So probably not contagious, then, thank Merlin. Though Gerard wanted to know more about the actual explosion process -- wand cores hadn't been on his list of Items Of Potential Doom until this very moment. Wands, yes. Their cores, not so much. Just how had the explosion been triggered? And there was the issue of magical versus physical exposure -- had the Veelafication been caused by shattered magic from the wand, or skin contact and inhalation of the actual particles of Veela hair, or a combination of both?
William looked a bit too traumatized to go over the fine details at the moment, though. And Gerard had a whole new kettle of worries flopping around in his head. The idea of a violent, sexed-up Nate Novarro potentially rampaging through Hufflepuff made Gerard want to dash out of the Hospital Wing at top speed. And the possibility of multiple other students being Veelafied, holy harpies, that was enough to make Gerard want to call in a battalion of reinforcements. Maybe two battalions.
Couldn't dash quite yet, though. "Gabe's fine!" Gerard assured William, trying not to wince as the obviously-not-fine Gabe gave their bed wide berth as he crossed the room, ducking into Bob's quarters with a hunted look. Gerard couldn't help feeling a little cross, actually; the whole mess obviously hadn't been William's fault. Hopefully this whole avoidance-thing was going to be temporary. "Well," he amended, shooting the closed door an unfriendly look, "not fine-fine, I guess. He was a bit banged up, but Bob's probably healed most of that by now. And look, it wasn't your fault, okay? It wasn't you. We all know that." He awkwardly patted William's foot for a moment.
And shit, Gerard still needed to take care of the silver reaction before he could go check on the other students. It was getting worse the longer he left it untreated, and while it wasn't in the realm of Giant Unsightly Scarring yet, it was probably close. Great. "No, no, I'm fine, that's nothing to do with you at all," Gerard hastened to explain, rubbing his neck gingerly. "There must have been hyssop in that mix Bob tossed at us. I've got a really beastly allergy to the stuff, but it's not a big deal, honest. I just wanted to make sure you were okay before I took care of it." And, well, Gerard had wanted to be sure that the reversal to mild-mannered librarian wasn't a temporary thing before he left Gabe and Bob alone with William again. But now his skin was really starting to sizzle, the pain gnawing at his attention.
"Bob," he called, and shit, there had actually been hyssop in that mix, Gerard had smelled it, but Bob would probably know an allergic reaction when he saw one, and this, this wasn't it. This was more like Gerard's been splashed with boiling water, fuck. Fuck. Worry about it later, Gerard, he told himself, forcing himself to breathe slower. "Did you catch all that about wand cores?"