Not Alone

On Sunday morning, Dean had a leisurely breakfast with Beth, Ernie and Su before they all headed up to the roof to collect their post. The morning sun was bright and dazzling and the owls were hiding in whatever shade they could find. Helios had chosen his spot well that first day; it stayed in the shade no matter what time it was. Dean put his hand into the box and brought out a scarlet envelope. He laughed out loud, recognising the handwriting. "Hey you three, come here, I think this might be for all of us..."

The envelope was smoking at the corners by the time they got over to him. "Wait for it..." Dean prised open the back of the envelope then dropped it, clapping his hands to his ears.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DID YOU LOT FEED ME LAST NIGHT?? Thanks for the potion, though..."

They laughed uproariously as the envelope curled into ashes at their feet.

* ~ *

Dean decided to spend Sunday quietly browsing through his new Potions textbook, worrying about trying to produce some of the complicated-looking antidotes. He even had a try at making his own Hangover Cure Potion, but since it had to mature over three days and he had no intention of ever drinking again, he had no way to test it yet. He wasn't that confident it would work. For some reason, he'd instinctively added a dash of Kelpie blood to the mix before leaving it to stew.

He also borrowed one of the kitchen's cauldrons to attempt an Invigoration Draught. He was pleasantly surprised to find it was easy to do. He made it in about ten minutes, and he'd only needed to read the instructions once.

He had an early dinner alone and headed back to his room to get an early night; he had a feeling the first day of working in the hospital was going to be hell. As he put his hand on the doorknob of his bedroom door, he heard a voice call his name. He turned to see Ernie coming up the hall towards him. "Hey, Dean. Have you already eaten?"

"Yeah, just came back."

"Oh... Well, I was gonna go ask Su and Beth if they wanted to come with us, but-"

"But what, Ernie? Just go ask Su if she wants to join you. You don't always need us there." Dean lifted his hand off the door handle and put it on Ernie's shoulder. "If you want to get to know her better, it might help not asking all of us to come."

Ernie flushed to the roots of his hair. "Er. Um. Okay, I guess." Ernie walked away towards the diamond looking thoughtful. Dean rolled his eyes and stepped into his room.

* ~ *

Monday morning brought with it a good luck card from his mother for his first day and a letter from Lee informing him that he had not been the only one to get a Howler from a hung-over Seamus - Fred and George had received one that had been much more colourful than Dean's. The amusement he got from this news lasted until the door closed in the Transfiguration classroom.

As Dean had predicted, Transfiguration was going to be his worst subject. It had nearly been his downfall at O.W.L level, though Professor McGonagall had assured him he was capable of getting the N.E.W.T required for St Mungo's. Now, however, he was trying to cope with two years of work and he was terrified he was going to fail miserably. The Professor, Geoff Holmes, had Katie's approach and treated them all as friends; he was approachable, but had an aura that warned against any kind of fooling around.

He took them through a couple of case studies of minor cases that had involved botched transfigurations: a woman who had managed to give herself ears and whiskers like a cat, a child who'd gotten a hold of her mother's wand and developed feet like a duck, and another man who had transplanted an elephant's trunk somewhere it didn't belong. The class howled with laughter at that one.

Dean had trouble working out the Switching Spells even for such minor cases; he simply couldn't make the connection between what each patient should look like and the equations used to construct the spell. It didn't help that he could see Beth, two seats over, get all hers done before he was even half way through the first.

At the end of the class, Geoff collected all their equations just as the door opened and a tall, dark-haired woman walked in. She gave the impression that she was very busy, though her smile and face were warm and welcoming. "Ah, yes. Class, this is Faith Kelly. She will be your student overseer while you are down in the hospital. If you have any problems, she's the one you see."

Faith Kelly gave him a nod of acknowledgement. "Thanks, Geoff. Now, the class will be split into two shifts. One starts an hour from now. In this shift, I have Quentin Jones, Su Li, Elizabeth McKeown, Ernest Macmillan, Danielle Scott, and Dean Thomas. I will meet you in the reception area of St Mungo's main hospital an hour from now. The rest of you, your shift starts at six o'clock and I will meet you at the same place. I'll see you all soon." And with that, she swept out the door.

