Enid shot the other two murderous glares as they merely teased her, not getting the stupid worm off her shoulders. "Just you wait, Helsing - just you wait 'til this thing's finally off and I'm going hex your head off!" she told him through gritted teeth, squirming to get the snake off but it seemed Fendi was far too comfortable to move.

Dammit. "I hope you're proud of yourself for having your stupid pet be the reason for my premature death," she added bitterly, trying not to move too much in case it startled the snake and it decided to attack.

Giggle, sneeze, giggle sneeze.

Aww, Drew seemed to have a bit of a problem around his step dad, but because of his weird ways to treat him. "Well, you just said the reason, he never had kids, so you two might be like really new to them and seeing you grow up like this scares him, a bit..." Annie was giving just a suggestion, a comment after all. The little confession of Drew saying that along his brother, they liked to pick on their step dad made Annie gasp of surprise. She never would have expected that from him...

Their talk lasted a bit more time, then it all went silent as they moved down to floors downstairs. She had nothing to say to him, except that little burn inside her heart that was forcing her to tell him all about her feelings towards him. She felt just...pressured....

"Well, we almost make it. I hope not to cry at just the mention of needles..." She finally spoke, though laughing at her own comment.

Drew shrugged. "I really can't blame the guy. He trys hard but it's weird. He's not my dad and he trys to be which is weird to me. Yet he loves my mum and that's that." He said with a small smile. Yesssss anything or anybody that made his mum happy made Drew happy. Yeahhhh he was a mummy's boy! "Okay c'mon don't gasp like you are suprised. It's nothing bad and it's not that much anymore." He told Annie honestly.

"I don't think you will cry. And if you do I will be right there okay?" Eeep did that sound to boyfriend-ish. Yeahhhh it sort of did.

Lungs... slowly... failing...

Jake was already staggering halfway down the third floor corridor away from the Hospital Wing. The boy dropped to his knees and clutched his chest, coughing in a great wheeeezy way, horrible hoarse coughs coming from him.

"Oh... Maerlyn," he gasped, trying to push himself back up so he could at least keep staggering on.

But no, his legs wouldn't allow more than kneeling and coughing.

Well... he could rest until he saw whoever was chasing him again.

Annie laughed. "Well, you're right, as long as your mom is happy, you should be. Nobody, I know, will replace your dad's place...but your step dad finds in both of you a little cheer, the little wake up reason for his effort and his love for your mother..." She just commented. Annie, never had this experience in her life before, though she knew that death or divorce could be expected any minute; nobody knew the certain future of each self.

Awww..."Maybe, that's why I like you so much..."

Come with that again??

What had she just said....OH NO...she just had ruined it...she knew it....

She just stood there, frozen, silent....

Drew was about to comment. When he heard Annie's next sentence. WHAT!!!! Butbutbut! Did she just...???! Huuuuuh!

Wait did Annie just say she liked him? Like really liked him a lot! Gulp. What to say??? First of all he wasn't good with speaking to start with then this was just wow. Ummmmm what to do what to do.

Drew looked back at her. "Ummm well maybe that's why I like you so much too, because you like me so much." Wait huh? What the hell did he just say? He took a deep breath. "I mean I like you too, a lot."

Ay, ay ay...

Gulp. Sigh. Then an unexpected sneeze which Anna stopped from spreading putting her nose around her arm. Eeek...eww...

Annie stood there, silent...then heard him speak. Did he just tell her the same thing but to her? That he liked her, like she did to him?? Oh, my...GOODNESS...

"Really?!" That little question came out of her mouth, with no warning. And now, they were holding hands. She just felt that little electricity...that rush of energy...

What....

Eeep what was happening?! Did he just really tell Annie that??? But nobody was suppose to know that! Yet she liked him too, that was good really good.....

Drew nodded a small smile on his face. "Yeah I really like you Annie." He told her honestly. He looked down at their hands. They were holding hands! He was holding hands with Annie Robles and she liked him andandand how could this be any better!?

OMGOMGOMGOMG....

Annie looked up at Drew, then back down at their hands holding each other's. She was frozen, in that little time of thinking through the whole situation just put in front, the one she was about to face when...

She hugged him. She did...That shiver she felt when touching people was gone, and all thanks to Drew, ....and maybe Torin, but with him it felt different. Annie let go of Drew, then blushed.

Another one of those, she might be confused as if she had a fever..."I..." She had no words this time.

Still looking down at their hands Drew didn't see Annie looking back up at him. He was just soooo excited and that they were holding hands meant something big! Or at least to Drew it did. He then all of a sudden felt Annie hugging him. Okayyyyy so Drew liked this one better. He hugged her back liking the way it felt having her arms around him.

