Falling Slowly (A Hogwarts Lovestory) - Fred Weasley Fanfiction

20 | Smother

We woke up late the next day. It was sunday, so we didn't miss class, but we certainly missed breakfast.
"C'mon, we better hurry! I bet Ron's already eaten up everything!" Alicia giggled and we all dressed up quickly. Today would be a better day, I thought. I was wrong.

When we came into the Great Hall a few minutes later, no Gryffindor had touched any of the food. I didn't even see Ron at breakfast. Or Harry. While my eyes were searching for them, I noticed Neville's horrified facial expression. He looked down at his empty plate and didn't seem to care that Trevor, his toad, was about to hop over to the Ravenclaw table.

The students at the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff table didn't look that happy as well. I saw Roger and his friends putting their heads together, debating over something seemingly controversial. He looked up as if he knew I was looking at him and his dark eyes met mine. He nodded into my direction when I walked into the hall, so at least he wasn't ignoring me, but then the debate catched his attention again. I wondered what they were talking about. Certainly nothing cheerful the way their faces looked.

Only the Slytherins seemed to have something to celebrate this morning, according to the way they were cheering at a story Draco Malfoy was just telling. I frowned. Malfoy being in a good mood usually meant nothing good at all.
My friends had to pull me with them because I didn't pay much attention to where I was walking, I focussed on listening to whatever Malfoy had to say. All I could hear was fragments. And laughter.
"...my father and Fudge... old friends... he said you should've seen the look on his face..."
Laughter.
"...arrested... Azkaban..."
Laughter.
"...fat dumb halfblood..."
Laughter.
"Julie", Alicia whispered. I was still looking over to the Slytherin table.
"...cells too small for his giant ass... hope he rots..."
Even more laughter.
"Julie!", she said louder and tried to win my attention, but I couldn't move.
"...Dumbledore gone soon..."
Loud, obnoxious laughter.
"JULIE!", Alicia almost shouted.
I tried to tear myself loose from the scenery at the Slytherin table and turned to Alicia. Cedric had joined her in the meantime. They both looked worried.
"What happened?", I asked him anxiously. Alicia, Angelina and Katie looked just as frightened as I was.
"Hagrid's got arrested. Yesterday. They say the Minister for Magic himself took him. Cornelius Fudge."
"What?", I asked furiously. "Wh-why? What could he possibly have done?"
"They say that he... that he's the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets."
I didn't want to believe it.
"They can't be serious... Hagrid? He couldn't hurt a fly!"
"Well, but the Minister-"
"The Minister should know when he's being fooled, shouldn't he? And what was Malfoy saying about Dumbledore? I heard him mentioning his name..." I looked over to the teacher's table but there was no Dumbledore.
"School board has dismissed him." Cedric looked as though he did not dare to tell me that. But there was no reason to be afraid of my reaction. I was in shock.
"What will happen to the school now that he's gone?", I asked quietly as soon as I found my voice back. Nobody answered. And they didn't need to. I already knew what would happen. The school was going to be closed. It was only a matter of time. Fudge had probably already done all the necessary paperwork and would arrive soon to announce that all students would have to leave Hogwarts immediately.

"And where will you go, Daniels?", a spiteful voice said from behind me. It was Draco Malfoy. "Hogwarts will be closed. Did you already choose a neat little orphanage for you to live from now on? I bet the Weasley's won't take you back now that you've messed with them", he said with a nasty smile. "Or what about Davies? Oh no, you messed with him too, didn't you? Well there's still plenty of other boys at Hogwarts you haven't screwed, yet. How does it feel to be such an abnormally huge slut? Perhaps-"
He wasn't able to finish that sentence. Instead, he howled loudly and fell down on the floor after someone punched him hardly in the face. Malfoy probably had gotten more than just a broken nose that day if George hadn't held his brother back from attacking him any further.
Unfortunately, they didn't expect Malfoy's bodyguards, Crabbe and Goyle, to enter the fight. Before McGonagall could reach the fighting pile to stop everybody from getting seriously hurt, Crabbe had aimed for Fred's nose and I heard a loud cracking noise before he went down.

