Hospital Wing

"D-did he die?" a girl asked in a frightened whisper.

The Ravenclaws who had witnessed the scene firsthand immediately developed a deep fear of Flying Lessons, especially Michael, who had been talking nonstop earlier.

He stared at the figure lying in the grass, his face ghastly white, his voice trembling. "I-is it my fault?"

Wade patted his shoulder and reassured him, "It shouldn't be too serious—he didn't land on his head."

Michael swallowed hard, unable to say anything.

Luckily, Madam Hooch immediately ran over to check on him and soon helped Neville up from the grass—thank goodness, only one of the boy's wrists looked strange. Madam Hooch supported him as she headed for the Hospital Wing, loudly warning the other students not to move around.

"W-Wade..." Michael pleaded. "Let's go see Neville."

Wade glanced at the other students standing dumbly on the grass, nodded, and the two hurried through the corridors toward the Hospital Wing.

"—Flying Lesson, was it?" Through the door, they heard Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse, say in a tone of familiar resignation, "At this time every year, some first-year always gets into an accident. I can't think of a single year that passed without incident—"

Wade gently pushed the door open, and Michael squeezed his head in first.

Neville was sitting on a bed in the Hospital Wing, sniffling and crying. Madam Pomfrey held his arm and lightly waved her Wand as she examined him, feather-like light scattering from its tip.

"Then I'll leave this student to you," Madam Hooch said urgently. "There are still more than twenty students out on the lawn with unattended Broomsticks! Honestly, if there'd been time, I should've asked Mr. Filch to watch them!"

Madam Pomfrey said, "All right, I'll—"

Madam Hooch was clearly impatient. The moment she heard "all right," she spun around to leave in a rush. The suddenly opened door sent Michael stumbling straight inside.

At the sight of the two students, Madam Hooch's eagle-like eyes narrowed at once, as though she were about to scold them. But then she noticed their blue-and-bronze ties, and her anger faded.

Since they were not students who had slipped out of her own class, Madam Hooch had no time to deal with them. She swept away as if the wind were beneath her feet.

"—take good care of this child." The rest of Madam Pomfrey's sentence sounded almost like she was talking to herself. She gently comforted the sniffling Neville. "Don't worry, it's only a small problem. We'll fix it in no time. I promise you won't miss dinner today."

Madam Pomfrey waved her Wand, and a bottle of potion flew down from a shelf. She had Neville drink it, then pointed her Wand at his arm and murmured a Spell.

In what seemed like the blink of an eye, the boy's broken wrist had been set back in place. Judging from his expression, Neville had not even felt much pain.

Wade watched in amazement.

"And what about you two, children?" Madam Pomfrey turned to the boys by the door and asked. "Injured? Sick? Or did you eat something bad?"

Michael's lips moved, but he said nothing.

Wade had no choice but to say, "Madam Pomfrey, we came to see Neville."

"Oh, visiting a friend!" Madam Pomfrey seemed pleased to hear that. "Mr. Longbottom only needs to rest a little longer. Once the bone has fully healed, he can go back with you."

"Thank you, Madam," Wade said, and Neville thanked her as well.

After Madam Pomfrey left, Wade asked, "How is it, Neville? Does your wrist still hurt?"

"Not much anymore." Neville shook his head and lifted his robe, revealing that the scrapes on his leg were healing quickly as well. "Look, this side's almost better too. Madam Pomfrey's healing magic is incredible. St. Mungo's is probably no better than this."

"St. Mungo's?"

"Britain's largest Magical Hospital. The best Healers are all there," Neville said.

Michael slowly edged closer and said quietly, "Neville."

The boy looked up at him.

Michael lowered his head in shame. "I'm sorry. I lied. I haven't actually ridden a Flying Broomstick before—I heard those tips I told you from the radio. I... I don't actually have any experience—"

Neville blinked.

"I know," he said.

"Huh?" Michael's eyes widened in surprise.

Neville explained, "Hermione said that if you used to ride Broomsticks often, there was no way you'd be this excited about Flying Lessons."

Michael's face flushed red—had everyone noticed his careless boasting?

"But Hermione also said—" Neville continued, "Everything you said was right—the books say the same things. But flying isn't a skill you can master just by knowing the theory, right?"

For some reason, Michael suddenly felt like crying.

Wade watched the scene with a smile.

He had always felt somewhat as though he were looking after children when he looked at these classmates. But at this moment, Wade thought... perhaps they really could become good friends.

Although Madam Pomfrey had easily healed Neville's wrist, waiting for the bone to fully mend still took quite some time. Out of guilt, Michael refused to leave Neville alone in the Hospital Wing and insisted on waiting until he had completely recovered before going to eat together. Then they encountered a staircase changing direction on the way, so the group had to walk twice their usual distance before returning to the Great Hall.

In short, by the time they got back, the last dessert on the long tables had disappeared.

"Ah, damn it." Michael pulled a miserable face. "There should still be some candy in my Dormitory—"

"Hi, Michael, Neville, Wade." Theo and Ryan came over. The two had been friends since childhood, and after arriving at school, they were nearly inseparable.

"We heard Neville had a little accident during Flying Lesson." Theo looked at Neville with concern. "Are you all right?"

"I broke my wrist—" Neville raised his arm to show him. "But Madam Pomfrey fixed it right away."

"That's great." Theo grabbed his arm for a look and said happily.

"Have you eaten dinner?" Ryan asked. "We didn't see you at all earlier."

"No!" Michael looked at them pitifully and asked hopefully, "Don't tell me you saved us some bread or something?"

"No—but something better than that!" Theo pulled Michael out of the Great Hall. "Come with us!"

"Where are we going?" Neville asked in confusion.

"You'll see soon enough! This is a Secret only Hufflepuff students know! An older student told us the day before yesterday," Theo said excitedly.

"I bet nothing can be kept from those Twins in the Weasley Family," Michael said to Wade, who nodded in agreement.

They passed through a door, descended a stone staircase, and arrived at a broad stone corridor. Torches on both walls lit it brightly. Like elsewhere in the castle, the walls were covered with decorative paintings, but there were rarely people in them. They were all paintings of various foods.

Theo stopped before a huge painting of fruit, reached out, and gently tickled the pear in the picture.