» a werewolf's heart » {wolfstar}

apologetic

-padfoot-

Madam Pomfrey really doesn't have much for me to do, but I have to hand it to the woman—she's good at improvising tasks for me. So far I've scrubbed the hospital bedpans, changed the bed sheets, restocked the cabinet of potions, swept and mopped the floors, and cleaned up a nasty spill of some sort of medical potion that doesn't look like it could possibly actually be the cure for anything. Right now she has me running down to the kitchens to get lunch for one of the Hufflepuff House Chasers; even she isn't sure who cursed her before the game today, but I'm fairly certain it was a Slytherin since that's who the Hufflepuff team was due to play. The poor girl looks like she was attacked by flesh-eating slugs, but I try not to say anything about it her. I don't want to upset her any more than she already is.

I shift the bundle of food I'm bringing back to the Hospital Wing in my arms as I remember the fight Remus and I had Thursday night. I'm still not exactly sure what brought it on. I know Remus was upset that James and I spent all day together planning a Valentine's surprise for Lily, and he's been avoiding looking at me since then. I'm still planning with James, though more sporadically now that we have most of the details worked out. He's working on finding a way to Transfigure his Snitch into a winged golden heart, but so far he's finding it rather difficult; Snitches are already spelled with strong magic.

I frown, pushing my thoughts back to the matters at hand as I near the Hospital Wing doors. Madam Pomfrey sent me for more food than Angie, the Hufflepuff girl, could possibly eat, but I suppose she's taking precautions in case there are fresh casualties in the wing after the Quidditch game ends. Thinking about it, that seems like a wise precaution to take—the Slytherins tend to play rather rough, especially this year since Gryffindor and Hufflepuff actually have good teams. I shoulder open the doors to the wing, smiling at Angie when she looks up at my entrance. She blushes vividly, and I can tell she wants to hide her face, so I tell her honestly, "You're already looking much better. Madam Pomfrey's clearing that curse right up."

She whispers something that might be a 'thank you', but I'm not altogether certain. I shrug a shoulder and turn to find Madam Pomfrey when Angie pipes up quietly, "She's in her office." She sounds hesitant, but definitely not as shy as most Hufflepuffs are thought to be. I have a feeling that if she wasn't in a right horrible state after being cursed, she would be surprisingly outgoing.

"Thanks," I reply, shooting her a smile, and I head for Madam Pomfrey's office.

The slightly plump woman looks up as I enter, her scratching quill lifting from a small piece of paper. "Oh, good, you're back," she says in her perpetually bustling voice, glancing down at her writing. "Give Miss Thomas a tray of food, would you, while I finish this up? Eat something yourself while you're at it."

I nod and shut the door to her office, looking back at Angie, who's been watching me. She blushes a little but doesn't look away. I manage to keep from rolling my eyes and hope that this girl won't try flirting with me too much, much less giving me a note telling me she likes me. Thinking about it makes me remember Remus, and I sigh a little. I glance down at the food in my arms; I haven't even thought about eating until now, and my stomach gives an admonishing rumble as if to say, 'What, you forgot about me?' I give Angie a rueful look and ask, "Hungry?"

She nods slowly and replies, "A little."

"Mmkay." I make my way to the bed next to hers and settle down on it, putting the sack of food (given to me by overexcited house elves) beside me and taking some out. The smell of delicious food triples; already my robes are saturated with it after carrying it halfway across the castle. My stomach rumbles as I pull a tray from Angie's bedside and begin putting her lunch on it. The rumbling shifts vaguely to nausea as I glance up at her face; Madam Pomfrey's cure is working wonders on what the curse did to Angie, but she still looks awful, and I'm going to have to look at her as little as possible while I eat if I want to keep from ruining my appetite.