Fear And Loathing At Hogwarts

Chapter 2

Bill gripped the bowl and bent his head over it, preparing for another bout of nausea. Madam Pomfrey told him that he just had to get everything out of his system, and she insisted that he stay overnight, which successfully cleared his of his detention, since there were no more detentions for their weeklong holiday while the students awaited exam results.
Bill definitely did not realize this stuff was going to make him feel like total garbage all night, but it was worth it not to have to do whatever horrible task Horner had planned... in the middle of the night. Bill shuddered and wiped his mouth with a tissue, placing the bowl on the floor, where it dissapparated with a pop.
The girl, Yumi, was just in the bed behind the next curtain. Bill wanted to look at her, see if her eyes might reveal anything to him, but he resisted the urge, lest Madam Pomfrey catch him and question. Bill sighed and bathed his forehead with the moist cloth that Madam Pomfrey had left for him. He clutched his stomach and pulled the covers up to his neck, feeling himself become nauseous again.
What more is there in me to throw up, for Merlin's sake? Bill coughed and screwed his eyes shut, trying to get a bit of sleep. He knew that Charlie's detention was probably over by now; it was 3:00 in the morning, after all. He couldn't begin to imagine what dastardly task Horner had put him up to. Probably had to give the caretaker, Fletch Weedroot, a pedicure, or something equally offensive. Bill shuddered. Another guy that gives me the bloody creeps.
Bill felt his stomach churn whatever was left in it and heard the pop! that meant the bowl had apparated next to him. He reached down and grabbed it off the floor, preparing for another round.

* * * * *

"That son of a bitch made me clean out all his damn lizard cages, the Muggle way!" Charlie cried. "I must have got bitten five times!" He held out his hands for Bill to see, and, sure enough, there were at least five bandages stuck on his hands.
Bill shrugged and picked a piece of grass out of the ground, folding it in half and blowing on it to make it buzz. "Thanks for the potion, anyway, even though I still feel sick from it." He threw the grass at Charlie and lay back on the field. "Well, it got you out of detention, at least."
"Yeah, I suppose... Cleaning lizard cages might have been preferable to barfing my guts out all night," Bill sighed. Charlie picked up a smooth stone and skipped it across the water of the Hogwarts lake. "Did you see that girl?"
"Briefly. She was in the bed next to me." Bill shuddered. "I could hear her breathing all night. Almost accusing me. Like, if we had gotten there earlier, it might have been one of us instead. Or maybe we'd have scared the thing off."
"Oh, don't be like that," Charlie sighed, lying on the grass next to his brother. "There's nothing we could have done." His voice grew soft and he turned his head to Bill. "Any idea what could be doing this?"
Bill cringed. "I try not to think about it. It could be anything."
"Not necessarily. It's always just the arm that's swollen," Charlie said thoughtfully. "And the victim ends up in a comatose state. Almost like a Dementor's Kiss, only the life is sucked out through their arm."
"Very insightful," Bill said sarcastically.
"Hush," Charlie playfully punched his brother in the arm. "Think it might be Weedroot? He's the only one up wandering the grounds at all hours."
"Yeah, right. He's much to stupid to pull this off and not get caught," Bill sighed. "And I'd really prefer not to go looking for trouble, okay? Let's not talk about it."
Charlie put his arms behind his head. "Fine. I thought you were feeling better."
"A little. I didn't have any nightmares last night," Bill said. "But still... I'd rather not talk about it."
"All right then. Let's go grab some food or something."

* * * * *

Bill spent the evening sitting alone in his room, staring at the wall. Dumbledore had announced at dinner that if the source of the attacks was not uncovered, that school might be delayed or even cancelled next term. Bill had thought that maybe the Professors had known what was going on, but just weren't sharing anything with students so as not to frighten everyone into a state of panic. The announcement at dinner had shattered Bill's confidence. Though he tried to tell himself that he wasn't afraid anymore, he really still was. The end-of-year feast was in two days, and Bill was never gladder to be going home from Hogwarts. He usually wasn't very easily frightened, but something about this situation really had him scared out of his shell. The feeling that he was being watched in the corridors, the nightmares (which had returned, full-force), seeing Yumi in the hospital wing (whom he had visited every day since the night he spent there), everything was making him very uneasy. "Hey, Bill, wassamatter?" Bill looked up to see his roommate and friend Marcus standing at the foot of his bed. "Oh, nothing. Just worried is all."
"Yeah," Marcus sat on his bed and unlaced his boots. "I think everyone is. I really hope school isn't delayed or cancelled next year."
"Me too," Bill sighed, lying back on his bed. "I'm gonna try to go to sleep, kay?"
"Yeah, alright. I'll keep everyone out for a while."
"Thanks, Marc. See you tomorrow."
"G'night."

* * * * *

Bill couldn't keep his eyes shut anymore. He sat up in bed, noting by the snores around him that his three roommates were asleep. He opened his bed curtain and stood, stretching.
Padding over to the window, Bill rubbed his eyes and flung open the curtain, bathing the room in moonlight. He gazed down at the grass for a while until he felt himself beginning to fall asleep again. Sighing, he clung on to a curtain and reached up for the string to close it with when he noticed a shadow streaking quickly across the lawn.
Bill did a bit of a double take, shaking his head and chalking it up to imagination. He rubbed his eyes and squinted, trying to make sure he hadn't seen anything. Just as he was about to shut the curtains and go to bed, the shadow re-appeared, moving a bit slower this time. Bill dropped to his knees and pressed his face to the warm glass, trying to see what could possibly be out there at this hour. Suddenly, the shadow came to a halt right under Bill's window. Bill noticed what seemed like two glowing ice-blue orbs shining in the darkness. He shivered unconsciously and stared at the lights, realizing with a start that they were eyes, attached to a very pale face that he recognized...
Bill stood up and pulled on a cloak, exiting the dormitory.