Case of the Sniffles PV Emma Hill

There were so many things Emma could be concentrated on like the sorting ceremony, the commemorative feast, and her friends at the table, but she had decided to direct her attention on one thing. The emerald green table... and the banquet of food, but mostly the table. Words couldn't explain the delight she felt watching Andrew get sorted into Slytherin. Rather than of pouting over the small possibility of him being sorted into Ravenclaw, she began to focus on the positive aspects. She would have to get used to it eventually, so beginning now was a great idea. He was at Hogwarts after all, and that was enough to gratify her. She wasn't in her first year anymore, and she could finally relax at the tables. It gave her a sense of superiority remembering she didn't have to sit down with the talking hat in front of the hundreds of witches and wizards only to have her future for the next seven years be determined. All she had to do was sit, shout, and cheer for the new students that joined Ravenclaw, with the exception of watching Andrew become a serpent. 

The brunette couldn't wait to get the year started and finished, but first, she needed to go to bed.

If it weren't for her parents, the two could have undoubtedly met up with each other, but something told her that wouldn't be the only time they'd be early to the Train. She had nearly missed the train in her first year, but that was in the past and all she could do now was wait for the commemoration to end. Rather by accident, she sat viewing his table. It was needless to say she didn't expect the events to turn out how she planned, but she was happy in the end. Now she could watch his every move, and it was not to be a stalker. Well, at least when she wasn't chatting with her mouth somewhat loaded with food. She did have some manners when he came to dinner. 

The Ravenclaw swirled the cup of water with her hand absentmindedly, introducing herself to a first year with a smile. She seemed friendly but self-absorbed. Emma often found herself looking down at her food in hopes that she would stop talking just for a few seconds, of course, it didn't work. The Great Hall was already loud, but with her, the sound seemed to magnify making it unbearable. She couldn't remember being like this after the sorting ceremony. However, her words lingered as she looked up from the witch and across to the Slytherin table. She beamed brightly, but it didn't last as long as she wanted it to. Even though she was sitting a distance away, it was still close enough to see that something wasn't right. There wasn't much she could tell from the distance between them, but one there was one thing that stood out to her the most. There was no smile on his face. Wasn't he happy to be at Hogwarts? She couldn't help but overthink the situation for the better and the worst. 

What? She mouthed so that it didn't appear that she was talking to herself. In addition, she shrugged with confusion. Pointing down to her food, she began to assume the reason he had gotten her attention. Maybe his food was cold, or he just didn't like it. There were many reasons, but none of them seemed to make any sense whatsoever. Are you alright? Came another silent reason that was a bit too complex to be translated properly despite its simplicity.

Across the center aisle, he spotted Emma, sitting on the other side of the Ravenclaw table. A row of Ravenclaws divided them from each other, their bodies getting in the way of Andrew’s line of sight. He wasn’t the tallest boy, so it wasn’t like he could crane his neck over the fence of heads for a better, clearer view of Emma. Rather he had to peek through the gaps and openings between the row, to be able to catch a glimpse of her. Inside, his heart was thrilled to find Emma among them.

Scrutinizing Emma’s face from afar, Andrew noticed her silent mouthing, not that he was able to decipher any of it. He could tell from the look on her face, the way that her attention was zoned in on him, that she seemed to be concerned about how he was doing. Andrew wished he could communicate telepathically, to tell Emma not to worry about him. He didn’t want to distract her from enjoying her dinner as well.
 
While Andrew didn’t feel much in a socializing mood, his mind began to turn towards his home and family, and he wished he could be in the company of someone that he knew. Like his siblings... Even without words, Stacy and Kyle could always sense his mood, and when he didn’t feel like talking in public; they would always know when to step in and cover for him. Now that he was apart from them, Emma would be the closest thing he might look up to as an older sister. His spirits were already depressed with him being sick. Coupled with a wave of homesickness, having never been separated from his family to this extent before, it nearly threatened to break him down into tears. He always had Stacy to cling onto for support. As for Emma... He didn’t want to make a wrong impression with her. Would she think he was being too clingy by sidling up to her?
 
It would be impossible for him to have a conversation with Emma, from this distance. Was it all right for him to walk over to another House’s table? Andrew didn’t know what the rules were. He swept his gaze over the tables that ran along the length of the Great Hall. From what he could see, everyone seemed to be seated at their own House’s table. But it wasn’t like the school authorities had announced any rule prohibiting students from getting up and interacting with others Houses’ tables.
 
