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Five days. For five days she was trapped in her bed on Madam Pomfrey's order. The medicine she gave her worked slowly. But she did start to feel better. According to Theo, she resembled more of her old self than a ghost.
The Mandrake leaf still rested in her mouth. She was utterly surprised when she hadn't accidentally swallowed it while she slept, or chewed on it absentmindedly. She would at times move it around, pushing it up to the roof of her mouth, out of boredom. There was nothing she could do but listen to the passing chatter from the corridor and read the notes Ernie gave her. She had missed a lot of her classes. Stressing her out slightly, all she needed was time to make up the work.
The infirmary was a lonely place. A few students came in, asking Madam Promfrey for a remedy for their minor cold. But they would leave after only five minutes of being there. Ernie and Justin kept up their daily visits. Each updated her on their days and delivered her notes of the classes she missed. It was the highlight of her day when they stopped by. The one thing that did bum her out was missing the quidditch match. She wanted to witness the match and see who Slythiein would be going up against in the final. And from the crestfallen face of Ernie Macmillan, who had to pay Cedric five galleons, she concluded that Gryffindor won the match.
" It was foolish of you to even bet against Gryffindor." She wrote it down on a piece of parchment and handed it to Justin. He quickly read her note before handing it to Ernie who continue to complain about his loss and how now he would need to owl his mother for spare change,
" —Well, Amelia, Ravenclaw beat us in our last match, they seemed incredibly strong this year," Ernie said between his rant.
" That's because Cedric Diggory got distracted by their new seeker." Justin teased, earning himself a punch in the shoulder from Ernie
" Diggory was just off his game that day. He might have caught the Flu too. Only it didn't hit him as hard as Amelia." Ernie reasoned. He didn't want to believe that his team lost one of the most important games of the season because his captain was sidetracked by a Ravenclaw girl. Much less the seeker of the team.
" I don't know, Ern. Cho Chang is really pretty," Amelia quickly scribbled down. Justin and she laughed at Ernie's face which was full of denial as he yet again came up with another excuse for his captain.
" Oh, Ern! We forgot to tell her what Harry did in the match!" Exclaimed Justin. He looked over at Amelia, eyes beaming in excitement.
" Harry cast the Patronus charm on the field, truly amazing, such a difficult thing to do but the thing was, the dementors that towered over him weren't dementors!" said Justin, laughing between his words, " He cast the charm at Malfoy, Crabbe, and Flint! Who dressed up as dementors to distract him."
Amelia groaned. She had only been gone for five days and the Slytherin captain already went off the rails alongside Draco. Which will only cause more animosity toward her team. She hoped the two would change, now that Slytherin was in the finals. But of course, they proved her wrong with their childish endeavors.
" Those baffling idiots! Did they get into trouble?" she wrote.
" They got detention," Ernie informed her.
Amelia groaned again and flopped back into her bed. Embarrassed by her two teammates' actions. She swore the second she comes across any one of them, she was going to hex them into oblivion. She wanted the Slytherin to garter a better reputation than the one they have. One of sophistication, But as long Flint is the quidditch captain, that idea will only continue to live in her fantasies.
" Also, on a bad note, Sirius Black was spotted in the Gryffindor tower, again." Justin quavered, the fear igniting in his chest once again.
Right. She thought. Amelia had not spoken to Sirius since New Year's day. He had no idea of her plan and, frankly, she had no idea how to contact him. He might be getting impatient. Spending the majority of his time in the forbidden forest, alone and cold. It could make anyone desperate.
She considered perhaps tracking him down. But flashbacks of her first year came rushing in, reminding her of the malevolent creatures that lived there. Instead, she opted to wait until her transformation was completed.
" Was he caught?"
" Sadly, not yet," Justin replied.
To her surprise, Madam Promfrey discharged her the next day around lunch. She instructed her to stay hydrated and to eat healthy amounts of food. All of which Amelia took to heart. She sat down at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall, mind racking on how she was supposed to eat with the mandrake leaf in her mouth. She looked over at all the food and conclude that it was not an option unless she wanted to risk swallowing the Mandrake leaf and restarting again. Instead, she opted to drink from her goblet full of water. The one thing she could consume.
" Has your appetite not returned yet?" Aries arrived, sitting across from her, setting his books down so he could fill himself a plate. Amelia pulled out her quill and parchment and wrote down her explanation that could help her for the next couple of weeks
" Oh, your throat still hurts?" Aries read. She nodded and glanced at all the food longingly. A rumbling sound came from her stomach, causing her face to turn red.
