will return.' She gestured to the bedside table, where several Get Well cards stood on end, along with a couple boxes of what looked like Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. 'And you have some gifts from those who hope you're well enough to leave soon.'
'Am I?'
'Not by a long shot. Tomorrow evening will be soon enough,
'I did?'
'Yes. If Professor Snape had not found you and administered treatment for your shock, it is unlikely we would be having this conversation. You should have come to me immediately. Did you not realize you had been injured?'
'No, ma'am. I was tired, but . . .' He shrugged. 'Not until he had me take off my robe, and I could see the blood and all.'
Madam Pomfrey nodded slightly, her gaze thoughtful. 'Well, try and get some more rest,' she said. 'It will take at least today for your body to make up the rest of the blood you lost. We'll see how you're doing tomorrow.'
'Yes, ma'am. Thank you.'
She gave him a brief smile, and went back to her office. Harry reached for the box of Bertie's Beans and read the tag on top of it. '
Instead of thinking any more about it, he opened the box and picked out a cream-colored bean. Mmm, coconut. His second one was pink and tasted of grapefruit; a little sour, but good. Maybe this was a batch of
He picked up one of the boxes of Chocolate Frogs next – as there were two – and the card said, '
Harry grinned. He liked Millicent; she had a good sense of humor and was awful protective of people – like him – who stood up for her in turn. He was looking forward to seeing her later, and Teddy, too. He got along real well with Teddy, though the skinny boy was sometimes hard to figure out. And the way he stood up for Harry, with Zabini, especially . . . well, it was the first time Harry had ever had anyone do that for him, too.
Harry nibbled on a frog – the card was of Dumbledore, who he already had three of – and looked at one of the free standing cards. One of them was from the Slytherin Quidditch team, and as far as he could tell, everyone who was currently on the team – Marcus Flint, Terrence Higgs, Adrian Pucey, Nathan Bole and Miles Bletchley – had signed it. Some of them – notably Higgs and Flint – had also jotted a bit about how Harry had better be up on his broom for practices this week,
The second card was signed by all his year mates, including Draco and – even more surprisingly – Zabini. He wondered what they'd had to give him to get him to sign. A few possibilities occurred, and Harry snickered to himself while reaching for the second box of Chocolate Frogs. There was no tag or card on this one at all. Weird. He moved things around on the small table, in case it had fallen off, but there was no tag or anything like it to be found. Harry placed the box carefully to the side, a little leery of opening it, without knowing who it was from. Maybe Madam Pomfrey knew. He'd ask her later. It would be a shame to not
He considered the possibilities of who might have left the unsigned gift, and decided it was probably Teddy. He'd ask him later, if he and Millicent really came to see him.
He slept a little more, and late that afternoon, when he was nearly ready to scream with boredom, they did visit. Teddy had thoughtfully brought his book bag and the homework assignments he had for the weekend.
'Aww, you shouldn't have,' Harry said.
Teddy snickered. 'Well, if you'd rather stare at the ceiling some more instead . . .'
'No! No, it's okay. It's a lovely gesture, thanks.' Harry grinned. 'Although,
'Prat. I don't give candy to whiners.'
'Whiners!'
'Yeah, all whimpering and needing coddling and stuff.' Teddy grinned. 'I mean, why should a knife through the chest keep you in bed for the weekend, huh? It's not like you had a hangnail or something serious like that.'
Harry frowned. 'How do you know it was a knife through the chest?
'Oh, you know,' Teddy said with a vague wave. 'That's the rumor. You
'Yeah, there were a couple people snogging in the corner. Didn't look like I made much of an impression.'
'So what
'And Peeves is taking advantage of it, no end,' Teddy added. 'Supposedly the Bloody Baron's the only one who can control him. He's been pranking everyone, especially the Puffies. I think that's 'cause he can make them cry or something.' Teddy shook his head as if that was about the saddest thing in the world.
Harry shrugged. 'Well, I