Whatever. Andrew didn’t feel like thinking. Rising up from the table, he began making the long trek down the center aisle, all the way around to the opposite bench of the Ravenclaw table. Normally, he would have been more apprehensive about doing so, in fear that he was breaking some unspoken rule, but there was something about it, whenever he was sick, that made him bolder about disregarding any fear of humiliation. He was already humiliated enough by being sick. Unless if anyone of authority stopped him, Andrew would continue on his path, targeting Emma.
 
“Hi, can I sit here?” Andrew said wearily to the talkative first year witch that was sitting beside Emma, once he approached them. The way he carried himself was more like a zombie, more dead than alive by now, with his cold depleting him of all energy to be interested in anything else, but sleep. As empty as his stomach was (the bowl of soup could only fill him up for so long), Andrew didn’t feel much appetite to eat anything else, although food was probably the second most important thing that would help him recover from his cold.
 
Once the girl scooted over, making room for him, Andrew sat down on the bench, his back against the Ravenclaw table as he sat next to Emma.
 
“I’m sick.” He mustered a fatigued smile in Emma’s direction, stating the obvious as he wiped his sniffling nose with a sleeve, followed by a series of coughs that made his eyes watery. Good thing he was facing away from the table, so he didn’t contaminate the food. “It sucks.”
 
With those words, being completely honest with his good friend, Andrew’s expression turned glum, reflecting how under the weather he felt and how disappointed he was that his first day wasn’t at all as fulfilling as it could have been for him. Deeper still, perhaps he was a little frustrated that he couldn’t force himself to act more cheerful, despite his ailment.

Happily chomping down on the piece of beef provided for feast, Emma glanced down the Ravenclaw table for familiar faces to occupy her until the time came to leave and return to everyone's dormitory. Great, hers just happened to be on the opposite side of the school. Unless something miraculous occurred, having a simplistic conversation with Andrew was nearly impracticable. With different classes and schedules, keeping up with him was impossible. What was she thinking? Wondering if she had made a mistake, she glanced over at the table. Would she be able to do this after all? What if something happened to him and he got hurt? She couldn't bear to witness him be attacked, but even watching it happen was better than not being there at all. It was going to be her fault if she let something happen. It had occurred before, after all.

With her eyes fastened on to Andrew, she watched as he got up from his assigned table. Her concerned look only got worse as she realized the possible consequences that could happen for leaving the table. However, she wasn't going to tell him to stop from doing so; he only meant well and she didn't want to shout across the table. Before she could even begin to put her arms up to halt him, she dropped them and lowered her head apprehensively, still smiling a bit as she waited for his voice to appear above her.

Now that the Sorting Ceremony was over, it was incredibly loud. The thought seemed to calm her a bit, but not by much. There wasn't a severe punishment for eating at different tables, more or less talking. To be honest, she didn't even know if there was a punishment for it at all. The tables were split up for a reason and she knew that. Finally, his voice rang from above and the Ravenclaw looked up at him, but immediately regretted it. Thanks to her mother, she was a germophobe. After the girl moved over one spot, Emma quietly murmured her gratification to him.

"It's alright, tomorrow will be better." She stated. "First classes are always the funnest." Letting out a laugh, she took a sip of her water, cringing afterward a bit as he coughed. It wasn't that she was silently judging him because of a mere cold.

"Okay... um. We can always try the hospital wing." Her hand gestured to the exit of the Great Hall. Though she wasn't keen on leaving the ceremony, she didn't want to see Andrew like this, not today or frankly any day. For her benefit and his, it was best to rid the cold as soon as possible and none of the spells she knew could help him. Sure there were potions, but she didn't think trespassing in the professor's room would be the best way to start off her year. She did not want to wait for hours until the concoction had finished. It was either finish it or be caught and sent off to detention right before the first day of school began. "It's on the third floor. If we hurry then we'll get back before they begin to dismiss everyone."

Hearing the words come out of her mouth was unbelievable. She'd easily be trading the annual feast to have hundreds of eyes lie upon them both, that is if they weren't already occupied by engaging in conversation with each other. If it was going to help Andrew out, this was a perfect way to begin. Looking up at the table of professors, she exhaled and carefully swung her legs around the bench. She was careful not to stand up yet, in fear of attracting attention. Her only hope was that if a professor noticed them, they would wait till the ceremony ended. What could possibly go wrong?

