Hiding Bruises

Hiding Bruises- Chapter 11- Fireman's Lift

After convincing Sirius that I could get there on my own I had hobbled in to find Madam Pomfrey sitting in her little office. The hospital wing was quiet, there was only one other person in there and they had the curtains pulled around their bed.

“What are you doing here dear?” Madam Pomfrey came out of her office and started puffing around me to see what type of ailment I had.

“Well,” I said, not sure what to say, as falling down the stairs wouldn’t work as an excuse once she sure the huge cut in my side. Eventually, I decided to tell the truth, or part of it anyway, “I was out in the forbidden forest and-”

“It’s called ‘forbidden’ for a reason you know,” she scolded, cutting me off halfway through my sentence which was pretty lucky actually because I had no idea what I’d tell had bitten me, “come on, and show me what you’ve got.” I pulled up my robes to show her my bandage, “up on the bed.” She ordered and unwound the material with her wand. She surveyed my wound, “that’s a pretty bad one you got there …”

“Tina,” I told her quickly.

“Tina,” she repeated, as though testing it out. “Well, Tina, you’ve got a pretty bad cut here and it’s going to take some mending.”

See started fussing around getting various Potions, she seemed strangely keen to get me out of there, which was unusual for her, and she kept glancing at the only other occupied bed.

Finally she gave me a foul tasted potion that would help the skin heal over quicker or something along that line. I only had to sit in there for around 2 hours, which for Madam Pomfrey is pretty quick as she is notorious for making people stay in the hospital wing until she is “100 percent sure that they are completely recovered and are not at risk of catching any other illness/virus/disease/falling down any more stairs.”

As I was leaving the hospital wing I noticed James and Peter going in, although they didn’t say anything they both gave me rather evaluating looks and I supposed that Sirius had told them about what happened before. I looked at the floor and hurried past them.

Super was just starting but I wasn’t hungry so I decided to go to Gryffindor Tower, the corridors were empty except for a few latecomers heading towards the great hall. None of them spared me a second glance.

“Gillyweed” I said to the portrait of the fat lady, and she swung open obligingly.

The common room was empty apart from a few 7th years sitting by the fire trying to get some work done while it was quiet. I passed them without making a sound and went up to my dorm. I sat on my bed, wondering what to do next.

I sat on the bed like that, staring at the blank wall beside me for a long time, thinking about everything that had happened that day. Mostly about the stuff with Sirius actually, and the feeling he’d given me.

Soon I heard girls coming up the stairs to the girl’s dorm, I didn’t really want to talk to any of them at that precise moment so I decided to leave, as I was going down the stairs I bumped into Molly.

“Hey, how are you?” she asked kindly.

“I’m feeling way better thanks,” I smiled at her, “just fancy a bit of fresh air.”

“Lily was worrying about you, what was wrong this morning?”

“Nothing,” I lied, “Just didn’t get much sleep and …” I trailed off because I couldn’t think of another lie.

“Did you really come in late last night?” Either Molly was really nosey or couldn’t take a hint.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“How come?” She looked seriously concerned so I tried not to be too rude.

“I was wondering around outside, getting some fresh air.” That was the truth, sort of.

“You sure do like your fresh air don’t you Tina?” She asked teasingly.

I smiled, “Yeah, guess so. Ok, bye, see you later.” I started to move down the stairs.

“I’ll tell Lily I saw you and that you’re better.”

“Ok, thanks.” I shot down the staircase, praying she wouldn’t ask me another question I couldn’t answer, not truthfully anyway.

The common room was filling up, I spotted James, Sirius and Peter sitting by the fire; the 7th years who had been sitting there previously now sitting on a cramped table by the window, glaring at the boys warming their feet. I wondered where Remus was; they were nearly always together. Then I remembered seeing James and Peter going into the hospital wing, and the bed with the curtains drawn. I wondered why Remus was there, if that was where he was. I shook my head, that was none of my business.

