Where am I?
Maggie rubbed her throbbing head and opened her eyes. She was in a room she had never seen before.
The stone ceiling was high and arched. There weren't any windows- none that she could see. She was surrounded by towers of clutter.
Is this a storage closet of some sort? How can anyone find anything in here?
Maggie gained feeling in her legs and realized she was sitting down. She looked at her arms and knees with wild curiosity: they were a translucent grey.
She tried to stand up, but it was as if it was her first attempt in her life. Her legs weren't strong enough to stand on. She reached out to lean on the clutter, but went straight through the pile and fell to the floor, not disturbing a thing.
Maggie could feel her own body, but nothing else. She tried picking a book up, buy her hand when straight through it as if it were air. Her entire sense of touch had been taken.
After trying and trying, and falling and falling, Maggie was finally able to stand up without falling to the textureless ground again. She started walking around, weaving her way through the clutter until she came to an open space.
Is this like a safe room? Am I even here? Did I collapse into a coma? Is this a dream? How did I get here? Why can't I remember how I got here?
There were a few beds and tables scattered around the clearing. As Maggie drew closer, she saw one of the beds was full.
Two people were in the bed, under the covers and facing opposite directions. It wasn't until Maggie got closer when she realized who it was: Teddy and Adrian.
Adrain's eyes were open, and he was staring off into space. Suddenly, he sat up. Maggie fled behind a clutter tower, afraid to be seen, and peered around to watch what was going on.
Teddy was still fast asleep. Adrian leaned down and kissed Teddy's cheek, then stroked his hair.
Ship: sailed. They're so cute! Maggie thought.
It wasn't until Adrian reached down over his side of the bed to pick his clothes up that Maggie realized they were both naked under the covers.
What kind of room is this?
Adrian stood up as he tightened his belt, then put his shirt on. He walked around the space until he found his wand, then headed for the door.
Maggie didn't know what else to do besides follow him.
She followed Adrian through and odd pattern of hallways and corridors she had never seen before. Half an hour later, Maggie finally realized where she was: Ravenclaw Tower.
Adrian hexed the enchanted knocker to get it to open, then snuck in.
Usually, Maggie felt at home in her own Common Room, but the tower sent a chill down her spine as she followed Adrian through the library and up the boys stairs.
He stopped at the fifth door and let himself in.
Well I've followed him this far, Maggie told herself to justify going into the boys dorms.
Adrian walked around the circular room, examining all the Fifth Year Ravenclaw boys in their beds. He stopped at the foot of the bed closest to the door, and smiled a blood-curdling smirk.
Jared!
Adrian pulled a string out of his pocket as he walked closer to Jared's head. He held the string over Jared's eyes and Maggie saw an emerald flicker appear on the end, an inch above Jared's forehead.
Adrian started mumbling something in Latin. Jared stirred around, then woke up.
By the time a scream escaped Jared's mouth, it was too late. He was petrified, the other boys were awake, and Adrian was a fly on the wall.
Maggie panicked, but soon realized no one could see her. The other boys rushed to Jared's bed, finding a freshly petrified muggleborn.
❖❖❖
"I'm afraid she's gone too long without a pulse or breath," the doctor told them after examining Maggie for a final time.
Short sobs escaped Seamus's mouth as he collapsed into his husband. Ginny let out a sharp breath as she turned to bury her face in Harry's arms. Tears streaked Neville's cheeks. Martha grabbed Emily's hand, hoping it wasn't true.
Maggie's pale, lifeless body laid on a cot in the hospital wing. It was almost four in the morning and everyone had gathered around, hoping and praying Maggie would get through whatever fit she had.
There was a sudden commotion at the door. A group of Ravenclaw boys followed Flitwick in, levitating a petrified body.
"What's happened?" Neville jumped up and ran to them.
"We heard someone screaming."
"We found Jared petrified."
"No one else was in the room."
All of them were talking at once, so Flitwick calmed them down and explained to Longbottom and McGonagall what had happened.
A sleepy Nolan appeared in after the group, unaware Maggie was presumed dead a few cots over.
"Nolan!" Martha shouted with a shaking voice.
Nolan's confused look soon turned into terror when he saw what was happening.
"No no no no no no no no no," Nolan muttered as he ran to Maggie's bedside. "What's happened to her?" He asked, alarmed by all the crying.
"She's gone," Draco said quietly, the only one strong enough to say anything. He didn't know Maggie, but he knew how much it would destroy him to lose his only child, so his heart went out to Dean and Seamus.
"She can't be!" Nolan shouted. "What... What happened?" Nolan was shaking so much he could barely hold onto Maggie's hand.
Draco rested a comforting hand on Nolan's shoulder, putting it together that he was Maggie's boyfriend and that he cared for her very much. "She started convulsing and seizing all at once. We're not sure why. She was shivering and thrashing about all night long. The doctors think her heart gave out from being overworked, but we don't really know what happened or why. We just know there hasn't been a pulse in minutes and we haven't seen her breathing in longer. She's gone. I'm terribly sorry."
Nolan had tears streaming down his face and started having a panic attack. Emily kneeled down next to him and held him tight, helping him calm down.
