Something Golden

11.

I woke up in the infirmary with Madam Pomfrey hovering over me while she examined my torso, Blaise and Theo off to the side snickering about how dumb I looked as I fell.

"You looked like a proper chump." Blaise says. "Your arms flailing about like overcooked noodles."

Theo lets out a chuckle and I shoot him a glare.

"What are you laughing about? It was supposed to be you in this bed." I say.

He clears his throat and returns to a serious expression, his hand grabbing my shoulder.

"Thanks mate, I owe you one."

"That you do. Here's a wild idea, sleep with girls that don't have a boyfriend."

Blaise tells me that Harper investigated the bludger and confirmed that it was tampered with but that Madam Hooch was refusing to hear him out and penalize Inglebee and Crawley. Apparently, very few actually witnessed what led up to me getting hit. They were too focused on the actual game that was happening on the other end.

"We aren't letting them get away with this are we?" Theo asks.

Madam Pomfrey hands me a glass, I throw back the contents and sit up, letting out a small wince as I do so.

"Easy love," She says, grabbing the empty cup from me and placing it on the tray behind her. "You've got three broken ribs and a punctured lung. The potion will fix you right up but you need to take it easy in the meantime."

Once she walks away to check on another student I grab the front of their robes and pull them down.

"Snatch the both of them tonight just before curfew and bring them up to the astronomy tower." I command, keeping my voice low. "And Theo, go to my dorm and retrieve the knife from the top drawer of my dresser."

They nod their heads and I release my grip on them.

**

11 pm rolls around and Madam Pomfrey has just left for the night. The healer for the night shift isn't due for another 10 minutes, granting me a perfect window to sneak out undetected. It takes me a moment to get up from the bed as every movement causes a stabbing pain to radiate across my chest and down my right side. Once I'm able to get dressed I grab my wand and head for the astronomy tower.

As I reach the top of the stairs I hear a pair of voices shouting.

"Let me go Zabini! You saw what happened to Malfoy after he messed with me!"

I've missed this, the sound of weak threats bouncing off the walls.

"A few broken ribs and a punctured lung isn't really what I would classify as a success." I announce, their attention redirecting over to me as I step forward. "More of an inconvenience really. Now, if you managed to paralyze, blind or full on kill me then I would pay my respects but alas here I am."

Crawley's eyes widen while Inglebee's narrow, his eyebrows lowering and pulling together while his tiny brain tries to comprehend how I'm still standing.

"We've got to stop meeting like this Inglebee."

"They said you were in the infirmary." He says, still struggling to pull from Blaise's hold.

"Oh, I was but it's such a beautiful night out I couldn't pass up a stroll in the moonlight."

I look over at Crawley who seems to have given up on fighting. Instead, he remains still, his head hanging low while Inglebee continues to run his mouth. I flick my wrist and cast oscausi on him while I approach Crawley.