As she pulled back though Drew watched as she blushed. Hehe! She looked cute when she blushed. Awww and she didn't have any words this was sooo cool! "Ummm sooo what happens now?" He asked. Whattt! He wasn't good with this stuff...

His hug, for Annie meant heaven, as if she was in total peace, in some other world. She was looking so pleased, so happy, her cold was even forgotten when she just grinned when Drew hugged her back.

What happened now?

"Uh...I don't know, I'm kind of knew to this." Yes, true. The whole situation with Ulises never finished itself, and now that she was with Drew, she felt much better. "I...seriously don't know..." She kind of flailed to this situation.

Maybe it was time to ask Torin for help...

Grrrreat they both didn't know what to do...."Errr well. We don't have to do anything. I mean we can wait. Or we can just take it really slow or something." Yeah he was confused. What did they do? Just because Drew liked Annie and she liked him did that make them a couple or what? Argh! This was way to confusing for his liking.

"I really don't know either." He said softly.

Becca laughed and stuck out her tongue. "You guys should go out for the night, get friendly with eachother, and then you won't be so scared of Fendi." Becca said smirking at Slick's death threat for Cissy. Slicks was very uncomfortable, but Fendi didn't seem to mind, curling right up on her shoulders and lounging there.

"Oh, stop being so dramatic! It's not like Clue! No one will notice that it was Cissy and Becca in the third floor corridor with the snake. We won't get into trouble, you don't have to worry." Becca joked.

Patience is a virtue...

That's what her mother always tells Annie, and seemed like being patient at this situation was going to be the best option, for now. But now, Annie knew felt the same way about her like she did for him, and this made her really happy.

"You're right. We can wait...we are still too young..." She shrugged, though feeling that urge to just hold his hand, forever.

Sigh...

The sound of Reese's bare feet could definitely be heard hitting against the stone ground as she ran. She really didn't like the idea of chasing her brother right after she had just gotten healed, but then again, she didn't like the idea of chasing her brother at all. Jake Upstead was waaaaay faster than her, so the chances of catching up to the fourth year were slim.

As she rounded the corner of the corridor, she noticed someone kneeling on that ground. That person was her brother.

"JAKERS UPSTEAD," she exclaimed as she headed over to him. "It was stupid of you to run away from Healer Ashford, now you need to get your butt back into the Hospital Wing." It took her a few seconds to realize that maybe he couldn't fully get up, because if he could, wouldn't he have run further than he did? "Do you need help standing up?" She added.

Man, was he getting slower or something? That wasn't good.

Hearing Reese behind him, Jake ignored the use of that last name and continued cough!wheezing, trying to practically crawl away from Reese.

Ha! Going back?

"No."

...

"Wan' ter suhh-s-" COUGHCHOKEWHEEZE "sssee p'fessor Laws-" COUGGGGGGHWHHEEEEEEEEEEEEZE "-son. Muggle stuh-..."

COUGHCH-

Jake gave up talking and just tried to leave. He didn't WANT to go back.

Reese's facial expression changed from mad to madder when Jake said 'no'. Was she going to have to do this the hard way? Because she really didn't want to do this the hard way.

Was what Jake had contagious? She didn't want to end up coughing and wheezing like he was right now. "Jake! You're sick, okay? You can see Professor Lawson when you feel better," she told him. "Or I can talk to him later and tell him to stop by the Hospital Wing. Either way I'll make sure you see him."

Was he trying to leave AGAIN?

Before her brother could get away or even have a chance to respond to what she had said previously, she walked in front of him and reached down and grabbed his hand. "We're doing this the hard way," she announced before she began to drag him back down to the Hospital Wing.

The sound of someone's click-clacking heels sounded in the corridor. The noise grew closer and closer until the Healer was in full view. She'd decided, on the spur of the moment, that sprinting after Jake Upstead would be in the boy's best interest. She just couldn't allow a pneumonia patient to run laps around the school and not do anything about it.

"Stopppp! Waitttt!" she called out, coming to a halt to allow her a second to pull off her heels. Heels in hand, she hurried down the corridor, coming to a stop when she saw Jake and Reese just up ahead. She'd run towards them, but she was afraid that would only result in both of them taking off again.

"Mr. Upstead, if you truly can not and won't take a Pepperup Potion, I certainly won't force you to. I need you to stop running about the castle, though. You'll grow worse!" she called out.

Seriously, Jake had no fight left in him. When Reese grabbed his hand, the energy he would have used to pull away was taken by his trying to stop coughing. Even when he could see a barefoot Ashford ahe-...

...

Wait, why were both females barefoot?