As I stepped out of the common room a fresh breeze hit my face from an open window further down the corridor. I walked over to the window, it was a big one with a seat attached to it, so I sat down, leaned over to the window and looked out. The sun was setting over the forbidden forest, and for once it didn’t appear as forbidding as it usually did. Suddenly I remembered the strange assortment of animals I had encountered in there last night and shuddered. I pictured the grey wolf, it’s sharp teeth, and I felt strangely sick at the memory. I blinked hard trying to get the image out of my mind, I felt faint. I felt myself toppling forwards, towards the open window…

Then I felt strong arms grab my shoulders and pull me backwards off the seat and onto the floor, my bum hit the ground hard. I screamed out from the pain caused by the pressure, my leg was still a bit sore where it had been bitten.

“Sorry,” said a voice quickly, “did I scare you? I just saw you leaning over the window and you seemed really unstable, so I pulled you away. Sorry.”

I looked up to see Remus looking down at me in a concerned and confused fashion. He was the one who saved me from falling. “No, no, it’s fine. It’s better then fine, you stopped me from falling, thank you.” I babbled.

“You screamed, so I thought maybe…” He was still looking concerned.

“I just hit the floor a bit hard,” I said, before realizing how stupid that was, I would have hot the ground outside a lot harder if he hadn’t pulled me away. “Thank you,” I repeated.

He smiled at me, “no need to thank me. You should be more careful when you’re sitting in front of an open window like this though.”

“Sorry, I was looking out and suddenly I felt faint.”

He reached down to me, offering his hand, “I’m Remus Lupin” he said.

“I know,” I said as I took his hand, he raised his eyebrow at me and hoisted me of the floor, “I’m Tina Blanch.”

He suddenly looked at me with more interest, “You’re Tina? Gryffindor? 6th Year?”

I nodded, confused as to why he knew my name.

“Huh,” he said to himself, “it’s weird because I sort of recognize your face, but when the guys told me Tina I couldn’t remember who it was.” He looked at me- I was staring at him. He realized he’d been talking out loud and turned red, “Sorry.” He said quickly.

“It’s Ok.”

“It’s just weird that,” he was off in his own little world again, “I should meet you, like this, on the same day that Sirius...” but he trailed off when he realized he was speaking properly. He turned red again, “got to get back to the common room, James and that lot will be waiting for me.” He turned in the direction of the common room and sighed when I said I was going the other way.

I walked away and turned a corner, well that was weird, I thought just as I walked into Irving Mulciber. I toppled backwards, caught of guard.

“Well, well, well, look what I found. Charlie!” He called, and Charlton Avery walked round the corner. When he saw me lying on the floor, an evil grin spread across his face.

“Bella told us to come get you, she did,” he told me conversationally, “thanks for sparing us the bother.” I started to push myself off the floor but he muttered the full body-bind curse under his breath and my limbs became clamped straight. Mulciber laughed. “Carry her” Avery ordered.

The smile disappeared from Mulciber’s face, “but I won’t be able to get the smell off my hands for weeks!”

“Well maybe it’ll be some incentive to wash your hands after you go to the toilet,” said another, sneering voice. Severus Snape stepped around the corner, smirking as usual.

Mulciber made a face but lifted me over his shoulder without another complaint, he slung me over his shoulder like a sack, in what my dad always called a ‘Fireman’s Lift’. He always used to lift me up like this when I was little and spin me round and round until I was so dizzy from the spinning and laughing that when he put me down I fell straight down and had to stay like that, gasping, for minutes.

They sneaked around with me for a while, getting deeper and deeper into the school until they came to an unused Potions classroom. It was a favourite of Bella’s.

Mulciber kicked the door open and dropped me on the floor as soon as we were inside, I would have screamed out in pain, but I couldn’t move my lips, thankfully. One thing I’d learnt about this lot over the years was that they loved it when you screamed.