Everybody Party Till the Gasman Comes

"Ow!"

A Sharp pain throbbed in the side of my right hand. I withdrew the arm from my satchel and saw that it was covered in sticky black ink. I turned my hand over and blood dripped onto the table top.

Ginny looked from my black red spotted appendage to my face, one flaming red eyebrow arched high over her eyes. "How did you manage that?" she asked with amusement and curiosity both evident in her voice.

"Must've broken an ink bottle or something," I replied. I stared down at the puddle of black and red that was making its way towards my Defense Against the Dark Arts book.

"You should probably go to the Hospital Wing."

I shrugged. "Probably."

After a few seconds I stood up from my chair, elevating my arm as I walked across the common room, I pushed open the portrait hole and stepped onto the platform before the stairs, coming nose-to-nose (literally) with Lee, who stared at my arm and the red that was slowly splattering the ground.

"George," he called over his shoulder, "your girlfriend's hurt!"

My mouth dropped open for a second from shock and embarrassment, but I quickly shut it and glared at him. I maneuvered myself around him and leaned over the railing. Fred and George were a couple staircases down, heading up to the common room. George looked up at me; I smiled, forgetting about my hand for a second and waving.

His eyes widened a bit and I saw him sigh. "What did you do this time, Samantha?"

"For your information, George, I was doing homework," I answered.

"Homework?" he asked, making his way to my side and grasping my sticky wrist. "And how exactly did homework make this happen?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Ugh, Georgie, it's a really short story that I don't want to tell right now."

He rolled his eyes, then got a contemplative look. He turned to Fred, who was standing at his side, and grinned. Fred seemed to understand exactly what his brother meant and grinned back at him. I took a step back.

"Okay, I don't know what you're planning but I don't want a part of it. I need to get to the hospital so," I trailed off, attempting to side-step the two of them and get to the stairs.

George's arms wrapped around my waist and I screamed. He threw me over his shoulder and turned around so that we both were headed down to the hospital. Behind us, I heard Lee and Fred laughing. I, carefully, looked up at them and glared, which only caused them to laugh harder. I swore to myself that I would get them back sometime soon, then was going to lay my head against George's back. He had different plans though, and flung me back off of his shoulder so that he was cradling me in his arms like a baby.

"This isn't necessary, Weasley," I said, crossing my arms over my chest. "I can walk."

"If it was necessary I wouldn't be doing it."

I snorted. "Yes, you would. You'd be the first to offer." I looked up at him, waiting for him to disagree, but he never did.

He shrugged his shoulders, which I imagine must be pretty hard while carrying a girl in your arms. "You're right."

I shrugged back, which was equally as hard as I imagine it had been for him. "I usually am."

"How did you hurt yourself?"

"Broken ink bottle."

"Of course."

I scowled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," he said, and he smiled down at me.

***

I laid upside down on the sofa in the common room, head dangling where my feet should have been and vice versa. Lee, Fred, and George sat on the floor in front of me, discussing the First Task, which was two days away. My eyes darted around the room. Harry sat alone in the same chair he'd been sitting in almost every day, Hermione was at one of the tables, the one I'd hurt myself at earlier, doing homework, Ron was at the same table across from Hermione, and Ginny was sitting next to me on the sofa, trying to keep my bare feet away from her face, as she was sitting upright and normal.

"Sorry, Neville!" I called as I accidentally smacked him on the arm with my foot as he walked past the back of the sofa.

Ginny had finally had enough by that point and she grasped hold of both of my ankles, pushing them forwards. I rolled off of the sofa and into the middle of the triangle that had been made by my three friends on the floor. I smiled at them all. "Hi, guys!"

"Care to move a bit?" George asked.

I shook my head, which was sitting on his leg. "Nope. I'm quite comfortable."

"Well, I'm not."

I made a pouty face. "Poor Georgie." I sat up and plopped myself down on his lap. I leaned back to look up at him. "Better now?"

He nodded. "Much."