Nolan didn't say anything, just leaned over Maggie's corpse. He rested a hand on her sunken cheek and traced her grey lips with his thumb.
"I was too late," he mumbled. "Maggie please, you can't be gone. You can't be. You can't leave me. Life is so dull without you." The rest was mumbled between sobs, uninterpretable.
Emily pulled Nolan back before he collapsed on the bed. They held each other as they cried.
Seamus was sobbing to the point he couldn't breathe. Dean had rivers of silent tears; he was more in denial that Maggie was really gone.
Harry hadn't processed it either, though his wife- who was very close with Maggie- was soaking his shirt in tears. They loved Maggie like they loved Teddy: as their children.
Like a lightning strike, Maggie started seizing and convulsing again.
"Maggie!" multiple people shreiked.
Maggie suddenly gained consciousness and sat up in a fit.
"Em-ly! Em-ly!" Maggie shouted as she tried to get out of bed. It took the doctor, Madam Pomfrey, Harry, and Draco to get her secured down.
"I-I-ha-o-fi-T-I-av-to-" Maggie tried to say, but no one could understand her.
"Maggie just lay down!" Harry yelled, half frustration and half terror. "You're not well!"
Maggie wouldn't listen until Dean rested his hand on her arm and started singing a lullaby he used to sing her to sleep with as a baby and to stop her from having panic attacks.
Maggie let them push her back down into the bed. Her chest billowed up and down and she heaved for air.
"Everything's all right, love," Dean said, smiling down at her as tears of joy sprang from his eyes. Seamus was standing over her now too, happy she was alive, but still terrified of what was to come.
Harry and Draco backed away, letting the doctor examine her.
"It's a miracle you're alive," he muttered. "You must have taken a powerful potion to last that long without air."
"Wha-What are you talking about?" Maggie asked, starting get her barrings. "Where am I?"
"You're in the hospital wing," Seamus told her.
"What's the last thing you remember?" The doctor asked her.
Maggie thought back, reliving the episode she'd had watching Adrian petrify Jared.
"Jared," Maggie said, staring down at her blanket, then up at Neville. "Where's Jared?"
"What do you mean?" Neville asked, not wanting to shock her with the fact that Jared had been petrified.
Maggie started having a fit again. "I-I-sa-it-t-ppn-ea-im-I-I-I-I-cou-n-"
"Perhaps we should let her rest, then try asking questions later," the doctor suggested. "Her heart is trying to make up for everything lost and it's affecting her cognition. She needs a few hours of rest- at least."
"Right," McGonagall said. "Perhaps only Dean and Seamus should stay with her for a while. The rest of us can go up to my office need be."
While Emily and Martha came willingly, Draco had to pry Nolan away from Maggie's bed.
"Who are you?" Nolan asked him as they walked away.
"I'm Dominic Greengrass's uncle," Draco told him.
"I thought you were murdered?"
"The other uncle."
"Nolan, you've met Mr. Malfoy before," Martha told him. "With Maggie, remember?"
"Oh yeah," Nolan mumbled. The thought of losing his closest friend and the woman he loved consumed his thoughts and clouded his memory.
"Em-ly," Maggie stuttered weakly.
Emily turned back to the cot.
"Darling, you need to rest-"
"Em-ly," Maggie repeated, ignoring her parents.
Emily kneeled down next to her friend and listened attentively.
"Fine-fine-d-Te-Teddy," Maggie stuttered quietly, so only Emily could hear. "A-Adri-nn-di-id-it-t-t-t."
Maggie started convulsing and seizing again, leaving everyone in terror.
"Her body can't take any more of this!" Madam Pomfrey screeched.
The doctor stood up, pointed his wand at Maggie, and said, "petrificus totalus."
Maggie's body froze in an off-putting expression, but the doctor assured them it would help her out of the fit.
❖❖❖
"Why are we going to the library?" Emily asked Martha as they walked through the empty corridor.
"I swear I've read something before that's identical to Maggie's condition," Martha replied, determined to save Maggie if it killed her.
As they turned the corner, a familiar, but an embarrassing shade of pink, face stood before them.
"H-hi guys," Teddy said awkwardly.
Martha walked straight up to Teddy and smacked him across the face, breaking the skin open with her sharp nails.
"Where the hell have you been?" Martha screamed. She and Emily had spent almost an hour looking for him earlier when Maggie first fell ill.
Teddy was too embarrassed to admit he had slept with Adrian the night before, then woken up to an empty bed, so he lied and told them he'd been working in the library all night on a potions paper.
"Why?" He added.
"Maggie died," Martha said angrily.
"Then came back to life," Emily added as she saw Teddy face turn from guilt to horror.
"Then almost died again," Martha said. "And could die any minute now."
"What?" Teddy asked. "How? Why?"
"We don't really know," Emily explained. "They said she just started convulsing and having seizures for hours. She should have died already. The doctor but a freezing charm on her to calm her down, but that will wear off in an hour or two."
"Can I go see her?" Teddy asked, pushing past them.
