Evelyn Ross and the Prisoner of Azkaban [COMPLETED]

18. Poor, Poor Draco

We walked to the Hospital Wing at leisure. On our way a ghost passed us by in the corridors. I had already seen one in the Great Hall from afar, but to see one up close was even more terrifying. Especially as it was carrying its head in its arms!

"Ah don't worry about it," Tracey said. "There's only one ghost you want to look out for. That's Peeves. You'll recognise him when you see him."

As we turned another corner, we arrived at two big, closed doors, which I assumed to be the entrance to the Hospital Wing.

"I'll wait for you in the Common Room, OK? We can still catch some sunshine if you don't linger too long with your boyfriend," Tracey teased. I pulled a face at her as I pushed one of the big double doors open.

I entered into a giant room with high ceilings and many windows. Beds were placed along the walls. I could see - and hear - Draco complaining to Pansy about how badly wounded he was. You'd think he was a war hero. His hurt arm was bandaged and the blood was cleaned from his face and robes. Pansy was hanging onto his lips like he was on his death bed, though.

I was greeted by an elderly witch with a stern attitude. She was dressed in all-white robes and headdress.

"I'm here to visit Draco," I said. She looked at me with an annoyed look on her face. Yeah, I can't believe it either.

"He already has a visitor. One's more than enough," she said. I couldn't tell if she meant that Draco was too ill to have more visitors at once, or that she couldn't stand even more of his groupies. I assumed it was the latter.

"It's OK," Draco shouted from afar to the nurse. "Pansy was about to go anyway, weren't you, Pansy? Tell everyone I'm going to be fine, eventually," he said to Pansy. The nurse rolled her eyes. Pansy was visibly taken aback. Had her dear Draco just dismissed her? You could see the thought clearly on her face. In response, Draco took her hand with his good arm and pinched it. This seemed to console her and she left the room. Not without giving me a hateful sneer, though.

"I'm happy to see you, Evelyn. That monster got me pretty bad. It was a close call. I could've been killed," Draco bragged. The nurse sniffed loudly as she passed by.

I remembered Tracey's words about using Draco as a shield against Pansy, so I forced my face into what I hoped would be an emphatic expression.

"Thank god, you're alive, Draco. Life at Hogwarts would not be the same without you," I said sweetly.

Technically, that's not a lie.

To make it more dramatic, I took his good hand in mine and pressed it slightly, just like he had done with Pansy. He didn't see the link, though. He actually seemed to like it, as he softly pinched back.

"I'm glad you became a Slytherin, Evelyn. It would've been difficult to like you, had you been put in any other House."

You're so romantic, Draco...

"I can't believe that stupid hat wanted to put you in Gryffindor. I admire you even more for telling it not to. It shows strength of character."

We were looking each other straight in the eyes now. Had I liked him, it would've been very romantic. But since I didn't like him, I felt horrified and wanted to puke.

"All right, time to go," the nurse intervened with perfect timing. Thank you, dear woman. I'm forever in your debt.

"You too," she said to Draco. "Your arm's fine. It was already partially healed when you got here. That bandage has no real function."

"Only partially?" I wondered out loud. The nurse looked at me in surprise.

"Did you cast that healing spell? That's a spell for O.W.L. level students!" she said, looking puzzled.

"Yeah...I got a bit carried away last summer..." I said with a head as hot as a stove.

After I'd memorized all three charms books on my reading list, I'd harassed Aunt Jeanie a bit to teach me more advanced spells. At first she refused, but I could see that she was eager to show off her skills, though, so I kept pressing her to teach me. In the end she taught me a spell or two. Or five, to be exact.

The nurse looked impressed. Draco looked annoyed. I was the reason he could already leave the hospital wing and be less of a victim. But I was beaming with pride. I know an owl level spell. I had no idea what that meant, but it sounded wise. Owls are supposed to be wise, right?

Draco and I walked back together to the Common Room - I had no choice but to go with him as I was meeting Tracey there. He only talked about what a horrible teacher Hagrid was and that he was going to write his father about it. He was sure Hagrid was going to be fired. I felt bad for the Giant. He seemed nice and I really enjoyed his class. I held my tongue, though. That awkward moment at the Hospital Wing should not be in vain. There's no reason to piss Draco off when it's not needed.

Finally, we arrived in the Common Room. Draco was received like a king by at least a dozen Slytherin girls.

"Oooh, does it still hurt?"

"You're so strong!"

"Let me bring you a pillow to rest your arm on!"

It was a bit disturbing to be honest. Do these girls really find it attractive when a man behaves like a baby? Draco was enjoying all the attention, of course. He gladly accepted all the help he was offered and he complained endlessly on how he had nearly died and that the nurse wasn't sure he would ever recover.

I rolled my eyes at Tracey, who was already waiting for me in one of the beautiful chairs in front of the fireplace. Tracey merely smirked.

I fetched my first-year text book for Defence Against the Dark Arts from the dormitory, as Tracey offered to help me prepare for Lupin's tutoring class that evening. I didn't see Dusk anywhere. He's probably exploring the castle, or something.

We decided to go outside to study and soak up some sun while we still could. The late afternoon sun shone brightly on our faces and, against all odds, I still hoped to get a tan. Unfortunately, I was cursed with a pale skin that never tanned and I could hardly see any difference between my face in summer and in winter.

"So how did it go with Draco?" Tracey asked as we passed a bunch of greenhouses.

"Good, really good. He's a little baby and it pisses me off. But he's definitely falling for me. He even sent Pansy away the moment he saw me," I snickered.

"You're kidding, right! Oh my god, that's brilliant! She'll hate you even more now, though. We've got to be extra careful from now on," Tracey said.

I knew it to be true but I didn't care. The day started horribly, but somehow turned out to be really good. Yes, Pansy was still a problem, but at least I had made a friend who was on my side. And who knew, maybe Draco would turn out to be an asset too. I smiled and let the sun wash away all my sorrows.