The six in the first shift had lunch together quickly. Quentin was a quiet, bookish type with huge banks of knowledge and statistics; he was tall and thickset with close-cropped red hair. He didn't really talk much, unless he was spouting out statistics related to anything they were talking about, which Dean found a little odd. Danielle was even quieter; she jumped when anyone talked to her, as if she was expecting them to hurt her. She was small and dainty already and her posture made her seem even more so. She had shoulder-length, spun-sugar blonde curls which she twirled around her fingers nervously, and her blue eyes appeared much too large for her small face. Dean was sure she'd have a pretty smile if she dared to try it.

They ate hurriedly, talking a little about Healer Kelly, wondering what she would be like. Their first impression of her had happened so fast that they weren't at all sure what to expect when they got down there. They certainly weren't expecting her to hand a fire-breathing baby to Danielle, who shook so much she almost dropped it before hastily passing it on to Su. Su rocked the baby gently while leaning her head back for fear of her hair catching on fire.

"Okay... what is wrong with this baby?"

Beth was looking completely stunned. "Er. It's breathing fire?"

"Thank you for that fine demonstration of observation, McKeown. Anyone care to venture a guess as to why?"

No one spoke. They all just shuffled their feet and averted their eyes. Finally, Quentin appeared to find his voice and spoke very fast. "Several things can cause fire-breathing: severe Dragon Pox, badly made Pepperup Potion, eating Salamander eggs, incorrectly applied Fire Charms, partial transfiguration--"

"Dragon's blood," joked Su.

"I certainly hope this child has not been fed a cocktail, Miss Li. Although, anything is possible these days. Let's ask the parents, shall we?"

They talked to the parents and found out they had given the baby a spoonful of Pepperup Potion that was a little past its use-by date. "Okay Li, where do you take the baby?"

Su looked thoughtful, straining to remember the hospital layout. "Third floor? Isn't that where Potion Poisoning is?"

"Correct, Li. I'll leave you to take these people up there. The witch in charge is Darla Jameson. You can stay with her for your shift. Good luck."

Su looked nervous, but took the baby and her parents to the lift across the hall.

"Okay, the rest of you, I've assigned you floors to work on. Jones, you'll be staying down here helping with admissions; Macmillan, first floor: Creature Induced Injuries; Scott go up to second: Magical Bugs; McKeown and Thomas: Spell Damage. They're short staffed in the Janus Thickey Ward so one of you can go there and the other can work in the short-term resident ward."

The students looked at each other furtively. Dean decided he'd better speak up. "Er... we just had our first lesson. What do you expect us to do?"

"Oh, don't worry! We don't expect you to start Healing straight away. It'll be mostly observation, changing bandages, that kind of thing. If you have any problems you can page me from a Floo Station. Just speak my name into the lamp and say where you are." She smiled at them all reassuringly. "It's all right, we won't bite you. Go; learn! From now on, your shifts will be posted on that board over there."

She pointed to a board on the wall behind Dean, next to the front desk, where there was a queue of people waiting. When they turned back to thank Hr Kelly, she was gone.

"All right, I guess we just go then." [SNR1] Ernie led the way to the lifts, Danielle scuttling along behind them like a frightened kitten.

On the fourth floor, Dean and Beth found themselves in a long corridor. There was a little booth, just opposite the lift doors, with a sign over it, saying:

Spell Damage

Unliftable jinxes, hexes, incorrectly applied charms etc

Wizard in charge: Andrew Langston.

The wizard behind the desk stood up and came out to meet them. "Hi there, I'm Andrew. Are you the new students?" They nodded simultaneously. "Don't worry, you'll do fine. Who wants to go to the Janus Thickey Ward?"

Neither of them answered, they just looked at each other fearfully. "Okay then; how about you, dear?" He gestured Beth towards a door at the end of the corridor. "Just knock on the door and someone will let you in."

Beth looked up at him fearfully. "It's locked?"

"Yes." He caught the terror in her face. "They're not dangerous. It's just to stop them from wandering around where they might hurt themselves accidentally."

Beth nodded, looking very pale, and set off towards the door. Andrew turned to Dean. "I'll take you up to the other ward and find you something to do."

Dean spent the rest of the day with a newly qualified Healer called Jenna Hall, helping her change the dressings on some nasty injuries and watching her apply Healing Charms. By the time six o'clock came, he was exhausted, but surprised at how fast the day had gone. He met Beth at the lift and they decided to go straight to the dining hall.