Martha grabbed Teddy's arm and pulled him back. "You missed that chance. They don't want anyone except her parents there right now. You should have been there when she died. We went looking for you so you could be there if something happened, but you weren't anywhere in Hufflepuff or the kitchens or the grounds or the library."
Teddy's face went a darker shade of pink. "Fine," he gave in. "Adrian and I were in the Room of Requirement all night. And we... slept together."
"So while Maggie was dying, you were sucking-"
"Martha!" Emily scolded. "Don't you even dare finish that sentence!"
A few tears slipped down Teddy's eyes. "He was gone when I woke up," Teddy said quietly. "I guess it was just meaningless to him anyway."
"I told you he was bad news," Martha mumbled.
Between feeling used and missing his sister's near death, Teddy let out a few sobs. Emily comforted him and told hid neither were his fault.
"I was so stupid!" Teddy cried. "Maggie might be dying and I was off with some guy that doesn't even care about me."
Martha started to feel guilty for yelling at Teddy, seeing he hadn't had the best night either.
"Maybe Adrian just snuck off early to get you breakfast and bring it back?" Martha tried to cover.
"At four in the morning? I doubt it. He just wanted me for sex and that's it. No wonder he kept trying to move things so quickly."
Emily rested her head on Teddy's shoulder and said kindly, "you're probably better off without him."
"I feel like such an idiot..."
"You never know," Martha said, trying to make Teddy feel better. "Maybe he had to go do something."
Oh my god... Emily thought. Did Adrian sneak off and petrify Jared? Is that what Maggie meant by "find Teddy" and "Adrian did it"?
Emily didn't say anything out loud, but slowly, she pieced together that it was Adrian all along. She didn't want to make things worse for Teddy, and she knew Martha would hunt Adrian down and finish him off with an unforgivable curse, landing her in Azkaban.
Martha took them up to the library, then back to the restricted section.
"The book is a dark emerald color with golden lining," Martha told them as they searched for the book. "It's really old and falling apart."
Emily wandered off down one of the aisles, away from Martha and Teddy, looking for a book that resembled what Martha described.
Something started gripping Emily's neck and threw her back against one of the shelves. An angry Adrian materialized in front of her, smirking and laughing viciously.
Emily tried to scream for help, but Adrian's strangling made it too hard to breathe, let alone yell.
"You're not the only one that can read minds." Adrian's voice was low and raspy, nothing like she had heard him speak before. "I know you've figured me out, and I know Martha is on the track of figuring out what I did to Maggie, but if you say a word to any of them about me, I'll make your life so miserable you'll wish I'd slit your throat instead. Don't test me you disgusting mudblood." As quickly as he had come, Adrian disappeared.
Emily fell to her hands and knees, gasping for air. Teddy ran to her and sat her upright.
"Emily? What's wrong?" Teddy asked, pulling her hair back out of her face.
"I don't know what's come over me," Emily lied. "I stepped past the window and all the air got knocked out of me."
"It was probably this," Teddy said, picking an advanced charms book up. "Charms books have weird effects on people."
"Found it!" Martha yelled from the other side of the restricted section.
Teddy helped Emily to her feet and walked her to Martha.
"How in fuck's sake did you manage that?" Teddy asked her, looking at the magical chains on the floor. "How did you get them off the book?"
"You can break any chain once you find the weakest link," Martha muttered, flipping through pages, finally landing on one. "Here! The Epileptic Potion. It makes it's victims have severe seizures, lose consciousness, and lose touch with their senses for periods of time. It doesn't take much to cause severe damage, and its effects can last for days- if the victim lives that long."
"Why were you ever reading about this in the first place?" Teddy asked.
"Does it matter? I'm trying to save Maggie's life here," Martha replied. "And I'm not finished. The potion does some other crazy shit too." Martha placed her manicured finger at the start of a paragraph and showed it to Teddy.
"You think this is what happened to Maggie?" Teddy asked skeptically. "Who would do this to her?"
"Maybe it was whoever's been petrifying people," Emily spoke up. "Maybe she figured out who it was and they wanted to keep her quiet."
"That's a good motive," Martha agreed. "But people were with her all night. It only takes ten minutes for the poison to set in. It would have had to been Dean, Harry, Draco, or McGonagall."
"But none of them would poison Maggie," Teddy. "Draco is the only one that isn't related to her besides McGonagall and McGonagall wouldn't do it. So it has to be Draco."
"Why would Draco hurt Maggie?" Emily asked.
"Draco was with me when Maggie had to be poisoned," Martha said defensively. "It wasn't him!"
"Think about it," Teddy pressed. "He's a pureblood, he has a long history of hating Uncle Harry, Aunt Ginny, Uncle Dean, Uncle Seamus, Uncle Ron, Aunt Hermione, and Uncle Neville. Why is he even at Hogwarts?"
"He has his reasons," Martha said. "He needed to talk to me and Dominic."
"And he's not a angsty teenager anymore," Emily said. "He hated them when they were still at Hogwarts. They're what, thirty-five now? People change as they get older."
"Well who else would have done it?"
"Whoever's been petrifying people is a methamorphmagus," Martha said. "They could easily make themselves small enough to get past everyone in the room-"
"Are you saying I poisoned Maggie?" Teddy's mouth dropped in anger.
