An Exquisite Pain

Dylan's Secret

"What happened, Alyssa?"

"When will she wake up?"

"Is she dead?"

"Guys, shut up! You'll wake her!"

Too bad I'm already awake, Danielle thought sarcastically, slowly drifting back into consciousness. She was beginning to remember what had happened in Hogsmeade: her outburst, her duel with Olive, and the strange way she had felt coming back. What had happened?

Danielle coughed weakly and moaned, aware of a throbbing pain in her head.

"Clara! She's awake!" three voices chorused from somewhere above her.

Wearily, Danielle opened her eyes to see the worried faces of Alyssa, Dylan and Myrtle hovering above her. "W—where am I?" she groaned.

"In the hospital wing," Alyssa said. "You fainted."

"I did?" Danielle asked. "Funny. I've never fainted before."

"Madam Cutteridge says it was some sort of curse," Dylan said, his freckled face unusually pale. Danielle realized that it was the first time he had directly spoken to her in a week.

"Who's Madam Cutteridge?" she asked, struggling to sit up. The hospital wing looked similar to how it did in 2011. Danielle was fast beginning to realize that a lot of the places in Hogwarts were timeless.

"The matron," Alyssa answered.

As she spoke, the door on the opposite side of the room opened and a motherly-looking woman came out. When she saw Danielle was awake, she bustled over to her.

"How are you feeling, dear?" she asked kindly.

"A bit sore," said Danielle, wincing as she tried to adjust her position, "but I'm fine for the most part, I think."

"That was a pretty nasty curse you got hit with," the nurse commented, handing Danielle a flask of pink liquid. "It's a good thing you were with other people when you fainted, or else you could have been in much worse condition."

"What exactly happened to me, though?" Danielle asked, drinking deeply from the jug. As soon as the liquid hit her stomach, all her pains disappeared and she felt as good as new.

The nurse stepped back and pursed her lips, as if deciding what way would be best to tell her. "It's a very dangerous curse, called the Langzaam-werkt. It literally means "slow-working", and that's just it—it takes a while for the symptoms to start appearing. Used at its most powerful, the indications of the curse can take months to start showing themselves. By that time, it is usually too late to save anyone.

"But, in your case, it was a weak spell, and so it only took a couple of minutes. I don't believe it was meant to kill, though. It would have been much stronger if it had." Madam Cutteridge looked seriously at Danielle, who struggled to absorb this information.

"So Olive Hornby used a powerful Dark curse on Clara?" Dylan asked.

"As I said, I don't think it was meant to be fatal," Madam Cutteridge said hesitantly. "But if it was, the student that used it on her will probably be expelled. It's illegal at Hogwarts."

Alyssa and Myrtle both looked triumphant. Dylan still looked anxious.

"You mean they're expelling Olive?" Danielle asked.

"Most likely. Headmaster Dippet and Professor Dumbledore are speaking with her right now," Madam Cutteridge said, straightening her hair piece before leaving.

A thought suddenly occurred to Danielle. "What time is it?"

"Four o'clock," Alyssa said. "You were unconscious for two hours."