Eliana had lost count of how many times she had landed in the Hospital Wing this term. By now, she knew the place like home.
It wasn't her fault. She didn't want to be there either. But the next morning, her nose had swollen to twice its size, and the wound had turned an ugly green. It hung heavily from her face like a bright green watermelon on a white porcelain plate. When Eliana got up to wash, the sight of herself in the mirror sent her scrambling backward.
Luckily, she was the earliest riser in her dormitory—or perhaps all of Hogwarts. She covered her face and ran to the Hospital Wing without meeting anyone.
Peeves, who was scribbling all over an empty classroom, didn't count as a person.
When he saw Eliana rushing past with her face covered, he thought something amusing was happening and flew out, cackling. "Let's see which student's up instead of sleeping at this hour—good grief!!!"
Then he saw Eliana's nose and stumbled in midair. "There's a ghost at Hogwarts!!!"
With a shriek, he shot away.
"That blasted Peeves," Eliana muttered through gritted teeth, beside herself with anger. "I'm going to learn a spell that works on ghosts someday. I've never been so insulted!"
She stormed into the Hospital Wing, went straight to her usual bed at the back, sat down, and pulled the curtain shut.
"What is it?"
Madam Pomfrey came out at the noise. Eliana whipped the curtain open, lifted her face to show off her watermelon nose, and looked at her pitifully. Then she whipped it shut again and buried herself in the bed.
"You again?" Madam Pomfrey said with a huff as she stepped behind the curtain and turned Eliana over from where she was playing dead.
"I missed you."
Eliana