"Of course not! McGonagall and Longbottom think there's another metamorphmagus in the school," Martha said. "Emily told me about it."
"Well it was Maggie's theory really," Emily said quietly.
"We'll get whoever did this to her later, now how do we stop this Epileptic Potion?" Teddy asked.
"There's a counter potion," Martha explained, "but I don't think the school has the right ingredients to make it."
"We could go ask Cross," Teddy said. "He'll know for sure what the school has."
"It's nearly five in the morning on a Saturday," Emily said. "I doubt anyone's awake besides those of us that were at Maggie's bedside and those Ravenclaw boys that brought Jared in."
"We can still try," Martha said. "He's a good man. He won't be bothered by helping us with a potion to save Maggie's life."
❖❖❖
"There you are!" Harry said as familiar faces came into the hospital wing.
"We came as soon as we heard," Hermione said. "We woke up to your message about Maggie."
Ron and Hermione gathered around Dean and Seamus, who were emotional wrecks, while Harry, Ginny, and Neville stood on the other side of Maggie's cot.
The body freezing charm had worn off now, and Maggie was sleeping uneasily. Her clothes, sheets, and hair were drenched in sweat; every part of her except for her red face was pale and bluish; and she was moaning uninterpretable phrases.
"How is she?" Ron asked with little hope for a good answer.
"She stopped seizing finally," Dean said. "But the doctor still has no idea what's wrong with her."
"How long as she been like this?" Hermione asked.
"The first seizure happened around midnight," Harry explained. "She was fine one minute, drinking her tea and chatting, then convulsing the next."
"She kept having fits all night," Dean added. "And she's stopped breathing suddenly more times than I want to count."
"Is there anything anyone can do?" Ron asked.
"Not until we figure out what's wrong," Dean said.
The hospital door opened and a frantic Professor Cross ran in, followed by Martha, Emily, and Teddy. Professor Cross was a tall, but dopey man. He had long limbs that he often didn't know what to do with.
"Professor Cross?" Neville said. "What are you doing here so early?"
"Martha here tells me Maggie's been having seizures all night and coming in and out of consciousness," he said quickly. "Is it true?"
They all nodded.
Cross turned to her parents. "And she has no history of seizures or epilepsy?"
Dean and Seamus shook their heads slowly, not understanding what was going on.
"Professor Cross, I have to say this is very inappropriate," Longbottom said sharply.
"Professor Longbottom," Cross said with a deep breath. "Martha has pointed out that Maggie's symptoms fall almost perfectly in line with a certain deadly potion. We think we can make an antidote, but I need Maggie's temperature for the calculations."
"You can save her?" Seamus asked.
"I'll be damned if I don't try," Cross said with determination.
"How long will it take?" Hermione asked as Martha took Maggie's temperature.
"Six hours, at least," Cross said.
"She could die before then," Emily spoke up. "The poison could kill her any minute!"
"Miss King, I assure you I'll work as fast as humanly possible, but for the antidote to work properly, it needs copious amounts of resting periods," Cross said.
"What can we do until then?" Ginny asked. "There's got to be something we can do to slow the poison down."
"Keeping her temperature down is the best way to help," Cross said. "Get her into cooler clothes and keep an ice cold cloth on her face."
"Wait," Longbottom paused. "You're saying Maggie took this potion sometime in the last day-"
"A high enough dose like this should've only taken ten to fifteen minutes," Cross interjected.
"So you're saying someone poisoned Maggie?" Neville asked.
"Yes sir, I am," Cross confirmed.
"I was with her for an hour before this happened," Dean said. "How could someone have-"
"Maggie had a cup of tea in her hand when I came back in," Martha reminded him. "The poison is odorless and colorless, but it isn't tasteless. Did she say anything about her tea?"
Dean paused in a sudden realization. "She said it was sour tasting. I figured it was just Maggie being Maggie, but you think she was poisoned?" Dean couldn't process the theory that someone would want to harm his sweet girl.
"Who would poison her?" Harry reasoned. "The only people in the room were Maggie, Dean, myself, and McGonagall. Certainly none of us would poison her."
"The cup could have been laced with the poison beforehand," Martha suggested.
"But how would the person know Maggie would get that teacup?" Hermione asked.
"Maybe Maggie wasn't the target," Ron spoke up.
"We think she was," Emily said. "She has information about the person that's been petrifying people. She tried to tell me when she was in that fit."
"Or maybe there was no target," Martha theorized. "Maybe it was just a distraction so he could petrify someone else. There was another victim last night."
"All that matters is my daughter is dying!" Seamus yelled. Silence cut through the air.
"I swear on everything I hold dear that I will do everything possible to save her," Cross promised. "Now Martha, what's her temperature?"
"43.3," Martha said quietly. "That's a higher fever than anyone, witch ot muggle, can survive. It's a miracle she hasn't died." A short sob escaped Seamus's mouth.
"Alright, well let's take this back to my room and not worry anyone else about it until we have a proper antidote," Cross told them. The students followed Cross out of the hospital wing, but Harry pulled Teddy aside in the corridor.
