I Was Younger Then

Is This What Swooning Feels Like?

Recovery was not a pleasant experience for Penny. The fury of Madam Pomfrey was more than the Hospital Wing could contain. It almost made Penny wish she had been left with Snape, he was reasonable compared to her new prison guard, who declared she would need to stay in the Hospital Wing for at least a week, and was, under no circumstances, to get out of bed. The first few days weren't bad because of all the sleeping draughts she was given. Snape showed up with a freshly brewed batch of them. Naturally, he had no sympathy for Penny.

"The potions master uncertain of his own work? I don't buy it, you must have missed me," Penny said, when Snape waited for her to take her prescribed draught..

"Don't flatter yourself, I brewed this one as a double dose and am curious to know if there will be any adverse side-effects," he smirked.

"Well, you know I missed you. There isn't any stimulating conversation here, no one likes to argue like you do," Penny hiccuped, suddenly feeling strange.

"Is that so," he said quietly, looking more amused than Penny had seen him before.

"Why yes, it is. Who wouldn't miss those scowling cheekbones and emotional deflections," she giggled.

Whatever else had transpired in the exchange, Penny could not remember. The thought of it mortified her when she woke several hours later. The man would have expected the loopy side effects and clearly had remained for the show, likely to torment her at a later time. He was horrible and would probably not let her forget the exchange. Penny doubted anyone had ever told Snape they missed his company, so it was probably the highlight of his life, she thought to herself in an effort to stop obsessing.

Her injuries were a good distraction, they required a lot of care. Some ribs were cracked and her shoulder was in horrible shape, but Madam Pompfrey was most worried about the state of her internal organs, insisting she needed to remain long enough to allow her remedies to promote cell repair and prevent any internal bleeding that could occur. This required frequent checks of the coloration of Penny's abdomen. Half of which, erupted in the most horrific bruise Penny had ever seen, with blue and purple extending over more skin than she thought possible.

Admittedly, the severity of her injury unsettled Penny, especially when she saw herself through the eyes of her twin. The worry in Harry's wide eyes was unmistakable. This quickly devolved into rage and hatred for Viktor Krum and the other Durmstrang students. The recounting of the story already made it through the entire school, and, to Penny's pleasure, it actually remained quite accurate. Her fellow Hogwarts students were enraged about the attack, and relations quickly became tense. It did not matter that mere days before they had been saying Penny was a freak, she was their freak, and the idea that the fall could have killed her shook them to their core.

Harry, like Snape, was not amused that Penny had been so reckless and refused to confirm her play was brilliant. He demanded she be more careful, and all but banned her from being alone. It became a school mission, with visitors constantly rotating from her beside, ensuring no one had the chance to 'finish the job.' At least they brought her a lot of gifts, but Madam Pomfrey felt like Penny was not resting enough with so many visitors, which is why she recruited Snape and his sleeping draught.

Penny lost her patience with her bed rest near the end of her stay when she found out that the Triwizard champions had been chosen. Viktor Krum, Fleur Delacor and Cedric Diggory were all chosen, which was well and fine. But then the cup did a peculiar thing and spat out a fourth name: Harry Potter. After interrogating him, Penny believed Harry did not put his name in the cup, but the question remained, who did? It was deeply unsettling, and Penny was very worried for her brother. The tasks were going to be difficult and an easy opportunity to harm Harry, but once entered, Harry was bound to the tournament, and the judges agreed he had to compete. It was a horrible mess and Penny was full of anxiety over it. To make matters worse, Harry and Ron got into a horrible fight over it because Ron actually believed Harry put his name in the cup. Harry being Harry had zero patience for such an absurd idea and wasted no time telling Ron he was an idiot if he thought Harry stupid enough to do such a thing. If Ron had reacted like such a git, Penny did not want to know how the rest of the school was responding. It would be a tough thing to share the role of champion with Cedric Diggory, he was very popular.