"So, how was your day?" Dean asked her. Beth was still as white as she had been when he left her and now had dark circles under her eyes too.

"Those people... it's awful what people do to each other! There are people in there who can't talk, who don't have a clue who they are. And there's a couple who just stare at the walls all day... Someone told me they were tortured 'til they lost their minds..."

Dean's stomach clenched. He had a feeling he knew who this couple was. "Frank and Alice Longbottom?"

Beth looked up at him surprised. "How did you know that?"

"I went to school with their son, Neville. He's one of the DA. If you ever meet him, don't bring it up. It'll only upset him."

"Of course. Have you ever met them?"

"No. I suppose being here, I will sometime, though."

They stepped out of the lift and headed straight over to the others who were slumped in front of their food, looking as exhausted as Dean himself felt. Dean fell into a seat and asked for pizza. When it appeared on the plate, he found he didn't have the energy to eat. He groaned, cradling his head in his hand. "Does anyone have a recipe for an energy boosting potion?"

"I think there's one in our textbook," mumbled Su, staring at her plate as if she were wishing she could levitate the food into her mouth.

"I'm going to try to make it. I really need something if every day is going to be like this."

"We'll just have to not go out on the weekends too often," murmured Ernie, who was also propping up his head in his hand.

"Where's the fun in that?" asked Beth. She still looked very pale, but she wasn't slumped in her chair like the rest of them.

"Where do you get your energy, Beth?" Dean asked her. He felt her foot slide up the inside of his leg and suddenly wasn't tired at all. Beth grinned at him playfully.

"There are ways, my dear. There are ways."

Something clicked in Dean's head. "You already made the potion, didn't you?"

Beth held up her finger and thumb a quarter of an inch apart. "Little bit."

They all laughed at her and held out a hand each. "Share the wealth!"

* ~ *

The rest of the week passed similarly, except that all of them were now brewing copious amounts of Vitality Potion at every opportunity. Dean was finding his Charms and Potions classes simple enough to understand. The Dark Arts Retaliation teacher was indeed an American woman with flowing, bright red, wavy hair. Seen from the back, you would think she was a teenager, but when you saw her face, she appeared to be at least as old as Professor McGonagall.

With a name like September Falls, Dean had expected someone calm and warm, but she was a lot more like Professor McGonagall herself. She was strict and expected a hundred and ten percent out of all of them. She had already driven poor Danielle almost to tears when she forgot the chant to combat magical slash wounds.

Professor Ryan Freeman was just as cold and off-putting as he had been on Dean's first day. He insisted on being called Professor, just like Professor Falls, and he expected them to memorise the entire 'A' letter section of their textbook by the following class, and he was going to test them on the plants and flowers that day.

During the week, Dean worked on other wards. Magical Bugs was interesting as he'd never seen any of the illnesses before. It was necessary to use a Bubble-Head Charm the entire time you were in the ward to avoid infection. He saw what Dragon Pox was like in varying degrees of seriousness, and he discovered that Vanishing Sickness was nauseating to see. Sometimes patients were skinless, other times limbs would be missing. He got the fright of his life when he went to give one patient a dose of the Rematerializing Potion and pulled back the covers to find nothing but a mouth and a pair of eyeballs.

The Artefact Accidents ward was pretty straight forward; the people there had scalds and effects from exploding potions, and some had broken bones and injuries from broomstick accidents. There were also occasional injures from dodgy protective amulets and spells that were being sold to frightened people who thought they were buying something that would protect them from attack.

He spent Thursday on the Potions Poisoning ward seeing some truly horrific cases: people who were all the colours of the rainbow, others who were covered in horrible skin conditions, and some who had fingers and other appendages rotting away. It was like something out of a zombie film.

On Friday, he was back on the Spell Damage ward with Quentin. This time, to accept the inevitable, he took the Janus Thickey Ward. It took him an hour even to get to the Longbottoms. He got waylaid by Professor Lockhart, who insisted on giving him a dozen signed pictures and briefly seemed to recognise him, and even knew his name before he lapsed back into silence, staring at the wall.

Dean approached the Longbottoms cautiously, full of apprehension. He recognised Alice as Neville's mother straight away. She didn't have Neville's build; Dean supposed she didn't eat much of anything, but Neville was still the image of his mother. Her hair was like straw and very unkempt. She seemed to be muttering to herself, very quietly or completely inaudibly.