"Where have you been?" Harry asked Teddy calmly. He wasn't angry with Teddy, but rather worried why he wasn't in his room when Martha and Emily had gone looking for him.
Teddy stared at the ground, not sure how to word anything. He'd been through so much emotional turmoil in the last few hours, he didn't know what feeling stable was anymore.
"Teddy?" Harry asked, growing more concerned by the second. "You know you can tell me anything, what's happened?"
"It seems silly now that Maggie's on her deathbed," Teddy mumbled.
"We're all worried about Maggie," Harry said. "So putting that aside, what else is going on?"
"I did something really stupid," Teddy said, scared of how Harry would react.
"Look who you're talking to," Harry laughed a little, "I've done plenty of stupid things."
"Yeah but you didn't hurt everyone and get hurt yourself in the process," Teddy said. "I can't believe I let him get between me and my friends."
"Who is 'him'?"
"I started dating this guy- his name's Adrian- a few weeks ago," he explained. "He was so sweet and caring and thoughtful... I didn't see he was tearing me away from my friends. I think I really hurt Martha the most. Maggie and Emily too. I hope our friendship is still salvagible after things settle down."
"And things ended badly with this Adrian?" Harry asked. "Something made you realize he was pulling you away from your friends."
"Promise you won't freak out?"
"Promise."
"He just wanted me in bed, he doesn't actually care about me," Teddy admitted. "I see now why he was moving things so fast."
"And you were with him all night," Harry concluded.
"Well, when I woke up, he was gone."
"I'm sorry, Ted," Harry said and pulled his godson into a hug. "You deserve so much better. I know you'll find it."
"First, I need to fix things with Martha and Emily," Teddy said. "I hurt them the most. Then I'm going to spend some time with Maggie." A lump formed in Teddy's throat and his eyes started burning. "I've treated her like trash and now she might not live to see dinner."
"This isn't your fault," Harry told him. "What happened to Maggie is not your fault. She loves you like a brother and you know there's nothing you could ever do that she wouldn't forgive or continue loving you for. As soon as she's better, tell her all of this so she knows you've realized what you did wrong. I know she'll welcome you back in with loving arms."
"I feel so bad," Teddy said, softly crying. "I spent all my time with my boyfriend and completely neglected the fact she has one too. I barely know him. I'm a terrible brother."
"Maggie has a boyfriend?"
"Yeah, she does," Teddy said. "He must be a wreck right now- if he even knows. Maybe I'll snag him something from the kitchens and visit him."
"That sounds like a good idea," Harry said and let go.
"Call me if anything changes," Teddy said as he ran off to the kitchens, drying his tears with his shirt sleeve.
❖❖❖
Nolan was too preoccupied to do anything besides stare off out the window. His untouched tea was an hour cold, he was still in his night robes, and the only thing sadder than his face was his rambunctious hair.
He noticed the first three knocks, but it didn't cross his mind to open the door until the fourth.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled as Teddy stepped in.
"Don't be," Teddy said and smiled. Teddy had changed back into his classic look: bright blue hair, white washed jeans, and a yellow sweatshirt.
"Is there something you need?" Nolan asked slowly, doing his best to be hospitable. "No one's really up yet."
"I came to see you actually," Teddy said. He gestured over to the blue leather chairs. "Mind if we sit?"
"Of course, sorry." Nolan shook his head, trying to pull himself back to reality. The boys sat down opposite of each other.
"I brought this up for you." Nolan hadn't noticed Teddy was carrying anything until he set it on the table between them. "I thought you might not want to go down for breakfast, so I brought it to you."
"Thank you," Nolan said appreciatively. "Honestly, breakfast was the last thing on my mind."
A calm quietness filled the air. Teddy could see Nolan was distressed and not thinking clearly.
"You're Maggie's boyfriend, aren't you?" Teddy asked calmly.
"We've only been together for a week," Nolan replied. "But it took me six years to get that title, so I might as well use it- while I can at least."
"I'm Teddy, I'm-"
"I know," Nolan stoppd him. "She talks about you all the time. She calls you her brother. She really loves you a lot."
"But you're the one she dreams about at night," Teddy told him. "Maggie's my sister and I love her as much as I do my other family, but we have each other to lean on for support. I know you're not as surrounded and you're probably hurting more than any of us short of her parents, so I came to see how you are. You mean a lot to her, and that means you mean a lot to me."
"That's very kind," was all Nolan could muster up. He was touched someone had to come to check on him, too touched to hold the tears back any longer.
"It took six years, you know," Nolan said as tears streamed down his face, "six years of trying to get to know her more and reading into every little thing, hoping something would mean she liked me a fraction of how much I liked her. She's my best friend and I've spent almost every day of the last six years with her. I can't imagine my life without her and it...it..." He choked on his own tears. "It hurts to think she might die. I hate seeing her in so much pain. I just want to make everything better, but I know I can't."
"You can help us save her," Teddy said. "Martha and Emily are with Cross right now working on an antidote. I'm sure your brilliance would be helpful."