After a minute, she stood and began to head for the stairs. It took her a long time to remember the pattern of the stairs, but now that she was back some of them had faded. Getting to the third floor was going to be an adventure. As they climbed the stairs, many paintings stopped their chatting to pay attention to the two children hike up the staircase. Emma was, and always had been, careful not to fall when the staircase began to shift with them both on it. Twice along the journey, Emma stumbled to the rail of the stairs, but it didn't frighten her to the slightest bit. Passing the first floor, Emma explained the classes on the floor; all of them. It was an important class, even if it focused on repelling the enemies of the wizarding community. Same for the second floor, though the explanation was rather short. She summed it up in a simple statement. To stay away from the abandoned restroom and to take advantage of the study room. After a few minutes of hiking, they reached the third floor and she led the way to the Hospital Wing. To her surprise, the doors were already open and inside were a couple of students, most of them drenched in the Lake's mysterious water. 

"Here we are," the brunette announced softly and she motioned to two available beds where she could relax on the one next to it. Once they had found their seat, Emma let a sigh of contentment and sprawled out on the bed. She pulled herself up until she was sitting up on the bed, facing the opposite direction. Emma wasn't going to trust magic to clean the sheets. She glanced over at Andrew and decided to repeat herself. "Are you alright?"

Hearing about the “hospital” gave him a sense of hope, that maybe someone there – one of the school nurses, perhaps – could give him something to ease his cold, aside from the honey-lemon cough drops his parents had packed him with. “Sure, let’s go.” He stood up to follow Emma. Whether they were or weren’t allowed to leave during the Feast, his only focus was on his cold. He would do anything to make himself feel better.

Slipping out of the Great Hall, he tagged right behind Emma as they proceeded onto the staircase chamber. The first rotation startled him the most, as they were hiking up one of the flights of stairs when the platform swung around on them mid-way, causing Andrew to lose his balance and stumble forward. With a yelp of surprise, he nearly collided into Emma as he grappled his arms around the railing, catching himself. His heart pounded as he caught a glimpse of the cavernous depths of the chamber below, peering over the railing. For a fleeting moment, he wondered if anyone had ever fallen off the stairs before, and what might happen to him if he accidentally did. . .

His nerves quickly settled as he adjusted to the subsequent rotations, even finding the moving stairs sort of fun, as he and Emma climbed up and navigated their way through the higher levels of the castle. His eyes widened as he absorbed all the strange new sights, distracting him from brooding over his cold, if only for a little while as he listened to Emma explain about all the classes and rooms on each floor. Of course, Andrew had yet to experience it all for himself, meaning he didn’t have much to contribute in the way of conversation. He mostly stared and gaped and nodded in understanding. One thing struck him as odd, though: Why on Earth was the Hospital Wing on the third floor?? Wouldn’t it make more sense for it to be on the ground floor, for emergency access?

“Here we are.”

Their entrance hadn’t gone unnoticed. Catching the attention of one of the busy nurses, who told them to wait a while, Andrew sat down on the edge of one of the white linen beds, directly across from Emma.

“Are you alright?”

Andrew nodded tiredly. “I’m okay.” Honestly, that question was a complicated one to answer. “Okay” in the sense that “it could always be worse”. It was only a little cold. He knew he could suffer through its natural duration and make it out all right, but psychologically Andrew had a low tolerance to pain and discomfort, especially when it came to his health.

After tending to the other patients, one of the female nurses hastened over to check on her newest arrivals. Laying her eyes on Andrew, she could clearly tell was the matter.

“Bit of a cold, I see.” She tsked, placing her hand on Andrew’s forehead to feel his temperature. “Nothing a little Pepperup Potion can’t remedy.” Turning on her heels, the woman swung open the doors of a large cabinet, and withdrew a dark purple crystal vial from one of the shelves. “Here you go, lad. Chug it down.” She plucked out the stopper and handed the vial to Andrew, who sniffed and stared at it dubiously for a moment, before raising the vial to his lips…

He squeezed his eyes shut, pouring the shot of liquid into his mouth and swallowing it in one gulp. He was prepared to taste something awful like cherry cough syrup, which was the reason why he swallowed it down as fast as he could, hoping to avoid a disgusting aftertaste. He didn’t let the liquid touch his tongue either, as much as he could anyways. Surprisingly, what little hint of flavor remained in his mouth, it wasn’t all that bad. A bit on the sickly sweet side of grape, but not to the extent of bitter cough syrup that would make him want to gag.