" You sure you can't even eat a leg of chicken?" Aries asked.
Amelia shook her head. With a sigh of defeat, she waved the boy goodbye and left for the dungeons with an empty stomach.
The next day, Amelia planned to spend the majority of her day in the library. Leaving the dungeons she came across Hogwart's way of tightening security around the castle. She witnessed Professor Flitwick teaching the doors to recognize Siruis Black by using a large picture, and Filch was seen marching up and down the halls, stopping every student with short raven dark hair and subjecting them to a line of questions ( even though it was obvious they weren't Siruis Black) and boarding up every little crack in the wall. And rumor has it, that trolls now guard the Gryffindor entrance.
Amelia found it amusing. Everyone else appeared to be frightened, checking every corner before turning toward it. Avoiding certain hallways in case he creeps into the dark corners of them. But she was fearless. Of course, she knew the truth. Or perhaps a version of the truth. Viable information that should be reported. But she couldn't help but want Sirius to seek his Justice.
If the Ministery truly cared, they would have launched an investigation. Learn the facts of the matter instead of letting their assumptions dictate a man's future. It was as simple as letting Sirius defend himself as well as checking the last spell cast on his wand.
But they did nothing and let an innocent man rot in Azkaban.
The library was quiet. A few students were hunched over, eyes filled with boredom and anxiousness as they stare into their books. Amelia rounded toward her regular spot, close to a window and far away from the entrance. And settled down. Five days regarded itself to be a long time to miss classes. Her stack of homework stood taller than the tower of London. It taunted her but she took one assignment at a time.
Starting with potions.
Everyone else went on to the last Hogsmeade visit of the year. Now that Sirius Black broke into Hogwarts a second time, teachers deemed it best to halt visits the required leaving the castle. She asked all her friends to buy her some treats and to sneak her a cup of butterbeer if possible. She wanted to ask more but she had to restrict herself. She didn't want to ask for too much. All she truly wanted was to visit Hogsmeade with her and her friends and explore it. Without drunk witches and wizards reporting her.
Amelia sighed, she took out her reading for transfiguration and began to take notes.
The mandrake leaf had become incredibly soggy in her mouth. At times she would panic and think she had swallowed the thing when her mind was invested in her work. Only to calm down once she felt the plant was still in her mouth. She wished the transformation process wasn't as long. She still had two weeks left before she could even drink the potion. And even then, the skies were blue, cold but blue with no chance of a lightning storm.
Amelia was hopping with every fiber of her body that one will occur in the first few days of march. Or else she would have to restart the process all over again and that in itself sounded like a nightmare.
Time passed incredibly quickly. She hadn't even made a dent in the stack of homework. But it was getting late, her wrist had become tired from writing, and her eyes were drowsy. She was stumped on her Defence Against the Dark Art essay. In the notes that Justin and Ernie gave her all they wrote was the topic of the paper which was vampires but didn't explain what about vampires was she expected to write about. The effect of vampires in the mortal world? The danger of a vampire? How to defend yourself against a vampire? She had no clue.
Amelia had no choice but to make her way to Professor Lupins' office to ask.
She signed in exhaustion. His office was far from the dungeons which would make the walk a lot more brutal. She had a strong desire to crawl into her bed and sleep and not worry about her pending work. But reluctantly, she packed her things and made her way to his office.
His office was in the classroom. His walls were bare, his desk covered in books and student essays, and the only decorative objects he had was his bookshelf filled with many different books.
" Amelia? What a surprise. How can I help you?" Lupin sat in his chair, quill in hand as he graded papers from his other classes.
Amelia smiled at him weakly. She sat across from him, took out a piece of parchment, and scribbled down the questions she had.
" Oh, still sick I see?" Lupin commented. Amelia nodded before handing him her queries. He quickly read her note over before answering:
" Ahh, I see. Well, the premise of the essay is what dangers a vampire poses and what spells are useful to combat them. Pretty simple, the majority of the answers can be found in the textbook, but as someone who reads and grades your essays, you probably want to venture a little bit more into the topic." Lupin said before standing up from his seat and walking to his bookcase.
Amelia smiled at the gesture, surprised a teacher paid that much attention to her work. Usually, they'll praise her for her informative research, she'd thank them and both would continue on with their day. Lupin's attentiveness was something Amelia admired.
As he searched his bookcase, Amelia's attention was caught by something else. A thick piece of folded parchment with yellowing edges showing its age was peaking out under a couple of ungraded papers. She remembered it as the parchment that her brothers, Fred and George, showed harry all those months ago.