"I'm afraid I won't be much help," Nolan mumbled. "Not like this. My brain has gone to mush trying to comprehend how someone so perfect could be in so much agony. She doesn't deserve it."
"I agree." Teddy went to Nolan and pulled him into a hug. "I agree."
"Do you think they'd let me sit with her?" Nolan asked. "I know I'm not family, but I want to be there with her."
"I don't think anyone will object," Teddy said and stood Nolan up. "We'll go down together."
Everyone except for Maggie's parents and Neville had left the hospital wing to get some fresh air. A new face had appeared, one Nolan didn't recognize.
A woman in her mid thirties was sitting in a chair close to Maggie's head, laying a cold cloth across her face.
"Who's that?" Nolan whispered as they walked in.
"That's Auntie Hannah," Teddy told him. "Maggie's godmother and Longbottom's wife."
"Hello Teddy," Dean said as the boys apporoached the bed. Dean glanced at Nolan, not recognizing him.
"This is Nolan," Teddy introduced them. Nolan was too spaced out to speak. He just stared at Maggie. Teddy could see Nolan's heart shattering even more. "He and Maggie are sort of... together."
"Oh, you're Nolan?" Dean said, recognizing the name. "You and Maggie have been friends forever, I'm sorry this is only our first meeting."
"Me too," Nolan said, welling over with guilt for not having the courage to ask Maggie out earlier. The most important person in his life was being taken from him.
"How is she?" Teddy asked.
"She hasn't had a seizure in almost thirty minutes," Dean said. "It's a new record."
"Is there anything we can do?" Teddy asked.
"Can you go check on the antidote?" Seamus requested. "I'd go myself but I don't want to leave her."
"We'll go check," Teddy said and started pulling Nolan out.
"Can I stay here too?" Nolan asked. "I'm already the world's worst boyfriend for leaving her alone."
"I'm afraid Adrian has you beaten in the category," Teddy mumbled as he walked out.
Neville gave his chair to Nolan and went to look for another.
"So there's an antidote?" Nolan asked them.
"Supposedly," Seamus replied. "They think someone poisoned her."
"What?" Nolan's mouth dropped. "Who would do that? Maggie doesn't have enemies, she's the sweetest girl in school!"
"Martha thinks whoever's been petrifying people needed a distraction so they poisoned Maggie to distract everyone," Dean explained.
Oceans of anger flooded Nolan's heart. Before, there was no logical reason for Maggie's condition. Now, there was a tangible someone connected. And that someone could be beaten.
"I can't believe someone would do this!" Nolan raged. "What vile creature could torture such a perfect person and inflict pain across an entire family?"
Seamus took a liking to Nolan, as he felt the same anger that someone had willfully hurt his Maggie.
❖❖❖
The antidote was resting, so Cross sent Emily and Martha back to bed to rest after such an eventful night. Emily still hadn't told Martha what she knew about Adrian. She was worried Adrian would make sure Maggie died if she told anyone.
Martha was half dead as she entered the lazy common room. Frost had given everyone their privileges back, but there was still an uneasiness in the air. Students had just gotten back from breakfast.
As Martha walked past the marble fireplace to get to the girls stairs, she heard a familiar voice call her name.
There he was, standing good as new. Dominic reached out and hugged Martha, thanking her for everything she's done for him.
"You're back!" Martha said happily.
"I got released about an hour ago," he said. "I texted you, but you didn't respond, so I figured you were still sleeping."
"No actually," Martha said. "I never went to bed."
"What? Why?" Dominic asked.
Martha looked around and saw everyone was staring at them. People were either angry to see Dominic was back or shocked to see Martha hugging him.
"Let's talk in the newspaper office," Martha said.
After Martha closed the office door, she sat down in her chair behind the desk.
"So this is what this room looks like on the inside," Dominic said to himself. "I always wondered."
"How are you feeling?" Martha asked.
"I felt great until my uncle walked me into the Slytherin Common Room," Dominic said. "Then a lot of fear set in and I wanted to revert back to my old self. I didn't say anything to anyone, just said hello to Frost and went up to my room."
"I'm proud of you for holding your tongue," Martha said. "It's going to be hard to change, but you can hang around me, Teddy, and Emily from now on if you like."
"I appreciate that a lot, but what about Maggie and Nolan?" Dominic asked, finding it odd that she didn't mention them like she usually did.
"About that," Martha said as a lump formed in her throat. She has been strong for Emily's sake all night, and now it was starting to boil over. "Maggie's on the verge of death. We're doing everything we can to save her, but there isn't much hope." Martha's eyes burned and her head started pounding.
"Merlin..." Dominic muttered. "What happened? What's wrong?"
"Someone poisoned her with an epileptic potion," Martha said. "And a very high dose of it at that."
"What? Who even knows how to make that?" Dominic's mouth dropped. "Where would you even find Pudu eyes? The animal only lives in South Africa! And potion takes months to age! It would have to had been really premeditated!"
"Black market?" Martha guessed. "I don't know, but they'd have to be pretty advanced in potions. We're about ninty-five percent certain whoever did this is the same person that's been petrifying muggleborns."
"When was she poisoned?"