Some kind of... fashion statement?

...

Girls were truly weird.

"I wuhh-wanna ssssee him nuhh-nowwww..." the boy was able to say, his voice hoarse and wheezy. Stupid running.

Still... he doubt he'd make it to the first floor. Grrr.

The man was probably still mad anyway. "Hurrrrts..." Jake complained, clutching his chest. Stupid fever was still there too.

Then, Jake realised who had his hand and hurriedly wrenched it away. My hand! MINE!

"You can't see him now," Reese responded. "You might get Lawson sick with your...disease." Which would be bad since he was a Professor that needed to get students - like her - ready for their Muggle Studies NEWTs, which were just around the corner.

Upon hearing the Healer's voice, Reese let go of Jake's hand. She listened as the Healer explained that Jake didn't have to take... what did she just say?

"Wait, you ran away because you didn't want to take a pepperup potion?" She asked her brother.

Deciding to take her changes, Gabriella walked a few steps closer to Jake and Reese. She paused ever so often just on the off chance one of her sudden movements caused Jake to take off again. So far, so good. "Mr. Upstead, there is an alternative to the third dose of Pepperup Potion," she said, taking a few more hesitant steps forward.

"I used to live in the muggle world, and I...knew...a surgeon by the name of Dr. Ryan Collins," she said, closing her eyes when she felt a little lump form in her throat. She hadn't just known Ryan, she'd dated him for years. Her eyes flew back open when she realized that saying surgeon might give Jake the impression she was suggesting he be operated on.

It wasn't easy discussing anything dealing with Ryan, but she'd do it for one of her students. "Being around a doctor and living in the muggle world taught me lots about muggle healing, as well. Being healed with muggle methods is far slower, but the end results will be just as effective," she explained. Of course, going this route would mean Jake would have to go through a week's worth of bed rest, and when he heard that, Gabriella imagined he'd change his mind really quickly.

Hopefully. A third dose of Pepperup Potion would be so much easier.

"'M nuhh-not d'seased," Jake muttered resentfully. Taking a step away from Reese and rubbing at his chest with both hands.

Hearing the girl's question, Jake turned away from her and outright ignored her. She was just being mean today.

Biting on his lip as Ashford moved closer, it was all Jake could do not to back away. He hugged his arms to his sides and-

Whimpered.

"Surgeon?!" Jake exclaimed, a small gasp causing him to relapse into another coughing fit. He doubled over and clutched his chest, determined not to cry in the pain.

Oh wait... Slow? Surgery wasn't exactly slow...

"Whuhh-what is it?" Jake asked, willing to agree to whatever it was. Anything but the potion... Or surgery.

"Yeahhhh it's not a big deal anyways." Drew said shrugging lightly. Well come on they both liked each other and it wasn't like that was going to change anytime soooon! So they could just wait a little while longer right???

He then hugged Annie again. He didn't want to let go of her so quick this time. He didn't even care that he might get sick with her icky nasty germs. Nothing could wreck this...

"You're sick," Reese stated. "That's not too much different than being diseased." At least to her it wasn't. Then again, she wasn't a Healer. Not now, not ever.

She crossed her arms when Jake turned away from her. "Come on, little bro. Can't you just take the pepper up potion? It's not going to harm you," she said. "It'll make you feel a lot better."

When the Healer started to explain something about being healed the muggle way, which didn't sound too bad, she looked towards Ashford. The one thing that got her was that the muggle method was going to be sloooow. Sighing, she glanced back at Jake. Honestly, she didn't really care what the Healer did to make Jake better, she just wanted her brother to not be sick. The coughing and wheezing just mad her feel sorry for her brother. Being sick wasn't any fun.

Gabriella shook her head a little as she stepped even closer towards the Upstead siblings. "Ryan was a surgeon, yes, but he was once also an excellent family doctor. He healed far too many cases of pneumonia than I'm able to remember," she explained, coming to a stop just beside Jake. "What I do remember, though, is the muggle methods he used to heal his patients."

"The methods are slow, and you definitely won't be healed in a day, but if you absolutely refuse a third dose of Pepperup Potion, then I can offer you this alternative," she continued. Wow. Never would she have thought getting a job here at Hogwarts would have her employing Ryan's methods of healing. He'd have been proud of her, no doubt.

"You'll have to remain in bed for at least one solid week. This means no quidditch and no...whatever else it is you do when you're not in classes. There's a daily breathing treatment I can give you to knock out the rest of your pneumonia," she explained. The Pepperup Potion he took before, combined with the breathing treatments, would eventually heal him. "Seven breathing treatments plus seven days of bed rest..." Surely the boy would go for the Pepperup Potion now.