Dean left the Healer to coax Alice into eating something while Dean moved on to Frank. Neville had inherited his father's dark hair and his height. Frank himself lay flat on his back staring blankly at the ceiling, not blinking, not moving. He seemed almost as if he were carved of ice lying there and it chilled Dean to his core.

Oh Neville, how can you stand it? He knew that Neville probably came to see his parents sometimes, and he couldn't imagine the courage it took to sit there beside those shells of people and talk to them like nothing was wrong. To perhaps take his mother's hand and have her look at him without knowing who he was.

Dean managed to get Frank propped up enough so he could eat something, but it was slow, thankless work. Frank's eyes didn't focus at all. He was completely unaware of where he was and what was going on.

By the time he finished his shift at six o'clock, Dean knew he was going to break his 'never drinking again' promise; after the week he'd had, he was going for a stiff Firewhisky.

He found the others in the communal kitchen nearest his room with their books spread out in front of them, starting a study session.

"Have you guys eaten yet?" Dean asked.

Beth shivered. "After what I saw today, I don't know if I'll ever eat again."

Dean looked at her pointedly. "Been on the Magical Bugs ward, have you?"

She nodded miserably. "How's the guy in bed four?" Dean asked her, wondering if the pair of eyeballs and the mouth had gotten any better.

She closed her eyes and shivered again. "The guy who's just a skull, eyes and mouth?"

"Oh, he's got a skull now? That's progress." Dean pulled up a seat and rubbed his temples. He felt a cool hand on his forehead which soothed his headache considerably.

"Have you got a headache?" Beth's voice was as soothing as her cool hand.

"Yeah. I just need food of some kind."

"We could go out for Chinese," Su suggested from across the table.

"Yeah, 'cause that worked so well the last time." Dean looked up, smiling.

"I'll go," Ernie said. "I'm not drinking tonight. We've got a lot of work to do." Ernie was looking furtively at Su as if he were hoping she'd volunteer to go with him. Su continued to flick through her copy of Magical Healing Plants and their Properties. After a moment, Ernie's eyes fell.

Dean spoke up. "I'll go with you, if you want."

"So will I." Beth's hand fell to rest on top of Dean's on his knee.

Ernie looked at them.

"Nah, I'll stay here. You two go. Three's a crowd and all that."

* ~ *

"One drink, Beth, I swear that's all I'm gonna have. We deserve it after the week we've had."

Beth gave him an incredulous look, which softened when he put on his 'pweese' face. "Oh, all right. Just one, though. We need to go get the food."

They found the bar a lot quieter than it had been the previous week. They took seats at a small table in the corner and settled down with a Firewhisky and Gillywater each. They talked about the week they'd had. They had only seen each other in the morning class and at meal times.

"That Professor Freeman scares me shitless. I'm useless at Herbology! I'll never pass that test on Wednesday."

Dean pressed her hand. "You'll do fine. You've got a really good memory, haven't you?"

"Yeah, but fear can clear it quicker than a unicorn at full gallop." She took a sip of her drink, grimacing. "This is definitely not going to be my drink of choice. I think I'll stick to Butterbeer in the future."

She set it back down with a thump. "So, what about you? What do you think of the classes so far?"

Dean looked into his glass, swirling it to clink the ice cubes against the glass. "Transfiguration is going to be my downfall, I think. I just can't get the equations right."

"I can help you with that; Transfiguration is my best subject. The trick is to get a clear picture in your mind of what the person should look like and work from there."

Dean laughed. "You'd think that an artist could do that well enough, wouldn't you?"

Beth turned in her seat to look at him. "You're an artist? What kind?"

Dean felt uncomfortable by her focused attention, but answered her anyway. "I sketch mostly. Occasionally I use coloured pencils. Never painted in my life."

"I'd like to see some of it sometime, if that's all right?"

Dean's insides squirmed and he didn't understand why. He knew his work was good, so he wasn't sure why he didn't want Beth to see it. "Sure... why not?"

He drained the rest of his glass in one go. "Shall we go get the food?"

* ~ *

When they got back to the kitchen, Danielle and Quentin had gone.

"Library. They said they'd be coming back though," Su told them, reaching for her chow mein and grabbing a pair of chopsticks. "And I knew you couldn't resist the lure of the Dragon's Claw."

