Golden Boy

Chapter 5: Amidst the Storm

{ CONTENT WARNING: This chapter contains sexual material unsuitable for some readers. See disclaimer at beginning for more details. }

The deafening boom of thunder woke Camellia from her deep sleep the next morning. She gasped and bolted up, glancing over at Hermione, who'd also been startled awake.

"That nearly scared the life out of me..." she told her, her voice raspy. Hermione was bleary-eyed, her bonnet slightly askew, and she nodded. A sudden flash of lightning illuminated the room for a split second, making her yelp.

"God... what time is it?" Camellia asked. Hermione stretched her arm across Ginny's nightstand, where her solar watch was sitting.

"Half-past five," she groaned.

Another clap of thunder shook the room. The pounding rain was deafening on the roof and windows, and outside, sheets of raindrops were being whipped around by the wind.

"How in Merlin's name is she still asleep?" Camellia laughed mirthlessly, gesturing over to Ginny, who was snoring.

Hermione smiled softly. "I don't know, but she's always been that way," she said, looking out the window. "It looks awful out there... I wonder how long it's been r—"

But she stopped mid-sentence to watch a drop of water fall from the ceiling and into a massive puddle on the wooden floor.

"Oh, shit— " Camellia groaned, hopping out of bed and pulling on the shorts she'd worn the other day and running hurriedly down the stairs. Hermione came jogging up close behind her, and they both stopped dead at the base of the stairs, gazing out into the living room and dining area.

About a dozen steady drips were falling from the ceiling, soaking the floor and the furniture below and leaving puddles even bigger than the one in Ginny's room.

"Do you know the charm to stop a leak?" Camellia asked Hermione, as she herself didn't know. Hermione's eyes went wide— she couldn't remember at that moment, either.

"Fuck, okay— go get the boys and Ginny!" Camellia instructed, running over to the living room and pushing the loveseat out of the way of a huge leak. The rug beneath her feet was soaked as well, so she pulled it off the floor and hung it on the back of a chair to let it dry until they had the right magic to fix all of this.

The creaking of the stairs under several steps of heavy footsteps announced the arrival of the boys, Ginny, and Hermione.

"What the hell—?" George muttered, staring at the mess in the main room. "Mum's gonna kill us— right, someone needs to go get buckets so this won't get any worse while we figure out the charms to dry everything up. And let's get this furniture out of the way, too, come on!"

He headed towards the living room where Camellia was, and Fred came towards her as well. "Cam— you and me, let's go grab the buckets. Oi, Ron! Come on, you too!"

Ron groaned his reply, but joined them nevertheless.

Camellia went over to the front door and opened it, and was immediately hit by a sheet of cold mist as the wind blew the rain her way. She ignored the goosebumps on her skin and ran out into the yard, soaked to the bone within seconds and barely able to see past the rain and fog.

She reached the tiny shed where the Quidditch supplies and other items were kept, and she pulled at the door, only to notice a padlock on the handle. She reached for her wand— and found that she'd left it upstairs.

The boys came close behind her, also completely drenched. "What's keeping you? Open it!" Fred yelled over the rain.

"My wand— I left it in the bedroom!" Camellia said back. "Have either of you got yours? Or the key?"