No sooner did he finish smacking his lips, a few seconds after swallowing the potion, that Andrew felt an intense warmth surge throughout his body, flushing his face an intense shade of red as his internal temperature rose rapidly. What felt like a buildup of heat inside of his head, escaped through his ears in spurts of steam, like a whistling tea kettle. How he would describe the sensation based on his Muggle experiences, it was as if his ears were constantly popping due to elevation changes, which wasn’t at all painful, but more along the scale of lightly uncomfortable that didn’t really bother him too much.

“Whoa…” was all Andrew could think of to say, his eyes popped wide open at the bizarre side effect he was experiencing. “This is really weird…”

The nurse chuckled amusedly. “Expect that steam to come out of your ears for the next few hours. It should wear off by curfew. That’s ten o’clock, if you didn’t know,” she pointed out, recognizing that the boy was a first year, judging from his plain black robes that had yet to be replaced by his new House colors. She then gave the boy a once-over glance. “Feeling better?”

Despite his red face, Andrew nodded energetically. The potion had cured him almost instantly. It was as if the heat had melted away the “bugs” in his body, clearing his sinuses and opening his airways, wiping away the soreness from his throat and draining the congestion from his nose. With his recovery, Andrew was just about restored to his old perky self. “Much better, thank you.” He grinned at the nurse. Aside from the active little spurts of steam that shot out from his ears (which would become less and less frequent, as the side effect wore off), Andrew considered himself to be 99% better. His spirits were rejuvenated. As well as his appetite. Remembering the chocolate cake he had spied earlier during the Feast, Andrew’s mind was drawn to his growling stomach. He could certainly go for some dessert right now…

“I’m hungry now,” Andrew piped up, turning to Emma expectantly. “We can go back to dinner. I’m starving.”

They exited the Hospital Wing, retracing their steps back down the Grand Staircase and picking up the pace as they hurried to get back to the Great Hall before the Feast ended. Andrew’s face was still slightly red from the Pepperup Potion’s warming effect, but other than the steam that popped out of his ears every so often, he felt good as new, back to his more cheerful self.

“Thanks for taking me over there,” he said gratefully, tagging beside Emma. Lucky for him, thanks to Emma, he had gotten an early head start on his tour of the castle, now that he knew some of the layout of what the ground and first three floors were. “At least I know the way up, now.” He swept his gaze over the colossal size of the rooms, in awe, wondering how vast the school was. “How many floors are in this place?” His voice echoed through the corridor. Now that he was feeling better, it was easier for him to talk and conversate. Finally, it was his turn to speak. And he had a bunch to say. Excitedly, Andrew told Emma all about his train ride and the first year boat ride he took to get to Hogwarts, marveling about the size of the Castle and questioning whether any monsters lurked underneath the Great Lake. Eventually, his recap of events turned to the Sorting Ceremony and the House he had been put in…

“I didn’t have a preference, but I was kind of looking forward to the blue House, like you.” He still hadn’t dedicated the House names to memory. It was much easier referring to them by colors anyway. “Well, mainly because I like the color blue,” he half-kidded, “But it would’ve been nice if we were both in the same House, too.” Being a Muggle-born, Andrew had no instilled knowledge about the significance of Houses, the rivalry between them or what their stereotypes were. He was an entirely blank slate, with no pre-groomed biases, and his initial impression about the Houses was a bit airheaded, in his current phase of naivety and innocence concerning wizarding matters of importance. Up to this point, the only thing that made the four Houses different in Andrew’s eyes was the signature colors and animal associated with each one. If he wanted to be picky, blue was his favorite color, so he wouldn’t have minded wearing blue all the time… “But I guess the Hat decided I'd be better off with the green one, instead.” Not that he was disappointed. He assumed all Houses were the same and would have no dramatic impact on him. The only downside being that he might not get to see Emma as often as they could have, had they been in the same House.

Andrew's expression flickered with concern, a mixture of worry and fear. “I hope the teachers aren’t mad at us for leaving.” (He would soon learn that the proper, more formal term at this school was “professor”, not teacher.) After what Emma did to accompany him to the Hospital Wing, he hoped she wouldn’t be punished, if she had broken a rule to help him. “Sorry if I'm getting you into trouble…”

Exhaling a deep breath from her lungs, a faint smile appeared on her face. Both negative and positive thoughts formed in her mind. That could have meant anything from feeling excited to alienated with the presence of every magical student, including herself. Nevertheless, she figured that it was just his cold doing all the speaking and she tried not to give it any awareness until the nurse came over to assist him. Her eyes glanced from Andrew to the nurse, mentally rushing her so that they could get back to the Great Hall and finish eating. She didn't want every student to vacate the diner, leaving her to accompany Andrew to his dormitory. Imagining blue robes in the dungeons wasn't exactly a favored picture before the first day of classes.

