Unexpected Departure

All had been quiet for Billy as he manned the Hogwarts' infirmary until a Hufflepuff second year showed up right after dinner. When she saw the man standing there in healer's robes, the first thing that came out of her mouth was "Where's Madam Pomfrey?"

"She had a family emergency and had to leave suddenly. My staff from St. Mungos is going to take shifts until she can return. Is there anything I can help you with?"

She blushed and said "No thank you. I just wanted to talk to her but it can wait until she gets back."

Billy sat back and smiled as the girl hurried off. She ran all the way back to the Hufflepuff common room and was out of breath when she got there. She looked around and spotted Megan sitting in one of the arm chairs studying but didn't see Cedric anywhere. The girl ran up to Megan and was tying to talk and catch her breath at the same time. Finally she got out "Where's Cedric?"

Megan looked up at the girl and saw how red her face was and asked "What's wrong Jennifer, are you having an asthma attack?"

Jennifer waved her off. "No, I'm fine, just out of breath. Do you know where Cedric is?"

"I think he's in the library with Cho. Did something happen?"

"I just went to the infirmary for a headache potion and Madam Pomfrey is gone. Some man is there in healer robes and told me she had a family emergency and would be gone for a few days."

"Family emergency?"

"Yeah and I thought with the way she was acting after the second task that well…she's gone to help Harry."

Megan stood and said "Crap that means he's in worse shape than we thought. I've got to go tell Ced. Thanks Jennifer."

Megan bolted out the door and headed for the library. She made it through the hallways in record time and stopped to catch her breath at the library doors because she did not want to upset Madam Pince. She made her way inside and crept around until she found Cho and Cedric back at a corner table. Cho looked up and with a grin said "I thought tonight was my night."

Megan plopped down and said "I've got news."

Cedric leaned forward "Well?"

"Madam Pomfrey left the castle for a family emergency."

Cedric said "You think she went to Harry?"

"That's my guess. You saw the way she was acting in the entrance hall. She kept crying about her James' son."

Cedric leaned back. "Well that could only mean that things got a lot worse and Dobby couldn't take care of it himself. Have you tried calling Dobby lately?"

"Not since they left. I knew he'd be busy."

"Give it another day then call for Dobby and see if he can give you any news. Damn I hate not knowing. It's been four days since he left but if she's with him, at least we know he's being taken care of."

****

The next morning, news was spreading like wildfire that Madam Pomfrey had left the castle. Speculation about her family emergency was primarily centered on the idea that she went to help Harry Potter since most of them had witnessed her breakdown in the entrance hall.

Everyone had seen the bloody mess that landed on the grounds and they all were witnesses to him removing the trident from his thigh. Most still winced thinking about it but if there was one underlying thought, it was relief that Harry would get the care he needed. Madam Pomfrey was known to never give up on a patient and they knew she wouldn't give up on the boy they had all pushed into this situation.

As soon as Albus heard the rumor, he approached Minerva. "Do you know anything about this?"

"All I know is what Poppy told me. Is she taking care of Mr. Potter? I don't know but I hope she is. Merlin knows we have all dropped the Quaffle when it comes to him."

"If he's off school grounds, that is a blatant violation of the rules and we will have to deal with that."

"Albus, that boy was in no shape to leave the school so if he did leave, it wasn't under his own power. If you are so hell bent on pushing the boy even further away then by all means expel him. I think he would thank you for it at this point."

....

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