Shake the Glitter

"Move her over there, Draco." called Madame Pomfrey.

Draco nodded and laid Ashley down on the cotton-covered gurney, adjusting her limbs to a more comfortable position. He sighed and moved some hair out of her face as Madame Pomfrey came over, her arms full of bottles and jars.

She made a tsk sound with her tongue and shook her head while she poured the contents of one bottle into another and shook it, mixing the liquids. "Who would attack such a helpless little thing?" She mumbled. She glanced at Draco from the corner of her eye and frowned. "I hope this wasn't your doing, Mr. Malfoy."

"It wasn't--"

"You could get into a heap of trouble for this sort of thing, ya know."

"It wasn't me, Madame Pomfrey." Draco mumbled.

She arched an eyebrow, looking him over, before nodding. "You wouldn't happen to know who did this, now, would you? Help find the little rascal before they do it again."

Draco fumbled with the sleeve of his robe as he watched her pour a green liquid into Ashley's mouth. Ashley coughed, spitting out some of the potion. "Uhm, no. I didn't see anybody. She was just laying on the ground when I found her."

"You sure about that, son?" Draco nodded, avoiding eye contact. Madame Pomfrey sighed, shooing him out of the room. "You might want to get the Headmaster; Let him know about this mess. I suppose Miss Quille won't be able to attend her detention tonight seeing as how the poor thing can barely open her eyes." She clicked her tongue. "You sure you didn't see who did this?"

"I-I'm sure, Madame Pomfrey." Draco frowned as he exited the room. He wasn't sure why he was lying for Zabini but he was about to find out. He just need to make a couple stops along the way.

***

"Miss Quille?" Madame Pomfrey called, peeking her head around the office door. "You have visitors."

Ashley smiled when Hermione, Harry and Ron came into view; All carrying some sort of present. She laughed when Ron presented his half-eaten box of candy. "You guys didn't have to get me anything. It's not like I'm dying."

"Ashley, you were hit." Hermione frowned.

"So?" She shrugged. "It's no big deal. I'm fine."

Harry rolled his eyes, seating himself on the edge of her bed. "We're going to figure out who did this. Malfoy won't talk and Madame Pomfrey says that you can't remember who did it." He frowned, taking hold of her hand. "Can you remember anything, Ash?"

"Some things." She nodded.

"Like... ?"

Ashley shook her head. She wasn't about to rat out Blaise because of some tiff between them; He still knew where Mia was. Ashley felt a lump in her throat when she thought of Mia -- Probably all helpless and defenseless somewhere. She was never the brightest witch.

Ashley sat up further in her bed, freeing her hand from Harry. "Has anyone found Mia, Hermione?"

"No," Hermione glanced at her lap, fumbling with her fingers. "No one's been able to find her. No one's seen her this morning. I don't even know where to begin to look for her. She could be in a number of places."

Ashley nodded. "Well, when can I get out of here?"

"Madame Pomfrey said you could leave before dinner."

"When I get out, we're skipping dinner--"

"What?" complained Ron. "I'm not skipping a meal--"

"You don't have to. Hermione and I will go look for Mia."

"But, Ashley?" Hermione frowned. "We don't know where to begin."

"I have a hunch." Ashley glared at the wall, thinking back to her earlier dispute with Blaise Zabini. If anyone knew anything about where Mia had gone, it was him. He knew for certain; And Ashley was going to get to the bottom of it.