"After eleven thirty, but before midnight we think," Martha said. "I'd left the room for a half hour and when I got back, she started having seizures and convulsing. She did that all night. She stopped breathing a few times and her heart stopped. We thought she died until she started having seizures again. We only figured out it was a poison a few hours ago. The antidote is started, but it needs a four hour resting period. Hence why I came back to the dorms."
"Merlin..." Dominic muttered again. "Is she in the hospital wing? Can I go see her?"
"I don't think that's a good idea given your father is a wanted man and the Head Auror from the Ministry is sitting at her bedside. Besides, you need some rest."
"I've had plenty of rest," Dominic said. "But I'd rather go with you to see her. So I'll wait until you're rested up and ready to go."
"What are you going to do?" Martha asked.
"Would you mind if I stayed in here? I've still got a lot of work to make up and I'd rather not have people coming up to me asking why I was gone. Your office is quite calming by the way, love the blue and white."
"I don't mind at all," Martha replied. "I'll be up in bed, call me in four hours so I wake up."
"Will do," Dominic said as Martha left.
❖❖❖
"Where've you been?" Allen asked as Emily passed him in the common room.
"Long story," Emily mumbled.
"Ben's looking for you," Allen told her.
"He can keep looking until he falls off the face of the earth for all I care," Emily muttered and kept walking.
"He wants to apologize for last night," Allen explained. "When he came back to his senses, he realized how stupid he was. Please, just go talk to him."
"Where is he?" Emily huffed, not wanting to deal with her insensitive boyfriend after such a long night.
"Up in his room now," Allen said.
"Will you come with me to mediate?" Emily requested. "I want to break up with him, but I'm afraid he'll do something to keep me from leaving."
"That's your choice," Allen said. "I'll come if you want me to, as a witness in case something happens, but I'm not going to get involved."
"Thank you," Emily let out in relief.
"Rough night?"
"Maggie's on her deathbed and we've been trying to get her back up," Emily said.
"Oh my god... what happened?"
"Someone poisoned her," Emily explained. "It's a long story. The antidote is almost made, but it needs a four hour resting period before we add the last ingredient. And Cross still has to find the last ingredient."
"Does Nolan know?"
"Yes."
"How is he?"
"He's a mess."
"Is someone with him?
"Teddy is," Emily told him. "Teddy's taking care of him."
"I know this is cliche, but I'm sure Nolan would never be able to move on if Maggie died," Allen said. "I don't want him to go through any of this alone. He might not make it to the other side."
"Teddy's with him," Emily said. "But I'm sure they'd appreciate the company."
"I'll go after you're done with Ben," Allen said. "We'll all need each other to lean on after this hell fest."
Allen followed Emily up the boys stairs to the seventh years room. Before Emily opened the door, Allen stopped her.
"Go easy on him," he told her. "He already feels like the worst person in the world."
"Good, now he knows how it feels," Emily muttered and opened the door.
Emily and Allen saw the last thing they had expected on the other side of the door: Ben in bed with Lillian.
"Shit," Allen mumbled as the couple pulled the blankets up over themselves.
Emily didn't know what to think. She just stood there, speechless and motionless. Allen was too angry to say anything that wasn't a swear.
"How long?" Emily asked, already knowing the answer after a quick search through his mind. She was giving them a chance to be honest with her for once.
Ben didn't answer.
"How long have you been cheating on us?" Emily repeated.
"Since last year," Lillian said.
Tears sparked out of Emily's eyes. She was too angry to be sad.
"Him?" Allen said to Lillian as tears formed in his eyes too. "You cheated on me with my best friend?" He turned to Ben. "What the fuck?"
Neither Ben nor Lillian said anything.
"C'mon Em," Allen said and pulled her out of the room. "There's nothing else to say to these pigs." Emily let Allen pull her away. She knew if she had stayed, something violent would have happened.
Allen guided Emily down the stairs and into one of the corners of the common room. Emily had stopped crying and stared at the wall in horror.
"I hope you know you're not to be blamed here," Allen said quietly. "He's an asshole and doesn't deserve you. You certainly don't need him to be happy."
Emily started crying again. "He said he loved me," she cried. "It was all lies. How could he do this to me? I've been nothing but loyal to him, I've always given him everything he wanted, I've done everything I can to make his life good and this is how he treats me? With Lillian of all people? I thought we were friends!"
Allen winced at the sound of his ex girlfriend's name. "Ben's a shitbag and he doesn't deserve you," Allen said. "And Lillian is no better. Now come here." Allen pulled Emily into a hug and rested her head on his shoulder. "Everything's going to be alright."
Allen was shocked and hurt to find out Ben had been the person Lillian had cheated on him with, but he decided to hold it all in and be there for Emily.
Emily let everything out in tears: Maggie dying, being threatened by Adrian, and finding out her boyfriend had been cheating on her for almost a year.
"It's gonna be alright," Allen said. "This isn't your fault."
"Well I must have been doing something wrong to make him want to-"
"No, no, don't start that," Allen said. "You've done nothing. He's just an asshole that doesn't appreciate what he's got. He's blind. Lillian probably talked him into it. He's not smart enough to come with that on his own."
