Chamber of Love

Chapter 4

  Classes were still as monotonous as she remembered and the fact that everyone, especially the champions, was hectic about the tournament wasn't making it any easier for the students to concentrate on lessons.

Juliette was walking in the corridors, taking advantage of her free time after lunch, and heading towards the Hospital Wing to help Madame Pomfrey. It was something she's been doing since third year. Taking care of people immensely helped her to be more calm and composed around people since equanimity was a necessity when it came to healing people. Also, she was highly interested in how human body responded to damages and the medications or potions during the healing process. And how it healed itself on its own when there was nothing to do.

Juliette also used to be pitifully alone during her first two and a half years and since she couldn't bother with being a social butterfly and making new friends to spend time with, she turned her face to the professors and tried to help them as much as she can so she could have something different and useful to do during her leisure time. It wasn't long before she realized she was mostly comfortable in the Hospital Wing, helping Madame Pomfrey to tend to ill, hurt or simply tired students. It was better than sitting in the library, pretending to read a book to make herself look busy anyway. She also learned more than twenty new potions that no other students knew about. All by herself. She was quite proud of herself at that moment. So was her mother.

Juliette passed two older Hufflepuff students that she barely recognized, laughing about some kind of badge they were wearing. She involuntarily squinted her eyes to see what was so funny about the round object.

Cedric's smiling face was on the surface, looking at her for a moment before it suddenly turned into green and two words in ill-formed fonts appeared: Potter Stinks.

She rolled her eyes and kept walking, her hands playing slightly with her school robe. Personally, she didn't believe that Harry had put his name in the goblet. The confusion and disbelief on his face when Dumbledore said his name was as clear as crystal. Maybe he did like the attention but this was no different from a suicide mission and Juliette believed that he didn't need something like this to be the centre of attention. The scar on his forehead was enough. 

However, how his name managed to get spit out by the blue fire was still a mystery.

Her eyes caught the familiar doors of the infirmary, welcoming her like an old friend, when she also heard a loud commotion at the end of the corridor, near the Courtyard.

"How dare he?!" Draco Malfoy's overly dramatic scowl appeared in her vision as he came around the corner. His friends were franticly following him, their faces graced by angry expressions for some reason. "Who does he think he is? Just wait until my father hears about this!" He shouted, getting murmurs of approval from his friends. Something was evident to Juliette, and that was the fact that Draco Malfoy was furious.

She frowned when they walked past without noticing her. I wonder what happened, She thought to herself before absentmindedly entering the infirmary.

The spacious room was empty except for a second year Gryffindor being attended by Madame Pomfrey. It seemed like a magic accident since his right hand looked a little burnt. Probably potions, Juliette thought.

"Good afternoon, Madame Pomfrey." Said Juliette, ready to help her in every way she can.

"Juliette, dear, it's so nice to see you again!" Said the nurse, looking over her shoulder to see the Hufflepuff girl, who looked a wee bit grown up compared to last year. "You're here to help, I presume?"

Juliette nodded with a smile, excited to work with the nurse that she admired very much. "Yes, I am."

"Good, good." Pomfrey murmured, giving her attention back to the injury she was too concentrated on inspecting before Juliette arrived. "Will you please bring me that red bottle then? It's right on my desk."