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Night Terrors by Karaley Dargen

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I don’t have much time to think about the new developments once I get back to the castle. Martha is waiting for me to practice Charms, and then I have to get started on my other homework, since there’s no telling how long the match tomorrow is going to last.

All my plans are put to a halt though when I get to the common room. It takes me a minute to spot Martha behind her pile of books, and when I do, I wish I hadn’t. Her eyes are red, her face is blotchy, and the smile she gives me is weak. Why is everyone around me upset today?

–Hey Martha.” I sit down next to her. –What’s going on?”

–It’s nothing. It’s just...” She presses her hands on her forehead. –It’s a lot of work, that’s all.”

–But you’re going to manage, right?” I say. –You’ve always managed when the rest of us were flailing around.”

–I’m not so sure.” She sighs. –I just wish I could do it like... like Ed, you know. Just pick a couple of fun subjects and lie in the sun the rest of the day. That would be nice.” She turns a couple of pages in her book.

–Come on now, Martha, that’s not fair,” I try to argue. –You know that Ed works hard, and the practical classes aren’t exactly easy.”

–Yeah,” Martha mutters, and pulls another book from her stack. –It’d just be comforting if my dad could guarantee me a job straight out of Hogwarts. It would take some of the pressure off, and then maybe I could take a day off once in a while as well. Not have to work so hard...”

–Seriously, I don’t think-” I begin.

–Don’t bother, Tonks,” says a voice behind us. By the time we turn around, we can just see Ed exiting the Den through the fake barrel.

–Great,” Martha says, and tears well up in her eyes. –Just... great.”

–Why do you keep saying these things if you don’t really mean them?” I ask.

–It’s just- it upsets me, okay?” Martha bursts out. –We used to have so much time together, the three of us, and now...” The tears are flowing freely down her face. –I don’t have time for anything anymore. This is our last year, and I might not see him again at all, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

I pull her into a hug as she starts sobbing. –I just wish I had more time,” she says, shaking. –And then I see him, and nothing seems to have changed for him, and just...”

She breaks off and turns back to the table, rearranging her books.

–Things have changed for him as well, Martha,” I say truthfully. –He’s more serious about school now. About a lotof things, actually. I’m sure that if you talked to him, he’d understand.”

–How can I talk to him?” she asks. –All we do is fight. I doubt he even still wants to be friends with me.”

–You know that’s not true. Of course he doesn’t want to be snapped at, but other than-”

–See?” Martha spins around, and her cheeks are red again. –That’s all I seem to be able to do anymore. Snap at him.”

Before I can reply, she has gathered her things and left towards the dormitories. I briefly consider going after her, but she doesn’t seem to want any company. If she’s not back out by dinner, I’ll check for her. This seems to be my solution for everyone’s problems today. Just wait for dinner.

–What’s with her?” asks a plant that’s hanging from the ceiling nearby.

–Shut up,” I grumble, and walk to the exit.

I really don’t know what I should do next. I could try going after Ed, which would probably upset Martha if she found out. Anyway, I have no idea where he might have gone. Or I could do the Charms thing on my own, which might upset Martha too.

Deciding that I can’t just dance around her possibly finding out, I resolve to go to the kitchens. I might not end up getting any eggs or oranges for Charms practice, but right now, I really just want a sandwich and some dessert.

The kitchen is quite close to the Den, so at some point practically every Hufflepuff students finds out how to get in. It took me until late in my second year, and a particularly desperate nightly hunger pang. Martha told me later that she had known since right from the start, when she was homesick and one of the house-elves took her for comfort food.

When I tickle the pear, the entrance opens, and I can see a whole group of house-elves already bustling around a table.

–Charlie!” I exclaim. –What are you doing here?”

–Dessert,” he mumbles between bites, and shows me the assortment of small cakes that the elves have prepared.

Before I can even ask for one, a chair is brought to me and set down opposite Charlie at the table. –Thanks,” I say, then turn back to Charlie. –I didn’t know you knew how to get in here!”

–I have two very resourceful brothers,” he says with a wink. –Shame they didn’t get to Hogwarts sooner. Anyway, you’d think you would have told me about this!”

–It’s a closely guarded house secret.” I pull one of the plates toward me. –What are we having then?”

–Strawberry cream roll,” Charlie says and points it out to me. –You have to try it.”

–Any news about Alexandra?” I ask when we’ve both had our plates filled.

Charlie shakes his head. –She’s definitely not playing. We don’t even know if she’s still at Hogwarts.”

–She might still be in the hospital wing.” I ponder for a moment. –Morgan Wagtail is.”

–Who?”

–That bloke from Ravenclaw. Apparently, he didn’t wake up this morning, and now he’s in the hospital wing and no one’s allowed in to see him.” I take a mouthful of cake. Charlie was right -- it’s heavenly.

–So you think it’s the same thing?” Charlie asks, frowning.

I shrug. –Might be. Do you remember anyone ever being in the hospital wing with no visitors allowed at all?”

–I’m sure it’s happened before. I mean, it must have. If someone needs special rest, or maybe they’re infectious...”

–So you think it could be like an epidemic?” I ask and squint at the food around us that is being prepared for dinner.

–Well, I-” He sighs. –I don’t know. It doesn’t make sense. If it really were infectious, they’d probably be checking their classmates as well, or at least the people they share a dormitory with, and then we’d have heard about it.”

–Unless it’s all being hushed up,” I suggest.

–I think Dumbledore cares too much about our safety to hush something like that up,” Charlie says. –And anyway... an infection that hits two people from two different houses... Doesn’t make much sense, unless they’re seeing each other or something.”

