Skinny, Little Gryffindor

Katie awoke with a start. She tried to move her head but found that it didn't want to move... actually her whole body didn't want to move, not just her head.

Thinking back Katie realized that the last thing she remembered was falling off her broom and pulling Flint with her and there was black. She realized that she should be contorted with pain but she felt nothing. She guessed it was a blessing but she wasn't sure.

Slowly she focused all her concentration on her right thumb. She persistently tried to bend it but it wouldn't move. Katie felt despair washing over her. Even though she knew there was no reason to be scared, that she was somewhere safe, she was frightened anyways.

She heard footsteps approached and a face leaned over her.

Madame Pomfrey smiled down at her, busying herself with fiddling with something over Katie's head. Katie would of turned to see what it was but her head still wouldn't move. In vain she tried to open her mouth to speak but she couldn't get her mouth open, let alone have words come out of her mouth.

"Oh dear," Madame Pomfrey cooed, "you must be terrified. Don't worry, the feeling with come back soon. We just didn't want to wake you up when we were fixing all your bones. Four bones in your left arm were crushed, one in your right wrist and a few ribs. The boy was rather lucky. He just broke his wrist and lost all his hideous teeth."

If Katie could of laughed, she would of at the thought of Marcus Flint's teeth being knocked out. At least she had achieved something in breaking all her bones.

"But don't you worry, girl. You're feeling will return in an hour, although you might hurt a bit and you'll be out of here by next Thursday."

Katie's heart sank. It was Saturday today. She wanted more than anything to ask if Flint was staying to next Thursday... actually that wasn't true. She wanted more than anything to marry Oliver Wood and play for England in World Cup of Quidditch but for now she would settle for a week of Flint-less-ness.

Madame Pomfrey gave her one last smile and disappeared out of review and Katie was forced to lay there, by herself and wait for the feeling to come back.

Gradually it did come and with it came pain.

Katie was dozing when she first felt the little tingles of feeling re-enter body, followed by an itch on her left year and then the pain. She bolted up in her hospital bed, holding one of her wrists in pain, cradling it.

Through slitted eyes she looked around. On the other side of the Wing she could see Marcus Flint propped up in bed, starring blankly at the ceiling. He didn't notice Katie, not even her abrupt movements.

Madame Pomfrey scuttled out of a door to the left of Katie and hurried over to bed. She had a glass in hand and when she got closer, Katie saw that it contained a nasty-looking brownish green mixture. Its terrible fumes soon filled her nose and Katie felt sick.

Pomfrey smiled down at Katie and Katie could feel her turn three shades whiter. "Drink this down, it will help with your pain," she told Katie who looked at the cup in fear before remembered the other problem, the pain, which she had forgotten at the onslaught of the ghastly potion.

Katie took a deep breath and tried to drink down. Unfortunately she paused before swallowing and she could taste the vile potion and almost spit it out, wretching.

On the other end of the Hospital Wing, she could hear Flint laughing at her difficulties and she took a deep gulp, drinking the rest of the terrible medicine.

Madame Pomfrey then seemed reasonably pleased and bustled over to check on Flint who was the only other occupant of the Ward.

The taste slowly left her mouth and then she decided to talk, "Did we win?" she asked no one in particular.

Pomfrey turned to look at her from where she fiddling with Flint's non-exsistant front teeth. "Gryffindor won, yes dear. Harry Potter caught the Snitch!" she told Katie happily. Flint smirked but said nothing.

"Oh, that's good. Did anyone come and visit me?"

"Yes, of course, let me--"

Flint interrupted Pomfrey's trail of thought, "Lover boy was up here," he smirked.

Katie felt herself go deep red and looked down at the white sheets of her hospital bed which had suddenly looked very interesting.

"Oh yes, couldn't wait to be gone though, but somehow you latched onto his hand... somewhat like a leach. Had to get the bloody Weasley twins to pry off your death grip," Flint told her, obviously happy that someone was suffering.

Katie went even redder at that comment. She hoped it wasn't true.

"Come now boy, can you not see that she is injured? And from what I've heard it's your fault. You were playing a dirty game of Quidditch, never abiding the rules," Pomfrey snapped, no longer so happy.

Flint laughed a loud, lewd laugh. "Well Katie sure does love everything dirty, she does."

Pomfrey glared at Flint and took her wand out of her robe. "You will be quite or I will make sure you cannot utter a word, even if the room was fulled with Deatheaters, trying to cast a killing curse on you," she angrily snapped.

Anger crossed Flints face but he bit his tongue and muttered something under his breath that no one could hear. Everyone sides with Gryffindor these days, he thought bitterly. There's no justice for Slytherin!

He slide back down into his bed, ignoring the damn nurse and eyeing Bell in a suggestive way. She glared at him and slumped over in her hospital bed, before turning over and falling asleep. Pomfrey starred over at the girl and then back at Flint. "If you weren't such a... a Slytherin! she might actually like you boy and you wouldn't have to insult her to show that you care."

Flint's eyes bulged and he starred at the woman in disbelief. He couldn't believe she read him as easily as a book. No one could ever tell what he was think yet she knew she easily.

"And if you were to fix your teeth properly," she continued, "the girl might actually fancy you, instead of fear you. Well not just her but other girls as well. Aren't there any Slytherin girls that you like?" the woman asked kindly. Marcus glared.

"Yes, yes, I know, you want the forbidden love, but child, you just cannot have it. Interhouse relationships are frowned upon and she would ostracized from her house and she seems to love her house. I don't think she would be able to live with their ill opinion."

Marcus started to boil over. Who the hell did this woman think she was? "Who do you think you are you?" he hissed. "You know nothing of me or her or anything that goes on in this school. You just stay up here and listen to the visiting students' gossip!"

"I was once a student, Mister Flint, and I didn't spend anytime up here. Once upon a time I would of never believed that I would end up staying at Hogwarts to be a nurse... of course it was a cope out. Didn't want to grow up, didn't want to go into the Real World. Those were dark times back then Mister Flint. You better hope that you never see dark days like those," she told Marcus before turning away and starting to walk back to office, when she was interrupted by a loud snore. She turned back to Marcus. "Do you really want a girl that snores, Mister Flint?"

Marcus fumed. She had no right to tell him what to expect. No right at all. He didn't care if the damn girl snored. Dark days were coming but Marcus didn't intend to stick around for them. When he left, he would taking Katie Bell with him and they would see the world with its many wonders and she would forget about Oliver Wood, Gryffindor, Slytherin. She would forget about Hogwarts all together. That he promised.