Finally, the nurse came over and she scooted over in her bed a little and began to listen to their conversation. The brunette's eyes followed the caregiver to a cabinet which presumably contained different magical items for health. She didn't really know, but she was sure to find out this time as a 'just in case' circumstance. A purple vial was brought back to Andrew, and to her astonishment, he drank it after thinking for a moment. After drinking the potion, it was like Andrew was a different person, well the same in this case. Any form of drowsiness disappeared and she could see the energy radiating from him, physically and mentally. She watched the steam come out of her ears and snickered under her breath. If she had a camera, she would have gladly taken a photograph of the moment and sent it to his family just to see their reactions and that his first day had been memorable, but the more she thought about it, would they be able to figure the methods of wizarding communication? It wasn't every day an owl hand-delivered mail.

"Fine, but only because you asked so nicely." She sprang off the bed and galloped to the door, delighted to return to the Great Hall and finish their meals. It hadn't taken too long. In fact, the journey up the stairs had taken much more time than the actual visit. It was easier to go down the stairs than to escalade up them, this cut down their time considerably and now that she had memorized the pattern of the steps (at least the ones they climbed on their first journey), it was much easier to predict the correct staircase to hike down.

In response, she nodded, glancing up at the rotating staircases above them. The following day they'd be in classes learning the basic rules of classes, and hopefully a spell or two. Despite learning a repeat of the same rules she learned in her first year, she was looking forward to regathering with all of her friends during class. 

With a smile, Emma listened to him marvel about his journey to Hogwarts. While he had the privilege of gliding across the water with boats, she had to use Thestrals and it was horrifying. If death had an odor, a Thestral would certainly be it. She was sure to sit as far away as she could, but sometimes her eyes wandered off to its boney appearance she just couldn't stand. She complained about her ride and prepared him for his next year though this one hadn't started yet.

"Seven, not including the towers, don't worry though you only need to focus on the Astronomy Tower and maybe the West?" She hadn't visited the Owlery much in her first year, just like the Great Hall. Noticing the echo in the room, Emma jumped from stair to stair loudly, letting the noise resonate.

Tempted to reveal what each house represented, she kept her mouth shut, hesitant of how to explain each house without sounding bias. Each house had its pros, cons, and stereotypes that could be seen in everyone from the house, but for the sake of keeping the spoilers to herself, she found it best not to tell him everything about the school and the secrets. In the end, she decided to speak up. "The green one's a good one, trust me."

In one gesture, she shrugged and looked down at the opening to the Great Hall. Inside, she was frightened, but she tried her best not to let it show. Hoping that their absence had gone unrecognized, the voices of students rang from inside the Hall keeping her optimistic. Before returning back to her designated table, she halted at the side of the entrance to speak, still not visible to any of the tables. "It's not even the first day, how much trouble can we get into? Besides, it was worth it at least you're not sick anymore!"

"Promise you'll stay out of trouble?" She asked him.

While the two of them had tried to sneak out of the Great Hall and back in undetected, their exit hadn’t escaped some of the professors’ observant glances. As Andrew and Emma poked their heads through the entryway, one of the staff members caught them, asking them for an explanation about their disappearance, though it wasn’t difficult for the prosecutor to tell what the two students had been up to. Proof being in Andrew’s red face and steam coming out of his ears. Their reason for leaving the Feast was excusable, for Emma to take Andrew to the Hospital Wing when he was sick, so it was hardly a warning for them not to do it again. The two students had come back in relatively short timing and hadn’t dallied off anywhere they shouldn’t have been. In the end, the two were pardoned with a friendly reminder, not to leave without permission, yadda yadda… Andrew was simply relieved that he and Emma weren’t punished, although he would’ve been shocked if they were.

"Promise you'll stay out of trouble?"

“I promise I won’t get sick on purpose,” Andrew smirked. He didn't intend to go purposely looking for trouble. He’d rather avoid it very much, thank you. Whether or not trouble found him or dragged him into it, depended on what Fate and the Author had in store for him…

The two friends parted ways, back to their respective tables to enjoy the remainder of the Feast. . . Andrew drawing more attention with the peculiar spurts of steam trailing out of his ears. Sitting back down, he piled his plate with three servings’ worth of chocolate cake, chattering happily with his fellow Slytherins. Now that he was feeling in tip-top shape, he could relish the Feast to its fullest.