The Story of Regulus Black - Years 1-4

LXXVIII. The Hospital Wing

Madam Pomfrey had been awoken by Minerva's Patronus telling her that there would be two new patients coming into the hospital wing. So, when the doors burst open and Milo Black came in holding Regulus Black, she was ready.

She immediately directed him towards a bed where he could set the boy, and she began her interrogation.

"What's the matter?" She asked as Milo placed Regulus on the bed gently, much to the protest of the boy, who was letting out cries of pain as his body came in contact with the new surface.

"Cruciatus. The caster was very angry. Apparently it was held on him for around thirty-five seconds in total," Milo said, his voice losing all of the steadiness that it had held in front of the other third year.

She nodded her head, and she immediately started to fill the bedside table with potions from the shelf to her left. "Where's the other?" She asked.

As if on cue, Minerva McGonagall entered the office with a limping Francesco Anderson. "Problem?" She called.

"Broken ankle," replied McGonagall, and she helped Francesco to the bed beside Regulus.

"We'll take care of you after, Mr. Anderson," she said, and she grabbed a stack of small cups from that same potion shelf.

"Is he alright?" Asked Francesco, ignoring his own pain and focusing solely on that of Regulus.

"He's fine," Madam Pomfrey assured Francesco, but even as she said it, Regulus gave another full-body spasm. "Mr. Black, I need you to help me with this," said Madam Pomfrey.

Francesco had been expecting her to speak to Regulus, but when Milo Bell moved, he furrowed his brow in confusion. Why had Madam Pomfrey referred to Professor Bell as "Mr. Black"? However, that wasn't important right now. He could wonder about it later.

Professor Bell and Madam Pomfrey worked together to force a cup of Strengthening Solution down Regulus's throat, much to his protest. They did the same thing with multiple cups of Pain-Relieving Potion, another cup of Strengthening Solution, and one final cup that would help Regulus's raw throat.

By the end of it, Regulus was still sore all over, but at least he wasn't in nearly as much pain. He could move without letting out yelps of pain, at the very least. Sure, he would still wince and absently clench his jaw, but it was no where near as bad as it had been.

His body, however, was still trembling. Madam Pomfrey had administered a potion that she hoped would help, but it did nothing. She assured him that it would go away eventually, and then she turned her attention to Francesco.

She gave him a few potions, healed his ankle, and then stepped back to examine the two boys. "Alright, now that the worst is over, we can move onto these pesky cuts," she stepped towards Regulus first. "I'm going to need you to hold as still as you can, dear," she said.

Regulus nodded his head, and he did his best to stop his body from trembling. It wasn't much use, but Madam Pomfrey really had no problems. She healed all of the cuts and scratches visible on his face and neck, and then did the same to Francesco.

"You two will need to stay here for the night," she said, and she bustled over to the end of the ward where she kept a large cabinet that held most of her potion supply, "let me get you some Sleeping Draught, and it will be off to bed with the both of you."

Professor McGonagall and Professor Bell were standing at the end of the beds, looking at the two boys with worry lines very apparent. However, before either of them could speak, the doors to the hospital wing burst open and several people came running inside.