Dean's head snapped up. "What? We didn't-"

"Don't lie to me, Dean. I can tell Beth has been drinking; she's got the glow going on. Either she's had a drink or she's had sex, and we're not getting into that."

Beth blushed furiously. "We had a drink!"

Su laughed at her outburst.

Dean was feeling distinctly warm around the face too, but Beth was so flustered they just laughed at her while Dean kept his head down and tried to keep the smile off his face.

While everyone ate, they read through the chapter on 'A' letter plants. Su was trying to teach them all to use chopsticks, but it wasn't until one of Beth's spring rolls flew out of hers and whacked Su between the eyes that she relented and let them get forks.

When they were done with the food they took turns picking out random plants and seeing who could list the properties. Ernie appeared to have eaten a copy of the textbook because he jumped in so quickly every time that they eventually told him to shut up and let them have a chance.

Dean was pretty spotty. There were some he could remember, but others had such similar names that it was easy to get confused. He kept mixing up Alihosty and Allium, two ingredients which would not be good to mix up when concocting potions, as Alihosty caused hysteria and Allium was used in Pepperup Potion.

"I wonder if we have to sketch them or match the names to the pictures?" Beth whispered, looking a little pale and with a hand clapped over her forehead, staring at the page in front of her.

"No idea... why?" Dean asked her, feeling a little worried at how scared she looked.

"They all look the same... green. Sometimes they're long, sometimes they're short but they all... look... the bloody SAME." She shoved the book away from her in disgust. Su closed hers over with a snap.

"It's late. We're too tired to take it all in. Well, most of us are." She poked Ernie in the ribs. He jumped a mile.

"Hey! I just have a good memory!"

At that moment, Danielle and Quentin re-entered the room. Danielle looked a little less timid than she had before, but she still seemed to hunch as she walked, as though she was trying to diminish herself from view. Quentin's gaze was unfocused as he gazed at the floor. Su looked at him curiously. "Hey Quentin - what's Astragalus used for?"

"Chinese healing herb. Stimulates the immune system; used in Blood-Replenishing Potions, Skele-gro, and Hair Regrowth treatments."

"Ah. That explains a lot." Su settled back in her chair.

"So Quentin, you've got a photographic memory?" Dean asked, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.

"Yes. Once I read something it stays in my head."

"Well, that must be useful at exam time."

"I have never scored beneath one hundred percent. I am a genius." Quentin answered in a matter of fact, emotionless voice.

Dean looked at Beth uneasily. Quentin seemed nice enough but there was something a bit odd about him. He didn't seem very approachable. Danielle seemed to have taken to him. He never talks, that's probably why. Any time one of us has spoken to her she's jumped a mile.

"I'm going to bed, guys," Dean announced. "I'll get up in the morning and try to memorise this section."

They all bade Dean goodnight as he rose, gathered up his stuff, and left. Beth caught up with him in the hall just before he got to his room.

"Hey... I'm sorry about that. I just got frustrated. I hate Herbology."

Dean looked up at her anxious face. "If you can do Transfiguration, you can do anything. It's the most difficult subject there is."

Beth looked down at her feet. "I suppose it depends on the person. I just seem to understand how it works. But plants, they all look the same to me when they're in the ground. I'd rather just go and buy them in an apothecary."

Dean chuckled. "Well, we mostly do that in London anyway."

She smiled slightly. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow sometime. I'm gonna cram as much as I can." She stood on her toes and kissed him quickly on the cheek before she started to walk away. Slightly confused, he watched her walk to her door and go inside. Why didn't she kiss me properly?

* ~ *

For the rest of the weekend, Dean didn't see much of Beth. The six of them often saw each other at mealtimes, but the rest of the time they were studying. Dean spent his Sunday morning working with potions; they had been asked to prepare a sample of Blood Replenishing Potion. He did with relative ease, and he also brewed up some Vitality Potion, just in case he needed it. His Hangover Cure looked exactly like it was supposed to; all he needed was a hangover to test it on. It'll be a long time before I'm going to need it...

He spent the rest of Sunday going over the Transfiguration equations they had done the previous Monday, trying to see any sense in them. He failed miserably, even with the extra books he got out from the library.