–Morgan’s got a girlfriend in Ravenclaw,” I explain. –She was the one who told me about him being in the hospital wing. And she seemed fine earlier.”

We sit in silence for a while, nibbling at some biscuits as we’ve finished the cake. The house-elves have brought a pot of tea and cucumber sandwiches as well, and none of them seem to mind our lingering. A whole number of thoughts are whirring around my head, one of them being that Charlie brought up the possibility that Alexandra and Morgan might be seeing each other. But before I can give that any sort of coherent meaning, Charlie sets down his cup rather noisily, and I can see that he’s got that frowny look on his face.

–What are you thinking?” I ask, because he’s never going to just spill it.

–It’s just... an idea.” He crumbles a biscuit on his spoon and stares at it for a moment.

–Spit it out already,” I urge.

–Do you think it could have anything to do with those things that are being sold? That they’ve taken something that backfired completely?” The looks he gives me is almost pleading.

I ponder this for a moment. –I don’t know Morgan Wagtail at all. Would Alexandra be the type for this?”

–That’s where my theory falls apart,” Charlie says. –Alex has always been good at the subject she cares about, and yeah, she studies, but she’s never struggled or obsessed, not even during OWLs.”

–You never know what the pressure might do to people. Maybe she’s got more on her plate than she’s letting on,” I suggest. –Jenna Twycross was treated for Doxy egg poisoning last month because she took something. She was so embarrassed about it afterwards, but she couldn’t keep it from Martha and me, seeing how we were there when she-” I break off. –Sorry. We’re still eating... Anyway, Jenna’s the last person I thought would break over the exams, but clearly she did. People change in these situations.”

–Hmm.” Charlie dips his spoon into his cup and watches the biscuit crumbs soak up the tea. –I could ask around a bit,” he says when he looks up. –Talk to the girls in our year. Maybe she mentioned something to one of them.”

–Yeah, and I could try and talk to Laura again, see if she knows if Morgan gets a lot of pressure from home,” I say, and pick up a sandwich. –If I get a chance - it’s not exactly like we’re friends.”

–It would really help if we knew for sure that they’ve got the same thing. I just wish there was a way for us to see them in the hospital wing,” Charlie grumbles.

–If you’re not careful tomorrow, I might give you a reason for a trip,” I say, waving a cucumber slice at him.

He needs a moment to pick up the joke, but then he bursts out laughing. –I think I’ll pass,” he finally says. –Would be good if we could sneak in though.”

–We could ask one of these guys here to have a look around for us... The sheets in the hospital wing need changing too, right?”

A house-elf carrying a bowl of soup past us hears this, gives a yelp, and scurries off.

–Oi!” Charlie exclaims. –You’re scaring off the food!”

We spend the next half hour or so hatching plans on how to get into the hospital wing, but short of a serious illness or injury, we come up with nothing. And since neither of us feels like eating Doxy eggs or droppings or whatever is in the newest brain buffing concoction on the market, we have to discard that idea as well.

With about two hours left before dinner, Charlie remembers that he has to be at the pitch for a short last minute practice, and bolts out the door. I’m beginning to think that Wood might be much scarier than he seems at first glance. It’s for the best that Charlie has to leave, too, because I really have to get started on my schoolwork. I fancy neither the Den nor the library much right now, so I find an empty classroom to work in. When it’s time to go to the Great Hall, I’m in a much better mood. I’ve made good progress on my essays and reading, Martha seems to have cheered up a bit, and Ed, even though he’s sitting a few seats away, is in animated conversation with half our Quidditch team.

My spirits are so high, actually, that Ida Bulstrode infuriates me only slightly when she yells across three tables, –Hey, Tonks! Come here, we’ll show you an extra cushioning spell in case you fall off your broom again!”

*

My eyes fly open early on Saturday morning, and for the first time in a while, I’m not the last one to leave the dormitory; Helen is still brushing her long hair back into a ponytail when I lace up my boots.

–See you in the stadium,” she says when I’m ready to go. –I’ll be the one with the loudest cheers. Good luck!”

As I rush through the tunnel into the common room, I can feel excitement surging through me. This is the match that we can win. In a couple of hours, the Den might be stuffed with food from the kitchens and roaring with our celebrations. The common room is empty, with people no doubt taking an early breakfast so that they can secure good seats in the stands. Hufflepuffs always support their team spectacularly at Quidditch matches, no matter whether we lose every single one.

The grin on my face freezes suddenly when I see Jenna. She’s as pale as the Grey Lady, and her eyes go round when she sees me.

–Hey, Jenna,” I say and quickly walk up to her. –What’s the matter?” I put a hand on her arm, worried that she might collapse. I just hope she hasn’t taken those Doxy pills again.

–You haven’t heard yet,” she breathes. I can see now that her eyes are edged with tears.

–Haven’t heard what?” Panic suddenly starts gripping me. –What’s going on?”

She almost chokes on the words when she speaks, and all I can understand is ‘hospital wing’.

–Jenna, calm down,” I urge, having trouble breathing calmly myself. –Who’s in the hospital wing? Someone from Hufflepuff?”

Starting to sob in earnest now, Jenna nods and buries her face in her palms.

–This morning?” I think of people not waking up, people taking illegal potions, people being quarantined - or protected - in the hospital wing. –Jenna, who is it?”

My mind races to remember if Martha was in the dormitory when I woke up. Could she have been removed with neither Helen nor me noticing?

–It’s Ed,” Jenna sobs, jerking me right out of my wild thoughts. –I saw them levitating him out.”

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