Chapter 98 | Hospital Wing

                                    

                                          

Minerva McGonnagal was dead.
                          
Well, she wasn't actually. But it certainly felt like that was the case when she blinked her eyes open after what felt like a century of sleeping, her head throbbing painfully as a sharp ache resonated in her abdomen. She felt numb all over, like her body had taken a complete battering and she was completely surrounded by darkness, with the exception of a small lamp glowing beside her.
                          
That was, of course, until a very pale but eager face popped directly into her line of sight, just as she was adjusting her eyes to the black that was engulfing her. Minnie would've recognised those brown eyes from anywhere and, though she never would've admitted it out loud, she was relieved to see Florean's face hovering above her, his teeth digging worriedly into his bottom lip. 
                          
"Are you awake?" he hissed, the low tone of his voice indicating, along with the darkness cloaking wherever they currently were, that it was very late at night. "No, Florean, I'm actually fast asleep and that's why I'm staring directly at you right now," Minerva deadpanned, her voice heavily sarcastic and she watched as Florean's previously hopeful expression fell into a scowl. 
                          
"I see the bang to your head didn't knock any politeness into you," Florean grumbled underneath his breath before he sighed heavily in relief, throwing himself on top of Minnie and wrapping his arms tightly around her, "But I'm so glad you're okay," he mumbled into her shoulder, his voice breaking slightly at the end. Minerva allowed the hug for a little while, embracing her friend back because she knew Florean would've been worried sick. 
                          
However, after a little while, the Hufflepuff's tight grip started to hurt and Minnie had to push him off gently, "Careful," she whispered and Florean pulled away quickly, breathing sharply and frantically scanning her body as if he was scared he'd injured her even further. "Sorry, sorry, sorry, I just-" his voice cracked, along with Minerva's heart when she saw how worried he looked. 
                          
"You gave us all a fright, Mins," the boy finally said, his brown eyes glistening with some sort of liquid and Minnie subconsciously felt her hand moving upwards to wipe any tears away, not wanting one of her best friends to cry. "I'm sorry I worried you," she said gently, feeling quite emotional even though she still didn't know the full extent of what had happened.
                          
The last thing Minerva remembered was getting hit in the side by a Bludger, she didn't recall anything after that except for a sensation that she was falling which, judging by the amount of pain her body was currently in, she probably had done. "It's not your fault, it was those blasted Slytherins," Florean growled, sounding angry now that he'd gotten over his emotional episode. 
                          
"What do you mean?" Minnie asked carefully, feeling a sense of caution edging it's way into her, climbing into her chest and making it feel rather tight as a lump gathered at the back of her throat. "Eve Selwyn," Florean responded solemnly, sighing and pouring a glass of water for his friend, handing it to the girl who gulped it down gratefully as her mouth had been feeling drier than the Sahara desert. 
                          
It was only when Minerva finished off the water and placed the glass back down on the bedside table did she notice that she and Florean weren't alone in this part of the hospital wing. She had to twist her aching body around to the side to put the glass back so that meant that her gaze moved to the space on the right hand side of her bed where she hadn't looked previously because she had been so preoccupied with Florean on the other side. 
                          
Curled up in one of the chairs with a blanket tossed over her was Euphemia, tear tracks on her face glistening in the dim light as she hugged her knees to her body. Minnie felt a pang echo low in her stomach at the sight of her best friend evidently only just getting some sleep from the way Florean gestured for her not to wake the girl up.