"MR MALFOY! MR WEASLEY! You better stop immediately! Ten points will be taken from each of your houses!", Professor McGonagall shouted hysterically.
"As if we don't have other things to worry about than losing points", somebody mumbled from behind me.
"Mr Malfoy, you and your friends will be escorted by Professor Snape back to the dungeons."
"I'm hurt!", Malfoy sobbed.
Snape had appeared in the meantime, followed by Lockhart. "No, you're not. Now come with me", Snape said harshly to him and he left off with Malfoy and his followers. At least he was good for once.
"Gilderoy, can you please accompany Mr Weasley on his way to the Hospital Wing. His nose must be fixed immediately."
"Oh, Minerva, I think I can fix that myself, I happen to know just the right spell-"
"NO!" Everbody shouted. They'd all seen what happened to Harry's arm when Lockhart tried to heal it a few weeks back.
"The Hospital Wing would be enough, Gilderoy, thanks", McGonagall ordered. "Oh and you better take Miss Daniels with you, too. She's pale as a ghost and Madam Pomfrey better gives her something to calm down. All other students won't have excuses to attend class today. Oh, and, Mr Weasley, Miss Daniels - I expect both of you to be present in my Transfiguration class this afternoon - you should both be fixed by then."

Lockhart was talking the whole way over to the Hospital Wing while Fred and I weren't talking at all.
"Young love, isn't that beautiful? I remember when I fell in love for the first time... of course, nobody broke my nose... I was the one who broke noses, needless to say. So, how long have you two love birds been together?"
I dared to eye over to Fred, but he hid his face from me.
"We're not... together, Professor", I said quietly.
"Oh - what a pity. But if you ever need help with that, don't be shy. Go ahead and ask me. I recognize love if I see it and you two..." He opened the door to Madam Pomfrey's territory. "...you two are totally into each other. Get well soon."

I waited next to Hermione's bed while Madam Pomfrey was handeling Fred's nose.
"Episkey", I heard her say and he groaned in pain. "That should be it. Now rest for five minutes and then you're ready to go. I have to get something from the greenhouses, but I will soon be back. Wait here for me and I'll bring you back to your classes afterwards."

A wave of awkward silence flooded the Hospital Wing after the door fell close. I gathered all my strength, whispered "I miss you" to Hermione's stiff face and walked over to Fred's bed. He didn't look at me when I sat down next to him.
"It's the same bed", I said as my fingers tried to flatten the bedsheet. I needed something to concentrate on while I was talking. "A few days ago, you sat on this exact hospital bed when I messed things up between us. I shouldn't have said what I said that day. I was horrible to you. And I definitely didn't deserve to be rescued today. Thank you so much that you did it anyway. You're a true friend."
He mumbled something I didn't understand.
"Pardon?"
Fred opened his mouth to answer when the door suddenly opened again. But it wasn't Madam Pomfrey, it was Harry and Ron.
"Oy, Fred, everybody's talking about you! I heard you punched Malfoy? Brilliant!"
But before Ron could ask his brother about any details, Madam Pomfrey was back and time for Fred and me to talk over.

Professor McGonagall made us practice together at Transfiguration since we were the last ones to enter her class. Fred failed three times to turn his hedgehog into a pincushion. He was usually pretty good in transfiguration spells, but today he didn't seem to pay much attention to what he was doing. I decided to give it another try and so I turned our hedgehog into a pincushion with pins arranged in letters. Friends again? said the cushion. Fred smiled slightly when he read it. Maybe there was still a chance I hadn't completely lost him.

I wanted to start a new attempt later, but when we came back to the Gryffindor tower that day, we faced another problem.
"Ginny's gone!", Lavender Brown cried. "And so are Harry and Ron!"
"What are you talking about, Lavender?", I asked. "What do you mean by gone? I just saw Harry and Ron earlier."
But Lavender didn't get a chance to explain. In that moment, Professor McGonagall entered the Gryffindor common room. Something she did as good as never.
"The school is going to be closed immediately. I already sent an owl to all of your parents. Now go and pack your things."
"What, why? What happened?", Neville asked anxiously.
Professor McGonagall took a deep breath. "A student has been taken by the monster into the Chamber itself."

I am wasted, losing time
On a foolish, fragile spine
I want all that is not mine
I want him but we're not right
- Daughter