansy looked right past her, at Ernie Macmillan. Her face flushed lividly and her hands tightened into fists at her sides. Had she really been feeling sorry for that prat? “Don't be a fool, if it weren't for magic, she'd probably be dead." She shrewdly observed his expression. "Oh. I see. Well, let’s just get this out of the way then, shall we?” She yanked up the sleeve of her robes, holding out her exposed forearm for him to look at. “How’s that Macmillan? Better?” Thoughts of Bulstrode occupied her mind, along with her letter from Draco, her bare forearm and their promise to join up together, followed by his demand that she stay away.... “Look, I don’t care about your stupid girlfriend.” She hissed. “Let her rot in there

[augury_gold]

When Pansy revealed her forearm, Anthony averted his eyes. "Pansy, no one here questioned your loyalities. As long as you are Head Girl, regardless of how you may act at times, I know that you hold the best interests of this school in mind."

Anthony was being dead serious. Despite their differences, he had to trust that the administration knew what they were doing when they chose Pansy. He wanted her to know that he had faith in her.

"Now, I know today has been a trying day for all of us, but I ask that we put our emotions aside for the time being." He looked at Ernie specifically. "I don't want to see any of say something in the heat of the moment that we might later regret."

[augury_habbott]

The 'blonde-plaited twit' put her hand surreptitiously over Ernie's wand hand as soon as Pansy said Megan could rot in hell. Her expression was one of, 'Don't even try it.' However, she would have delighted in giving Pansy a nasty case of conjunctivitis at that the moment herself. Or boils. Nice big pimply boils on her arse, Hannah thought, a tiny smile emerging from her excruciatingly polite exterior.

"Alright Pansy," Hannah chimed up in a resigned monotone and most emotions in check, "So what are you doing here? You're not here to co-miserate. There's no must-be-seen scene going on here. So you're here for... what? Got a crush on poor Michael here or something?" Her words were laced with sarcasm.

[augury_michael]

The lone non-Prefect in the room looked up when Pansy said Megan could rot in hell. He too gave Ernie a look, conveying that Pansy's opinion should not matter to him. He had been sitting on the bench, somehow hoping that Pomfrey would open the door and that would somehow defuse the situation.

At hearing his name, Michael looked up at the blond girl. "Wait, excuse me?" He balked. His long and lanky form stood, now easily the tallest person in the hallway. He glanced sideways at Hannah and preyed to God that she was joking. His eyes then shifted to Pansy... the interloper.

Being the powerless one in the room was quite annoying for Michael. He regarded the girl neutrally with a grey gaze. His mind scanned for anything he knew about her... especially what Theodore had mentioned. But he came up with very little.