He went for a late dinner and found Beth sitting alone, playing with a plate of spaghetti that looked otherwise untouched. "Hi. What's wrong?"

She looked up and tried to smile. "Nothing. You're eating late."

"You're not eating at all," he replied, taking a seat opposite her.

She stared down at the fork that she was twisting a strand of spaghetti around. "Not really hungry. Keep picturing my mother's face when I fail my first test."

"How can you be so sure you'll fail?"

She looked up at him, her big hazel eyes glassy. "Because. I can't do Herbology; I never could. I failed my N.E.W.T, I nearly failed my O.W.L The information just does not stay in my head."

"Well, we'll find a way." He smiled at her reassuringly and was glad when she smiled back at him.

"How about a Memory Potion? You seem to be good at the potions; you made the Vitality Potion before any of us did." At these words, Beth blushed scarlet and dropped her gaze again.

Dean raised his eyebrows. "What?"

"I... um... I... bought that potion." She stammered.

"You what? Why?"

"I hate making potions - seems so pointless when you can just buy them ready made." Dean was shocked to the core. He stared at her red face.

"Beth, we have to learn to make them! This one is on our syllabus!"

She looked up at him, appalled. "I know that! I can make them, and I do make them. I just didn't have time to make it and I needed it, so I bought it. Where's the harm?"

"Have you bought any more?"

"No. I've started making my own. The effects don't last as long, though."

"It'll get better with practice. And we're going to try a Memory Potion to help you with this test. Just let me find something to eat first."

When they got back to Beth's room, Dean helped her brew the potion using the instructions in his Potions textbook from the year before. Then, while it was maturing for the required hour, Dean tested her on what she knew so far.

"Astringessa."

"Helps stop bleeding?"

"Yes. Artemisia."

"Erm... is that the cooling stuff used in the Fever-Killing Potion?"

"No... that's artichoke. Artemisia is used as an aid to Divination. Allium."

"That's the heat thing isn't it? Pepperup potion?"

"Yes... your memory isn't that bad."

"I only read it an hour ago. It's doing it in a class, with him watching me. It'll make my mind go blank. I guarantee it."

Dean was worried that her lack of confidence would affect her performance. He didn't know what else to do but try to reassure her. He leaned over and took her hand. "You can do it, Beth. I know you can."

She looked a little startled, but smiled genuinely for the first time that night. "We'll see, won't we?"

* ~ *

The following evening, during his shift, something happened that put thoughts of the test out of Dean's mind. At seven o'clock, working in the Magical Bugs ward, a familiar face was admitted with a severe case of Dragon Pox. He was so hot that sweat was cascading off him like a waterfall. Angry red lumps stood out all over his body and steam was issuing from his nostrils, mouth and ears. "Weasley, Percival. Thomas, go and fetch some Fever-Killing Potion and some Murtlap ointment."

It wasn't the fact that Percy was ill that got to Dean. It was the fact that he was alone. No one came in with him at all. They managed to get his temperature to a less dangerous level. Though it was certainly not ideal, at least he wasn't soaking the sheets right through in an hour. The sores on his skin were a little less painful-looking near the end of Dean's shift, but he was still leaking steam from his nose and ears. When Dean was nearly ready to leave for the night, Percy woke up long enough to talk to Hr Kelly. "Where am I?"

"You're in St Mungo's, Mr Weasley. You have a nasty case of Dragon Pox. Do you have any idea how you contracted it?"

Percy coughed violently, turning away from Hr Kelly and finding himself looking across two beds at Dean. "Someone in the office had it. I guess I got it from her."

"Do you have any family you wish me to contact for you?"

"No." Percy didn't look away from Dean, glaring at him as if daring him to contradict this claim. I guess he hasn't made up with the family yet.

Dean swept out of the ward past Percy without looking at him again.

* ~ *

Dean spent Tuesday afternoon on the Spell Damage ward and the evening in his room with the others, sprawled wherever they could, cramming for the Herbology test. Beth had arrived first with a small vial of the Memory Potion they had brewed the night before, drinking it before the others arrived. They were already testing each other, sitting side by side on the bed, leaning against the wall when Su arrived. She knocked on the partially open door with a shifty grin on her face. "Not interrupting, am I?"

Dean laughed at her. "No, come in! Pull up a patch of floor."

