Cursed With Curious Minds | Hp Next Generation

15 - Targeting Ravenclaws

The five girls were in such a panic that they all raced down to the hospital wing together. None of them had been checking the time, but it must have been past midnight – judging by how long they'd been partying beforehand. It didn't occur to any of the girls that three out of the five of them were drunk.

The group barged their way through the door and into the hospital wing, where Madame Blackthorn was – luckily – tending to some patients.

"What on earth is going on here?" she exclaimed, seeing the five Ravenclaws burst into the room.

They all started speaking over one another, each telling their own rendition of the story.

"Stop. Stop. Stop. One at a time." Blackthorn interrupted.

Jasmine spoke up. "In our common room we have one of those library bookshelves they sell at Hogsmeade, and this weird looking book appeared and Emmeline picked it up off the shelf and now she can't put it down."

Madame Blackthorn looked extremely concerned.

Blackthorn knelt down to examine Emmeline. "Is it bad?" Jasmine asked.

"I can't tell," she replied. "Can you not take your eyes off it either?"

Emmeline shook her head.

Blackthorn stood up, and composed herself. "Ok, ok, I'll go get Pomfrey – she's much more of an expert than me. One of you go get McGonagall, I think we'll need her too."

Madame Pomfrey didn't tend to do much of the laborious work in the hospital wing anymore, in her old age, and had left that up to her junior assistant - Madame Blackthorn. However, Blackthorn did not have the experience that Pomfrey did, so she was kept on at the school to help out when students had particularly strange and rare ailments.

Jasmine had decided to stay and comfort Emmeline, meaning one of the other three had to go and get the headmistress.

"Astrid, you go. You're the least drunk." Jasmine said.

Astrid felt a lump in her throat rise. She was drunk, but not drunk enough to be completely unaware of the situation she was in. She tried to argue, but it turned out to be fruitless as she ended up wandering down to McGonagall's office.

"Where do you think you're going, missy? It's after hours." The old caretaker, Filch said, as Astrid made her way to McGonagall's office. Astrid was honestly shocked Filch still worked at the school – she was sure he had to be over 100 years old by now, and he was so frail he looked like he could keel over at any moment.

"Hospital emergency." Astrid responded. "I need to fetch McGonagall."

Filch gave her an unconvinced look.

"Believe me! I'm a prefect." She said, shoving her badge in his face.

He still wasn't convinced, but groaned as he let her pass, mumbling something to himself as he went.

Astrid arrived at the base of the stone gargoyle that guarded McGonagall's office.

"Oh, fuck what was the password?" she whispered. "Chocolate Frogs... Chocolate cauldrons... cauldrons... CAULDRON CAKES!" she eventually shouted, a bit too loud so it echoed through the corridor. Luckily, the gargoyle responded and the steps began to twist upwards.

The moment she reached the top of the staircase Astrid tumbled into the door and banged repeatedly until McGonagall answered.

After three minutes of continuous banging, Astrid heard McGonagall shuffle about in her office. 'I'm still tipsy,' she thought. 'I can't be tipsy talking to McGonagall, oh no, oh no. What's the best way to get sober quickly?'