"My guess is a Slytherin."
"Nah, that's too predictable and stereotypical."
"Well it definitely wasn't a Hufflepuff!"
"Maybe it was, we don't know."
"We're gonna find whoever did it and shove poisonous candy down their throats."
"Yeah, show them who's boss!"
The noise of the conversation trickled into my sleep and woke me up. It took me a while and a few more lines of the conversation to realize who was there.
I sat up and sure enough, on my right side there were two other beds occupied.
Maddie, who was farthest from me and sitting on the side of her bed with her legs kicking the air, looked up when she heard me moving. Brianna turned too and they both smiled at me, a gesture I returned.
"Hey Luna," They said in unison.
"What are you guys doing here?" I asked. They weren't visiting, they were actually patients in the same nightgown I had on.
"We got poisoned and have to stay for the night," Maddie said.
"We will be released tomorrow afternoon at lunch," Brianna added.
I glanced outside. The sun was out but the sky was a shade of blue that indicated it was about dusk.
I adjusted my arm sling. Madam Pomfrey had gotten me a smaller cast after fixing some of my arm, but she said that the potions she was using to heal me completely needed time to take effect. I wouldn't be released until tomorrow evening, depending on my status then.
I stretched my legs. I had slept from yesterday afternoon to this morning, then my boredom and the medicine together lulled me to sleep again until now.
"You guys got poisoned?" I asked, bewildered as soon as I had processed the words.
They nodded. "This morning when we were visiting you-"
"We were talking about which candies could have poisoning in them."
"It was just a joke at first-"
"But the licorice wands were actually poisoned for real." Maddie concluded.
I gasped, feeling guilty. "Oh my nargles! I'm so sorry, I let you eat those! And they were poisonous! I'm sorry!"
Maddie shrugged. "It's okay, we took them at our own risk."
"It just makes us feel like the victim of a crime, and we're gonna catch whoever did it." Brianna smiled wickedly.
I laughed. "So anything else I missed?"
Maddie seemed to be thinking and Brianna gasped.
"Ooh! I can't believe we forgot! Audrey and Terry got together!" Brianna said, bouncing up and down in excitement.
"What?" I said, surprised. "Like, they're dating?"
The twins nodded eagerly. I would ask them more, but I wanted to hear it from Audrey instead. I'd talk to her later.
"Speaking of dating," Brianna said. "Are you going to the Christmas party Luna?"
I perked up. "The Christmas party? I forgot about that. So have you guys heard anything more about it?"
"Sort of, depends on what you know. It's a ball-party thing, with food and dancing and games and everything!" Maddie replied.
"Yeah, are you going, Luna?" Brianna asked again.
I shrugged. "Maybe."
Maddie got a sly grin. "Is that what Draco talked to you about when we all left this morning?"
"What?"
"The dance. Did he ask you to it or something?"
"What?" I could feel a light blush on my cheeks. "No! We're just friends!"
The two wore identical smirks.
"So," Brianna started. "We got to talk to him this morning. He told us he couldn't sleep very good due to worry. He seems like a pretty decent guy. We talked and laughed and basically became friends with him."
I nodded just as Madam Pomfrey came in with floating trays of food following behind her. She set them on our laps (Maddie swung her legs back on her bed) and I hungrily began to eat my sandwich.
The other two were about to dig in when Madam Pomfrey stopped them.
"You two need to have a potion before eating. We need to make sure that poison is out of your systems completely."
They reluctantly drank the cups they were given, making faces. The nurse left them to their meals.
"That stuff is disgusting!" The twins said together, before starting to eat
I didn't say anything, my mouth was too full.
As I chewed, I thought about what Maddie had said about Draco asking me to the party. I tried to convince them that we were just friends.
Who was I kidding? I couldn't fool two Ravenclaws by saying that I didn't like him.
Three Ravenclaws, actually, counting myself.
~*~
The next morning, Audrey came rushing into the Hospital Wing while I ate breakfast.
"Luna!" She squealed. "You're looking better!"
I smiled at her. "Thanks! How've you been?"
"Great! Guess what? I'm dating Terry now!"
"I heard! Now tell me everything!"
While the twins slept in, she told me all about it. How she had followed him out when he left yesterday and they talked and he admitted his crush for her and asked her out. She said that she liked him too and said yes.
"I'm so happy for you! That's great!" I told her, meaning every word.
She was beaming. I was beginning to worry it was hurting her face.
"Yeah, I'm gonna sit by him at lunch, this is so great! Classes start soon and I have to get to Potions, I'll see you later!" She ran out of the Wing with Madam Pomfrey frowning at her retreating figure.
I chewed my bacon and watched the sky through the window until the twins woke up by the sound of the bell.
"Hey!" I greeted them.
"Good morning," They yawned.
"Did someone come by?" Brianna asked.
I nodded. "Audrey did."
They noticed their breakfast trays and drunk their potion before eating.
I sighed as I fell back into the mattress. I missed Draco.
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