"Ahem! You two, it's getting late. I think whoever needs to leave should leave!"
Jerry and Hermione were talking about what they had seen in Hogsmeade when a cough came from beyond the curtain. It was Madam Pomfrey.
"Ow! Jerry, be careful! You're lying on my hair!"
"Sorry. My arm's gone a little numb from you sleeping on it!"
Madam Pomfrey's words sent them scrambling. Jerry hurried off the soft bed and slipped on his shoes.
"Good evening, Madam Pomfrey!" He straightened his rumpled clothes and stepped out from behind the curtain with an awkward but polite smile.
"I'll come see you tomorrow!" Jerry told Hermione, then quickly left the Hospital Wing.
"Stop right there!"
Jerry had barely entered the Slytherin Common Room when he ran into Snape, who called him back.
"Good evening, Professor Snape!"
"Evening? It's nearly midnight, Mr. Green!"
"It's the holidays, not the school term. Why are you acting like a dorm supervisor?" Jerry muttered under his breath.
"What are you mumbling about?"
"Nothing, Professor Snape. I just have a question for you!"
Looking at Snape's unfriendly expression, Jerry suddenly remembered that the man was, after all, a Potions Master. Perhaps he knew how to fix what had happened to Hermione after she took the wrong potion.
"Professor, if someone used Polyjuice Potion and turned into an animal, is there a way to change them back quickly?"
At Jerry's question, Snape's gaze shifted, and a sly smile spread across his face.
"No need to say 'someone.' Just tell me who it is!"
"Ah, let me guess. Potter or Weasley? I didn't see either of them at tonight's feast! Have they turned into half-beasts and hidden themselves in the Gryffindor Common Room because they're too afraid to show their faces?"
"Professor Snape, you're a Potions Master!