Angel Of Mercy

Angel of Mercy--Chapter 10

Snape and Ron rushed to the hospital wing, the former carrying Melody. Had he been in a more observant state of mind, Ron would have asked Snape why he didn't just use the Mobilicorpus spell.

After what seemed like forever and a day, Snape and Ron arrived at the infirmary. Snape kicked the door open and rushed in, with Ron following closely behind. The commotion had startled Madam Pomfrey so badly that, at first, she didn't see Melody being laid on one of the beds.

"Severus, Mr. Weasley, what is the meaning of this?" Pomfrey asked. Snape moved out of the way, and the matron saw Melody's limp form on the bed. "Oh."

"Me and Melody..." Ron began, but Snape cut in.

"Melody and I," he corrected. Ron glared at the potions professor. "Five points from Gryffindor, Weasley."

"Fine then...Melody and I were outside during our free block, and I was teaching her how to fly. I guess the broom could tell she was nervous, and it shot out from under her, and she fell," Ron explained.

"Are you daft, Weasley?!" shrieked Madam Pomfrey, making both Ron and Snape flinch, although no one could tell that Snape did. "What in Merlin's name made you think you were qualified to teach someone to fly one of those contraptions? If she wanted to learn how to fly, she should have asked Rolanda to teach her." Ron looked puzzled at the mention of the name, as if her were trying to place it. "Madam Hooch, Weasley. Now, I have a lot of work to do, and you have a class to get to. Severus, I'm going to need some healing and pain relief potions. I have enough right now, but I have a feeling that my supplies are going to be depleted soon."

"Yes, Madam Pomfrey."

"As you wish, Poppy."

The Gryffindor and the Potions Master left the Hospital wing in a hurry just as the bell rang. Rushing all the way to the dungeons, both were out of breath as they entered the Potions classroom. As Ron was making his way to the back of the room where Harry and Hermione were, Snape called out to him.

"Detention tonight for being late, Weasley. Come and see me after dinner," he said, not looking away from the blackboard he was writing on. Ron opened his mouth to protest when Snape added, "And five points from Gryffindor for the protesting whine that was about to come out of your mouth, Weasley. Take your seat before I make it more."

A grumbling Ron made his way to the worktable behind Harry and Hermione. He dropped his bag on the floor, and the tinkling sound of breaking glass was heard. Ron took out his wand and muttered "Reparo jars" before taking out his books, quill and bottle of ink. Hermione and Harry shared a worried glance as Ron spread out a fresh piece of parchment; Ron never took notes in Potions.

"Is anything wrong, Ron?" whispered Hermione.

"I don't want to talk about it," Ron replied, not looking up from his note-taking.

"Where's Mel?" asked Harry, before Hermione could stop him. Ron looked up slightly, just enough so that his friends could see the tears in his eyes.

"I - don't - want - to - talk - about - it," Ron repeated slowly, as if trying to explain something to a small child. "Fuck off, Harry."

Both Harry and Hermione knew that at this point it would be a good idea to leave Ron alone. Neither Harry nor Hermione wanted him to snap and face the possibility of expulsion because of his actions.

Potions passed with no further incidences. Ron was sullen and silent all through Care of Magical Creatures and Transfiguration, except for when he was pulled out by Professor McGonagall briefly so that she could ask him about Melody. When they re-entered, Ron was red in the eyes, and McGonagall looked misty.

By the time dinner came around, Hermione was fed up with Ron's silence. She slammed her fork down on the table, startling everyone around her as Ron just idly picked at his pot pie.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley, what the hell is wrong with you?!" she exclaimed, making Ron's head snap up. His eyes were wide with surprise. "And don't give me any bullshit. I know there's something wrong, don't try to hide it."

"There's been an accident; Mel's in the hospital wing," Ron replied, his eyes welling up with tears. He wiped them away quickly so that no one could see them. "I'm so stupid; I shouldn't have made her get on that broom. If I had just seen the signs, she'd still be here."

Harry and Hermione were speechless; of all the things they expected, that definitely wasn't it.

"How bad is it?" asked Hermione, finding her voice first.

"She was out cold when I left the infirmary before Potions," Ron replied. "Pomfrey told Snape and me that she had a lot to do to try and help her."

"Wait...why was Snape with you?" asked Harry confused.

"He was outside when Mel fell, and he carried her to the hospital wing," Ron replied. "Good thing, too. He's still and overgrown bat, but if hadn't been there, I'd still be running around like a chicken with its head cut off."

"Oh," said Harry and Hermione in unison.

"Do you think Madam Pomfrey will let us visit her?" asked Hermione. Now that she wasn't screaming at Ron anymore, to occupants of the Gryffindor table had lost interest and had returned to their own conversations.

"I don't know; I can't go and visit her tonight anyway," Ron replied. "I have detention tonight, remember?"

"We should wait until tomorrow, at least," said Harry. "I know what Pomfrey's like, and she'll kick us out." Harry was very familiar with the Hospital wing because he was in the infirmary about a month each school year due to various accidents that happen to him.

"That's a good idea," said Hermione. "Besides, I know for a fact that neither of you have done this week's homework."

Both boys sighed when she said this.

***

The hospital wing was dark and silent. Moonlight filtered in through a crack in the curtains and fell on Melody's pale face. A dark figure moved in the shadows, trying to remain undetected. If he were caught at the bedside of an injured Gryffindor student, there would be some very awkward questions. Many in the school would wonder what his intentions were; most would assume he was up to no good.

He quietly dragged a chair to Melody's bedside and sat in it, just staring at her, After a while he took one of her small, pale hands into one of his large ones and held it until the cold sunlight began to drift into the wing.