Blue Eyed Girl

Roxanne slowly opened her eyes. She squinted when the bright sunlight hit her. She fully opened her eyes and looked around, taking in her surroundings. She was in a bed in the hospital wing and she couldn't remember how she got there. She turned her head and saw Madam Pomfrey talking to Katie, who was swallowing some sort of potion. Katie grimaced at the taste and handed the now empty glass back to Madam Pomfrey. She then looked over at Roxanne hopefully.

"You're awake!" she said happily as she walked over to her. "How are you feeling?" she asked raising her eyebrows, worried.

"Okay, I guess," Roxanne said. "My stomach hurts a little, and I can't remember why I'm here," she finished looking over to Katie expectantly, hoping she could enlighten her.

"You really don't remember?" Katie asked and Roxanne shook her head.

"Well, remember that little spill in Potions yesterday?" Roxanne nodded.. "As it turns out, that was some pretty dangerous stuff we spilled," Katie said regretfully. "If you inhale the fumes, it can get into your stomach and cause some severe problems, which is what happened to you." Roxanne nodded. She was slowly beginning to remember the events of that morning. She remembered waking up with an unbelievable stomach ache, and she remembered trying to get to the hospital wing. She also remembered that someone had helped her. She couldn't remember if she knew who.

"If that's the case, then how come nothing happened to you?" Roxanne asked her friend, curiously.

"Actually, I had a pretty bad stomach ache when I woke up this morning. I guess you were closer to the spill, though, so you got the full impact."

"Wonderful," Roxanne groaned as she shifted in her bed to a more comfortable position.

"Yeah well, you should be good as new in a day or two," Katie said, trying to be cheerful.

"Great," Roxanne said, "well at least I won't have to go to Potions for a few days," she said, smiling.

Katie laughed, "Yeah, that's definitely a plus."

"What time is it?" Roxanne asked.

"Oh, I dunno...around 12:30 I think," Katie replied.

"Why don't you go get some lunch? I'm fine here," Roxanne told her.

"I guess I will. I'm starved...I didn't get breakfast this morning because of that stupid stomach ache," Katie said as she stood. "You sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," Roxanne said reassuringly.

"Okay," Katie said hesitantly, "I'll see you later."

"Bye," Roxanne said as Katie walked out the door. She made herself comfortable again, and became lost in though, trying to remember who it was that got her to the hospital wing early that morning.

Katie walked into the Great Hall, and sat down at the Gryffindor table across from Fred and George. "Hey," she said to them as she sat.

"Hey," Fred responded, "where have you been all day?"

"Yeah," George said, "and where's Roxanne?"

"Roxanne's in the hospital wing, and that's where I've been too," she answered.

"Hospital wing?" Fred said surprised.

"What for?" George inquired worried, "Is everything okay?" George had just talked to Roxanne the night before. What could possible have happened since then?

"Well, yesterday in Potions Roxanne and I accidentally spilled some of the potions we were working with, and as it turns out, they were pretty dangerous," Katie said to them as she grabbed a roll and began buttering it.

"Are you guys okay?" Fred asked curiously.

"Why is Roxanne still in the hospital wing?" George asked trying to hide his anxiousness.

"We'll both be okay," Katie said while serving herself some potatoes. "Roxanne just inhaled a few more fumes than I did. She should be released in a day or two."

"Wow, who knew Potions really was a hazard to our health," Fred said picking up his fork again to continue eating.

"Yeah, as if Snape wasn't enough," George said somewhat distractedly. He still couldn't believe that Roxanne was in the hospital wing. It couldn't have happened very long after he had talked to her.

"Well, I think I'm going to go grab my books for class," George said suddenly, standing up, "I'll see you later." He turned and walked out of the Great Hall, ignoring Fred who was calling after him, "Books? What books? We have books for Charms?" Frankly, George had no clue whether or not he had any books for Charms, but that wasn't important. He had to go check up on Roxanne.

Roxanne was just about to close her eyes and try to get some rest as the door to the hospital wing opened. She looked over and saw George walking over to her looking slightly worried.

"Hey, new girl," George said, using his nick name for her, even though she wasn't so new any more.

"Hey," Roxanne said sleepily as she smiled and tried to push herself up in her bed.

"How are you feeling?" George asked as he sat down on the chair he pulled next to her.

"A little better," she responded, finally giving up the fight to sit up. Her stomach still hurt a little too much for that. "Thanks for stopping by."

"Well, that's what unbelievably wonderful friends are for," he said smiling. "You know, if you didn't want to go to the Founder's Day Ball with me you could have said so. You didn't have to go and nearly kill yourself."

"No! That wasn't it at all," Roxanne started saying before she realized he was joking. The fumes from those potions must have slowed her brain down, as well as giving her the worst stomach ache of her life. "You were kidding," she said embarrassed, "I just realized that."

"Yeah, I was," George said laughing, "but thanks for the enthusiasm."

"Sure," Roxanne said, laughing at herself. 'Wow, good one,' she thought to herself.

A long silence followed. They were each looking around the room, occasionally meeting each other's eyes and smiling. Neither knew what to say. George finally looked down at his watch. "I guess I should get going. I need to at least make an appearance in class," he said as he stood and put his chair back.

"Alright," Roxanne said smiling, "Have fun."

George smiled, "I'll try." He started walking toward the door. "I'll see you again soon."

"Okay," Roxanne answered. "Thanks for coming, George. I really appreciate it," she said meaningfully.

"Any time," George said. "See you later, Roxanne." He turned and walked out of the hospital wing.

"Could I be any more of a spaz?" she chided herself out loud.

"What was that, dear?" Madam Pomfrey asked her coming out of her office.

"Oh, nothing, Madam Pomfrey," Roxanne said awkwardly. "I was just...thinking out loud."

"Oh, alright then," Madam Pomfrey said as she walked back into her office.

'I think it would be best to just keep my mouth shut for the rest of the day,' she thought as she tried to make herself comfortable again so she could go back to sleep. She just couldn't understand why she always seemed to embarrass herself around George. She knew she liked him more than a friend, but it wasn't the first time that she liked someone like that. She hadn't felt so tongue-tied then. Maybe George was something different, something special.