Chapter 16 - The morning after

We found ourselves in the infirmary because I strongly insisted that I would not stay there and explain myself all the while covered in brain juice and with a hip that was threatening to kill me as I couldn't just heal myself then and there with everyone watching.

"Now young man, could you explain what happened?" asked professor McGonagall as soon as I escaped the healer's 'tender mercies' and was snugly in my bed. Nym was also in a bed near me as she had drained quite a lot of her magic in protecting both herself and Hermione.

"I'll skip the things that happened before professor Quirrel entered the Great Hall as one would assume that everyone is in the know, right?" I say and Snape snorts "Okay, so, as I was ready to go to the common room with my fellow Slytherins, do I need to mention that the troll was spotted in the dungeons, where our common room is? I hope I don't because I just did" at this all the heads of houses resisted the urge to facepalm as they realized what I said "But just before I was ready to leave, I was informed that Nym here was not in the Great Hall so I went to search for her"

"Now, why would you do this?" asked Snape.

"Eh" I shrugged my shoulders "She's a friend, sort of? Anyway, inconsequential. I rapidly made my way through the castle when I had a… I don't know, feeling? That I wouldn't find anything on the first floor, so, trusting my gut, I headed to the second. There, after a couple of minutes of me running around, I heard a crash coming from nearby" saying this, I proceeded to explain my dispatching of the troll to everyone present.

"Fifty points to Slytherin for saving a fellow student and for inventive use of spells" Flitwick said as I stopped telling my story.

"Mister Morgan, what you did was highly dangerous" the Headmaster began in a grandfatherly tone "and while you did save your fellow students you also put yourself in danger when you should have called a faculty member as soon as you found the troll who could have also not been killed" as he said this I simply looked at him like he was fucking with me, I looked around the room and saw that Snape was rolling his eyes as well.

"I believe that Mister Morgan has learned his lesson and should be left to rest" Snape curtly said, trying to not give Dumbledore any time to say anything else.

I sent a grateful nod to my head of house.

Soon enough, all the professors had left the sickbay of the infirmary, leaving me alone with Nym. I shifted around a bit, trying to find a good position to sleep in as I was still aching from the first encounter meeting with the door. Otherwise, I was entirely fine, Poppy the school's nurse said I was a prime specimen after finishing her scans of my body, healthy as a horse but a night in the infirmary wouldn't do me bad so I had to stay there.

I soon found a comfortable position and closed my eyes, ready to sleep this night away and get back to normal.

"Why?" a voice, barely above a whisper, spoke.

I turned to the speaker, Nym, who was lying on her side, having not drawn the curtains that separated our beds "Why what?"

"Why did you come and search for me?"

"Eh" was all I said, shrugging my shoulders.

"That's all you say, eh?" she said back with a little heat in her voice.

"What do you want me to say, Nym? That I wanted to play the hero? That I heard that you weren't at the feast and wanted to save you for some foolish notion and become your knight in shining armor?" I said as I raised my brow.

"Yes! That's exactly what I mean! You just happened to hear that I was missing and then you come to 'save' me so that I would be eternally grateful to you?!" she continued with heat while giving me a stare. This was beginning to annoy me.

"Easy there, calm down" I say the exact opposite of the words you should say to a person that was enraged.

"You tell me to calm down?! Who-" she raised her voice.

"Dude, what's wrong with you?" I deadpan, interrupting her.

"You're just like everybody else!"

"Wait wait wait, what the fuck are you talking about?"

"Everybody! They all want the hot metamorph that can change her body and fulfill their dirty fantasies. You want that too, I know it, I see you looking, I kno-"

"ENOUGH!" my magic spike as I raise my voice and puts everything in the room under pressure "You presume too much" I continued speaking, calmer this time "You want to know why I came there and saved your ass? It wasn't because of any notion of pitiful chivalry nor was it because I wanted to impress a girl. Ha! As if I needed something so asinine in order to do that! Listen here and listen closely" I lean forward as my magic makes my green eyes glow "I heard that there was a troll and I went to said troll with one thing and one thing only in mind, to end it and to test myself. That's it, no hidden meaning no nothing, it made no difference that you or the Granger girl were there, I would have done the same regardless" I huff at the last phrase, calming down my magic as I sat my head back on the bed's pillows.

Silence pervaded the room and I added one last bit.

"And, just so you know, Susan told me that you weren't at the feast and she was worried about you coming into contact with the troll" I pause "She was worried about someone who didn't speak with her for a month. Think clearly on that, girl. Now, I bid you goodnight" as I said my piece I lazily waved my arm, drawing the curtains and separating me from the hufflepuff girl, and permitting me to sleep in peace.

'This is why I hate dealing with kids and teenagers' were my last thoughts as I drifted away to sleep.

–

"Now, now, don't be impatient" I slowly awoke while hearing Madam Pomfrey speaking to someone from behind the curtains.

"Is he okay?" asked a worried voice that I soon recognized as belonging to Susan.

"Yes dear, he will soon wake up" responded the healer.

That was my cue so I intentionally groaned in order to make my presence known.

No sooner was I finished with my groan that the curtain opened and a redheaded missile slammed into me, hugging me hard.

"Oh, Lex! I'm so happy that you're okay!" Susan said with a smile on her face as I hugged her back and raised my head to see Hannah and Pomfrey standing behind her

"Eh, all in a day's work" I fake-smugly replied and she swatted my shoulder.

"And mister, what were you thinking when you just upped and ran?" she asks me in a serious tone though I could notice the worry in her eyes.

"I had everything handled" I say and raise my hand before she could protest "But I still do apologize for just rushing and leaving you behind"

"You'd better!" she smiles and lets me go from her hug then goes to sit on my bed.

"I guess I'll leave you youngsters to it but no funny business in the infirmary!" Poppy intervenes with her hands on her hips. Susan blushes at her last statement while I grin to the older witch and nod my head. She nods back and leaves us to talk privately.

I look at Hannah and pat the other side of the bed, opposite Susan. She gently acknowledges and takes her seat.

We then proceeded to talk about what happened after I left the hall, inadvertently ignoring Nym as she had woken up around the same time I did.

*sigh*"What if you hadn't managed to distract the troll?" Susan asks with worry lacing her words "What if you missed? What if yo-" I shut her up by gently placing a finger on her lips and smiling. She blushes a bit at my action.

"I would have done it differently then, please don't worry" and, as I say those words she remembers my display of power from all those weeks ago and, sighing once again, nods her head.

"I understand but, please, take care of yourself" she asks me and gives me another hug.

"Always"

We chat a bit more and I was just about ready to leave the infirmary. As I was about to go, Susan pushes me out of my bed.

"What?" I ask her

"Go, I need to have a serious discussion with someone" she says and her eyes shift towards Nym who had been silent and downcast throughout this whole ordeal.

"A'ight"

So, shrugging my shoulders once again, I left the room, leaving the girls to their talk.