Beth kicked off her shoes and drew her feet up underneath her robes so Su could lean against the bed at her feet. Moments later, Danielle and Quentin arrived. Danielle kept shooting covert looks at Quentin and chose a spot where she could sit closest to him. When Ernie arrived, he sat in Dean's desk chair, and Su immediately started firing plant names at him, trying to catch him off guard. This didn't work at all, as Ernie really knew his stuff.

As the night wore on, Dean watched Beth get more and more nervous, even though the Memory Potion was working and she could remember almost all of the plants and their properties, only confusing one or two similar sounding names. She kept leaning over to look at the book herself, as if she thought Dean was lying to her about her right answers.

"Beth, I'd tell you if you were wrong! I wouldn't want you to go in thinking the wrong names!"

"I know... I'm just checking." She leaned over again, bending over the book balanced on his knees. Her hair brushed his cheek and he felt a thrill run through him. He closed his eyes and smelled the musky, flowery scent of her shampoo.

"Okay, it's your turn. Give me the book."

Dean managed to remember more than half of the plants listed. He wasn't too worried; it was only the first test and he could remember most of them when he thought hard enough. Beth's presence was a distraction and he made a mental note to not sit beside her during the test.

When the others left, around midnight, Beth lagged behind. Dean noticed she was shaking as she lifted her book and bag and put a hand on her shoulder. She turned and leaned into him without lifting her head. She was mumbling into his shoulder. "I don't think I can do this."

"Yes, you can. Get some rest, take the potion, and don't look at Freeman." He took her by the shoulders gently. She looked up at him with more fear in her eyes than he could understand. If it was our finals I'd understand; it's just a class test! Instead of saying this to her he kissed her. She clung to him like he was the only thing keeping her standing. He walked her to her room. He couldn't understand why she was so worked up about a stupid little test. It's not like they'll kick her out if she fails one little test.

The next morning, Dean could tell Beth hadn't slept a wink. She was as white as a sheet and had large, dark circles under her eyes. Coming down from breakfast, he was with her when she took two small bottles out of her bag: the blood red Vitality Potion and the pearly white of the Memory Boosting Draught. Then she took out the book and started reading it while she was walking, leaving Dean worrying that she would fall and break something, but they made it to the Herbology room without incident. Beth was reading so fast she could hardly be taking it in.

When Freeman set the test in front of him, Dean relaxed. There were pictures of the plants and their names - and multiple choice answers as to their properties. We all should walk this...

He glanced across the room at Beth, who was staring at her test with a slightly unfocused look. He kept watching her as she loaded her quill with ink and started writing. Dean mentally shook himself and turned his attention to his own test.

The test took half an hour out of the class, and after Freeman had collected the tests, he led them to the elevator and out on to the roof. Dean had never noticed before that the owlery didn't cover the entire roof. There was a door in the side of it leading to a stretch of the roof that looked like it had a huge soap bubble on it. The bubble was actually a greenhouse that appeared to have been magically expanded, as it was much larger on the inside than it looked from the outside.

Freeman led them to a clump near the back. "These are the plants you have just been tested on, inside the yellow lines." He indicated the lines drawn on the floor.

"Collect a sample of each and label it correctly and bring it to me. Sample books and presses are on the table behind you. You have an hour."

Dean lifted a book for himself and opened it. On each page there were two envelopes large enough for a pressed sample of a plant, with space beside it to write the name of the sample. Dean busied himself looking for the right plants and cutting samples. When he had only two left to collect, he glanced around to see how Beth was doing. She had a smudge of dirt on her nose and a feverish expression as she hunted through the plants with her hands.

By the end of the test, Dean had found all the plants he needed and hoped that he had them right. Ernie looked very pleased with himself and Su was perched on an upturned bucket using her wand to remove the dirt from under her nails. Quentin had been finished for ten minutes and was standing near the door with Danielle at his side, as usual. She had finished at the same time as him and Dean was beginning to suspect that she had cheated. Did she follow him the whole time to get the right samples?

When they left the greenhouse they broke into conversation about the test.

"I didn't know there was going to be a practical part! How can he expect us to recognise all the plants when we've only ever seen pictures of them?" Beth was looking quite panicky. Her hands were frozen into claws at her side.

"I think it was to see how well we could cope under pressure and how well we had read the book." Su tossed her hair. "Well, I don't know about you, but I need a long shower before we start our hospital shift."

