Finder's Keeper || Oliver Wood [1]

Chapter 25: The Reunion

Jessica spluttered a bit and sat up, completely puzzled. What in Merlin's name had just happened?

Madam Pomfrey handed her a glass of water, and it was only then that Jessica realized how thirsty she was. She took it gratefully from the matron and downed it within seconds. Once she had finished, she observed her surroundings: she was in the hospital wing, and she was surrounded by a number of other students in the process of waking up. She recognized them as victims of the petrifications... and then it hit her. She was a victim, too. She remembered the reflection of striking, yellow eyes on the stained glass window while she was on her way back to the Gryffindor Tower.

Jessica looked down at her clothes. She was still wearing the Gryffindor Quidditch Team uniform and gear, which felt quite uncomfortable as if she had been wearing it for too long. However, it didn't feel gross nor did it smell funny, so it was either she was only petrified for a day or Madam Pomfrey had been casting the necessary spells on her and the other patients to keep them clean throughout their stay.

"Madam Pomfrey," Jessica called out before cringing at how croaky her voice sounded.

"Yes, dear?" she replied while helping Penelope Clearwater in the bed next to her to a dose of a potion as well.

"How long have I been out?"

"It's May 31st today, so about two months now."

"Two — two months?" Jessica said incredulously.

"I know, it's a bit of a shock," Madam Pomfrey said sympathetically. "Miss Clearwater here and Miss Granger over there have been petrified for as long as you have. You were attacked all on the same day."

Bloody hell, Jessica thought after she processed everything the woman told her. She was involved in a triple attack, missed her Quidditch match, and was behind on hundreds of lessons... how was she going to take the O.W.L.s now? What else happened while she was unconscious? Her brain was going haywire with all those questions and many more.

"Class is ongoing at the moment, but you need not attend today," Madam Pomfrey announced loudly, addressing all her patients — Jessica, Hermione, Penelope, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Colin Creevey, and even Sir Nicholas and Mrs. Norris. "The staff have already been informed this morning that you would all be recovered by this afternoon, so I wouldn't be surprised if your friends come in and see you soon. I will allow them, but only a few at a time. You'll all need a check up in an hour before I officially discharge you."

There was a chorus of responses, all of them saying that they understood and agreed with Madam Pomfrey's words. Some students began talking to one another, presumably about how they got petrified and what they possibly missed. However, Jessica stayed silent when her eyes landed on a vase full of pink chrysanthemums on her bedside table. She frowned curiously and shifted closer to it. She certainly did not conjure these because she had been practically asleep for months, and she knew Madam Pomfrey hadn't done it either because no other side tables had flowers.