A map of Hogwarts. A map that could help her in the search for Peter Pettigrew. Amelia cursed in her mind at the fact she was unable to currently cast any spells, so she had to be extremely quiet.
She reached over the table, eyes glancing up at lupin each time he moved, and gently pushed the essays away to reach the map. Gently, she gripped the ends of it and pulled it toward her slowly, she watched the paper fall off it and quickly she placed it on her lap before picking up her bookbag and stuffing it inside. She pretended to be occupied, looking for something as Lupin turned around and placed a book down.
" This book is up-to-date on vampires living in England. Would do wonders on your paper." He said before handing it to her. Amelia smiled at him, took the book, and placed it in her bag. She reached over to grab her note and quickly scribbled down a thank you before waving him goodbye.
Once she exited the room, she let out a loud sigh. She had never actually stolen anything from a teacher before. She let an ounce of guilt take over her mind before she drained it out and focus on what is important.
For Peter Pettigrew to be captured for what he has done to Sirius and her family. Fearing Lupin noticing the missing map, she quickly made her way down to the dungeons that would insure her safety.
Stepping inside, she was met with the loudness of the room. Upperclassmen studying for their N.E.W.T.'s and O.W.L's, a few others leisurely reading around the fireplace and Draco Malfoy talking amongst other third years.
" — I'm telling you his head was floating!"
" That's just not possible Draco." Theo rebutted.
Interested, Amelia made her way to them.
" You got to believe me! Snape did! He was—Oh, Amelia! You have been around Potter before. Has he ever—uh— made his body disappear only leaving his floating head?" Asked Draco, voice confident at the begging before it wavered a little bit toward the end.
Amelia looked at him, dumbfounded, and shook her head no.
" You must be seeing things Draco." Said Blaise, after believing Amelia's statement.
" But he did! I was talking to Weasley when it happened."
Amelia looked at the boy, truly concerned for his mental health. The possibility of it affecting the Slytherin team could cost them the final match.
" I believe you Draco," Pansy told him. Causing the boy to groan more.
" I know what I saw!"
" Sure you did, and I saw Potter floating around the three broomsticks without legs." Theo teased. Others around them laughed but Draco pushed him, a bit harshly, causing the laughter to die out.
" Watch it, Nott." Said Draco, threateningly.
With a roll of his eyes, Theo sat down on one of the empty chairs, away from the group. Amelia walked toward him but stopped when Pansy began to speak.
" Draco, Do you know what the bird's execution date is? I would like to see it with you?" Asked Pansy, inching herself towards him.
Her heart practically stopped in her chest at Pansy's words. Turning around harshly, her hair hitting her face, Amelia walked up to Draco. Her eyes angry and her nostrils flared.
"What's wrong with you?" Asked Draco. Amelia grunted before digging into her bag once again and pulling out a scrap of parchment and scribbling down:
" What the bloody hell is going happen to Buckbeak!"
" You remember that things name?" Draco sidetracked, but Amelia pointed down at the note again
" That giant and his beast lost the trial and the bird is going to be executed soon. Want to see it too?"
Amelia huffed in disbelief. She hoped that her prior judgment of his character was wrong and it was simply rooted in her family's distaste toward the Malfoys. Since she became part of the quidditch team, she had been on the receiving end of a much more benevolent side of Draco.
But now, She wished to curse him out, call him every ruthless name in the book. To hurt him for such an exaggeration of his injury when in reality it was just a simple scratch. But she didn't. She couldn't speak or hex him so she did the best next thing.
Amelia raised her hand and slapped him. Hard.
Everyone in the common room heard the slap, each student stopping their movements to watch the altercation.
" What is up with you and hitting me!" Exclaimed Draco as he cupped his check-in pain.
Amelia didn't say anything. She didn't have to. Everyone had heard how she got to ride the Hippogriff during their first class. If anything, they were surprised she only slapped the boy and did not have bats flying out his nose or boils decorating his face.
Amelia's glare was as sharp as knives, everyone feeling the effect even though her eyes stayed trained on Draco before she left.
It was quiet for a couple of seconds, everyone watching the Weasley girl disappear up the stairs before anyone dared to say anything.
" You probably should have left Buckbeak be," Aries spoke first from one of the study tables, people's attention going to him.
" Why? It injured me."
" It scratched you." Blaise corrected him.
" Did you not know? I suspected you two being teammates and all there might be some form of friendship building—"
" Know what, Scamander?" Draco interrupted.
" The hippogriff is one of Amelia's favorite animals."