"I think we all do."

Dean got to the lift after his shower to find Beth waiting for it, too and looking much more cheerful than she had been.

"So, how did you find it?" he asked her.

She slipped a cool hand into his. "I suppose it could have been worse, without your help." She looked up at him, smiling. "Thanks." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him quickly as the lift doors open. After a hasty lunch where no one talked about the test at all, they all headed downstairs to Reception to see what wards they would be working on.

"Damn, Magical Bugs again. Guess I won't be eating-"

Beth's complaint was cut off by a piercing scream that ripped through the room and made everyone jump a mile. Dean spun around, looking for the source of such pain, and saw two of the Mediwizards, in their green and yellow striped robes, carrying a woman between them. She was screaming at the top of her lungs, her magnified eyes wide and staring at something they couldn't see. It was obviously causing her terrible anguish. Her usual shawls were hanging off her as she squirmed and writhed in the grip of the two Healers supporting her.

Dean's heart missed a beat. He'd never liked this particular teacher that much - she had seemed like a real fake - but no one deserved whatever was happening to her. Healer Kelly rushed passed them, towards Professor Trelawney, her wand out in front of her. "Stupefy!"

Sybil Trelawney went limp, her screams dying. As they were carrying her past the students to the lift, Hr Kelly stopped with them. "Who is working in Spell Damage today?"

Dean stepped forward. "I am."

"Come with me, Thomas."

Dean threw a look at Su and Ernie as he hurried away after her. They looked as shocked and confused as he was. Dean couldn't imagine what had happened to Trelawney to have caused such a reaction. When they got up to Spell Damage, they hurried Trelawney into a bed and used the conjured ropes from their wands to secure her to it.

Dean hung back, unsure of what they expected him to do. Kelly leaned over her, asking questions of the Healers who brought her in. "Where was she?"

"The Hog's Head in Hogsmeade."

"Was she alone?"

"As near as we can tell."

"Do we have any clue what happened?"

"No. The barman called for us through the Floo Network. He found her like this in a room upstairs. She didn't rent a room and he has no idea how she got there."

"Well, something sure as hell happen-OH MERCIFUL MERLIN!"

Dean jumped a mile and hurried forward to see what had scared Kelly. She had brushed Trelawney's hair off her forehead as she was searching for injuries and saw something that froze Dean's blood in his veins and stopped all thought.

The Dark Mark. Blazing red and moving in the middle of her forehead, it glowed with its own disquieting light. "Right over her third eye..." muttered Kelly, her fist pressed against her mouth and her eyes wide and horrified.

Dean wrenched his gaze away from Trelawney. "Third eye?"

"The mythical seat of Divinative power. The Dark Mark is right over it."

Dean looked down at Trelawney. What did they do to her?

"She is... I mean, she was the Divination teacher at Hogwarts."

Kelly looked at him, lowering her fist from her mouth. "She's a Seer?"

"Well, I don't know about that. I doubt she's ever made an accurate prediction in her entire life, but it seems like a bit of a coincidence."

Kelly stepped up to Trelawney's side again, looking down at the squirming Dark Mark. She spoke just above a whisper. "I remember... when I was a student... reading a case study about a horrendous torture method used on Seers... it opens the Seer's Inner Eye to all the suffering in the world. Everyone who is in pain, everyone who is suffering, all the hate and torment in the world. It must be horrifying for her to see."

Dean felt quite dizzy. The horror of what was happening to his former teacher weighed on him, almost physically dragging him down. Oh God... Oh God... Are we going to be able to help her?

"What...? Is there...? Can we do anything for her?"

"I don't know. I don't remember anything about a cure. We'll have to keep her in an enchanted sleep until we figure out what we can do for her."

Dean was very quiet at dinner that evening. He, of course, had to tell Su, Ernie, and the others what was wrong with Trelawney, but had left it to the other Hogwarts survivors to tell Beth, Quentin, and Danielle who she was.

"It'll be all over the Daily Prophet tomorrow, just you wait."

Beth looked at Ernie inquisitively, "What makes you say that?"

"The Dark Mark. It must have been Death Eaters."

"But why, though?" Everyone looked at Dean. It was the first time he'd spoken in close to half an hour. "Why did they do it? What danger was a dotty old fraud to You-Know-Who?"