"What am I supposed to do?" Emily cried.
"You're going to go lay down," Allen said. "You're exhausted and you need sleep more than anything else. You'll feel better."
Allen asked Riley to Emily upstairs and make sure she lays down.
Emily laid down, but she couldn't sleep. All she could think about was Ben and how she had given everything to him, only to get cheated on in return.
Allen sat in the Gryffindor Common Room in fury. He was so mad at Ben he could scream. Lillian appeared on the staircase and walked out as if nothing happened. In a fit of rage, Allen ran up the stairs to confront Ben.
"How could you?" Allen screamed. "How could you? Emily is the nicest, sweetest, and kindest person you've ever met and you do this to her? With my girlfriend? Seriously, how do you two sleep at night knowing you've given people deep trust issues?"
"What's the big deal?" Ben asked. "Lillian was sick of you and I wasn't getting anywhere with Emily."
"How are you this stupid?" Allen yelled. "Do you have any idea what it's like to be so in love with someone that you dream about your wedding with them only to find out they've been sleeping with your best friend for months?"
"We just wanted to have some fun
It's not our fault-"
"It's not your fault?"
Allen lunged toward Ben and punched him in the nose. Ben fought back, knocking over trunks and breaking bedposts. The boys rolled around on the ground, punching and tackling each other until boys from the floor beneath them showed up to see what was going on.
The other students managed to separate Ben and Allen, but Allen broke free and punched Ben one last time, knocking him out.
❖❖❖
"I wonder how Seamus and Dean are holding up," Ron said as the four of them sat around a table in the teacher's break room.
"Their only child is on the verge of death," Ginny said. "I'm guessing they're not well."
"I wish there was more we could do," Hermione said. "I hate seeing them all and agony and the last person that deserves this is Maggie."
"She's strong," Harry said. "She just has to pull through another three hours."
"You think she'll be the same when she's back?" Ron asked.
"I don't think anyone could be the same again after going through something like this," Hermione said. "I've read about the potion that did this. It has a lot of other side effects."
"What do you mean?" They asked.
"While the victim's body has seizures," Hermione explained, "their souls are connected to whoever poisoned them until the poison either kills them or an antidote is presented. Maggie's awake somewhere and her soul is following around whoever did this to her. It can be quite traumatic."
"Bloody hell..." Ron mumbled.
"Who could do such a thing?" Ginny said to herself.
"We'll ask her," Harry resolved and downed the last of his tea, "as soon as she wakes up."
"How long do you think you guys are going to be here?" Ginny asked and rubbed her husband's hand, a habit she had when she felt anxious.
"Hopefully no more than a few days," Harry said and looked at Ron.
"After things with Maggie settle down, we can start a proper inquiry," Ron agreed. "Hopefully it won't take long."
"Kellman called me earlier," Harry said. "He says they've been tipped off that Greengrass is holding a suspicious meeting at his manor sometime tonight or tomorrow. They're going to try to catch him in the act and arrest him."
"Do you know if Draco's still around?" Ron asked. "He went to go get his nephew and bring him back. Is he still somewhere on castle grounds?"
"Why?" Hermione asked.
"Well I had an idea," Ron explained. "Draco married into the Greengrass family and has a connection to them. What if we had him actually at the meetings telling us what goes on?"
"Like a spy?"
"Yeah. Marcius'll trust his own brother-in-law, won't he?"
"I don't think Draco would like this," Harry said. "He doesn't want anything to do with the Death Eaters."
"I know but what if we told Draco that arresting Marcius is the only way to have Dominic legally taken into his care?" Ron suggested. "He'd do it for his nephew."
"Doesn't Greengrass have other children?" Ginny spoke up. "Does no one care about them?"
"The older boys are out of the house and the younger girls aren't old enough to be at Hogwarts yet," Harry said. "Draco's never mentioned anything about them."
"Maybe Draco trusts the mother to take care of the girls once Marcius is arrested, but not Dominic," Hermione suggested.
"We can always ask him," Ron said. "Should I go look for him?"
"It wouldn't hurt to talk about possibly putting Draco on the inside," Harry said. "Might as well."
Ron stood up and Hermione followed. "Good luck," Ginny said to them as they walked out.
"What are we going to do?" Ginny asked and rested her tired head on Harry's shoulder.
"I thought about going to find Teddy," Harry said. "I want him to show me the Battle of Hogwarts monument."
Ginny sat up and looked at him. "Do you think that's a good idea?" She asked. "Won't it bring all of the flashbacks back?"
"Probably," Harry said and held his wife's hand in his, playing with her delicately soft fingers. "But I want to see it all the same."
"I'm coming with you," Ginny told him.
"I was really hoping you would say that," Harry half laughed. "I don't think I can go there alone. Never again."
"I'll always be right beside you," Ginny promised.
"What did I ever do to deserve you, Ginny Weasley?" Harry mumbled.
"Weasley?" Ginny laughed. "I haven't heard you call me that since our wedding day. I prefer Ginny Potter."
A knock at the door interrupted their sweet moment and a frantic Neville appeared.
"There's been another attack."