Sparks Fly || A George Weasley Story

Year 4: Hospital Food

Not much was said as we all sat out in the hall, backs pressed against the stone walls while we avoided whatever classes that we should have been in. Fred had been twirling his wand around his fingers while he stared off into space, and I knew that he only got quiet like this when he was really worried. It wasn't often that he got that almost somber look on his face, and unfortunately, this was one of those times.

I was worried too, and I was afraid that I wasn't able to hide it as well as he was. He looked as though he could be thinking about anything. Like what we'd have for dinner or when Oliver was going to schedule our next practice or how much homework he was putting off. I knew that, as I looked over at Colleen, that my own worried look was staring back at me.

Her dark brows were pulled together as she stared down at the stone floor. Her lips were pressed together, paling against her dark skin, as she picked at the hem of her uniform with her chewed up nails. She'd stopped biting them about twenty minutes ago, and I assumed it was because they had begun to hurt.

Robin, who sat beside her, wasn't too far off from the rest of us worry-wise. Her knees were pulled up to her chest, her chin firmly pressed into them as her eyes stayed trained on the toes of her shoes. She was biting her lip, and I couldn't be sure if it was from worry or because she was in deep thought, and I thought that they probably went hand in hand. I knew what she was thinking of.

The way that Juniper had screamed...

It was just the one time, and for only a few seconds, but it was a horrible blood curdling sound. High pitched and crackling enough to make you cringe away from it. I knew that Fred and I had screamed when Madame Pomfrey had shoved our shoulders back into place. At the time, I would have rather died than ever do that again. The fact that us wizards hadn't come up with a potion similar to the pain killers that muggles used was ridiculous.

The sound had shattered the air itself, letting it crash over all of us in the hall. I'd never heard something so awful, and I'd been alive fourteen years. Even Fred's unnaturally girly scream had been nothing compared to this. I never wanted to hear a sound like that again, especially if it was coming from Juniper.

However, what had been more unsettling, was the silence that followed. I couldn't even hear the muffled voice of either Heather or Madame Pomfrey as they worked to comfort her.

Robin's eyes hadn't left the door for the next five minutes, and I couldn't be sure that she'd blinked that entire time. We'd all expected Madame Pomfrey to come and tell us that we could come in and see her, but I think we all knew that wasn't going to happen right now. Juniper needed some time to rest and have a sling fitted. The only thing that a healer could do was tell her to keep her arm still for the next two or three weeks while everything situated itself in her shoulder. There was no magic that could be done for most internal injuries around here.

Colleen had moved to say something, but looked as though she had thought better of it, and stayed quiet. I had wondered what she was going to say, but it felt wrong to break the silence so I didn't ask.

We'd waited, all four of us, for another half hour before Oleander showed up and told us that dinner was ready. Of course, after hours of doing absolutely nothing, we were starving, and as much as I hated to do it, we left Juniper with the plan to come back with some spoils from tonight's feast.

We'd walked down the hall, no one really knowing what to say to one another. We'd all just heard a friend make a sound like they'd been the victim of the cruciatus curse, and we were avoiding bringing it up around her little brother. Not that we really wanted to talk about it anyway. All we wanted right now was to eat and get back to Juni, at least, that's what I wanted.