A Fruitful Love ; The Potter Twins

5. The High Inquisitor

~~ Six weeks later ~~

There was a chill in the air as winter approached ever nearer. Harry had gone for a walk in the early morning, and met Luna in the forest feeding the thestrals.

When Harry returned to the Great Hall for breakfast, he saw the gang all sitting together on the Gryffindor table. Ron and Hermione were busy eating, and George had his arm around Elena's shoulders as he ate a plate of sausages and beans. It was just Elena who wasn't eating anything. She only had a cup of tea to drink.

"Is it okay if I join you?" Harry asked.

"Of course," said Hermione.

Harry sat down opposite Elena. "Are you okay, El?" he asked. "You don't look too good."

"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just feeling a little bit sick this morning," said Elena. "It's probably just something I ate."

"Okay, if you're sure," said Harry.

Before he could ask her any more, they were disturbed by the sounds of an argument. Harry looked quickly at Ron and Hermione. They all nodded at each other and stood up to go and investigate. Elena went to stand up and join them, but when she did, she was hit with a wave of nausea.

"Are you okay, baby?" George asked.

"No, I think I'm going to vomit," said Elena.

She stood up and rushed out of the Great Hall towards the nearest bathroom. As she pushed through the crowd of children, she caught a glimpse of Umbridge and McGonagall arguing on the staircase.

Elena made it to the bathroom just in time. She rushed into one of the cubicles and dropped to her knees in front of the toilet bowl just as she started to vomit.

Once she had finished, Elena went over to the sinks to get some water to take the taste of sick away. She was just spitting out the water, when the bathroom door opened. Elena glanced around to see Hermione and Ginny coming towards her.

"Are you okay?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah, we saw you running past everyone," said Ginny. "Are you alright?"

Elena wiped her mouth with a towel. "I'm fine," she said. "I just feel a little unwell."

"Okay, if you are sure?" said Hermione. She didn't believe Elena, but she didn't want to push her too much.

"Yes," said Elena. "Anyway, what was all that on the stairs?"

"McGonagall was arguing with Umbridge," said Ginny. "But I think Umbridge won the argument."

"That doesn't sound good," said Elena.

"No," said Hermione. "But we can worry about it later, it's time for our first lesson now."

"I don't think I can, I'm feeling rough," said Elena. "Can you tell Professor Flitwick that I'm not well?"

"Okay, I can do that," said Hermione. "Are you going to go back to bed?"

"Yeah, I will try that," said Elena.

"Okay, I'll come and check on you later," said Hermione.

Then she gave Elena a quick hug and left for their first lesson with Ginny. When they had gone, Elena splashed some water on her face, then headed back upstairs to her dormitory.

When Elena reached her dormitory, she grabbed the small waste bin from the corner and put it on the floor next to her bed. Then she threw off her clothes and crawled back under her duvet.

At lunchtime, Hermione went up to their dormitory with Ginny to check up on Elena. They found her still in bed wrapped up in her duvet. Hermione sat on the edge of the bed and stroked Elena's hair softly.