Blood I've Spilt

Run, Jump, Smile

My baby said I was crazy

My mama called me lazy

I was gonna show 'em all this time

'Cause you know I ain't no foolin'

And I don't need no more schoolin'

I was born to just walk the line

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My heart raced as my mother kept talking about our plans. This couldn't be happening. Everything was getting worse and there was nothing I could do. There was no way that I could convince my mother to change her mind.Once it was dead-set, there was no going back.

"I'm giving you three a month to get your classes perfect before you leave," my mother instructed, suddenly talking to us rather than Umbridge. Her eyebrows raised expectantly, waiting for any sign that we were listening.

"Do you hear me?" Her fingers tightly gripped the metal armrest of the chair, her eyes fierce and rude. I even felt Ace flinch beside me.

"Yes," we flatly stated in unison. This whole situation was aggravating. Her bloody excuse for a goodbye to Liam, her just taking all of us away, and her crude example of 'parenting'.

"Good. I'll see you three in a month. Be ready."

With that, the slim woman slowly stood, fixed her robes, and opened the door with a flick of her wand.

***

"This is such bullshit!" Keith exclaimed, kicking the leg of a hospital bed. Ace and I went quiet almost immediately, staring at him in shock. My younger brother never yelled when angry. He was a man of keeping to himself; no matter the situation. He was lashing out; he was worried. I didn't know why. Keith was always complaining about how repulsive this school was. If anything, I thought he'd be excited.

I watched him carefully whilst he rubbed the bridge of his nose. He looked up to me, finally and stared into my eyes.

"What are we gonna do?" He asked angrily. As if I knew?! I just blankly gazed into his light brown eyes. It was a good question that sadly, I didn't have an answer to.

"Keith, I don't know!" I shouted back, anxiously running fingers through my hair. Keith was doing something similar. He always messes with his hair when he is nervous or overwhelmed.

"We can't leave!"

"Don't you think I know that!"

I stared at him with piercing eyes. He just went quiet and started pulling at the hair near the base of his head. He turned on his heel and took a seat at one of the beds.

"Guys. Let's stop fighting, please," Ace mumbled suddenly. He was standing off to the side by himself, anxiously picking at his cuticles.

"You're right, sorry. Fighting isn't going to fix this," I replied, plopping down in the chair that my mother had been in nearly 15 minutes ago. They had left quickly which was a relief.

"Where's your boyfriend? Wouldn't he want to be here to help?" Keith snarled, rolling his eyes. I sighed at him annoyedly and covered my face with my hands.

"Quidditch practice, and he is not my boyfriend," I mumbled. I actually didn't know what we were. It was all confusing right now.

It was quiet for a while. I assumed we were all doing the same thing; thinking. None of us wanted to leave Hogwarts. Ace had Blaise. I had Quidditch and Draco and Keith- I don't know why he wants to stay but it was obviously important to him that we do.

The door opened slowly once more, all of us whipping our heads to see who it was; it was Madam Pompfrey. I sighed in relief as she slowly approached me. I stood instantly to meet her gaze. In her arms was a small fabric bag the size of a book.

"Darling, these are the things that we found Liam carrying. I thought you ought to have them," she said quietly, holding it by the handle out to me. I nodded whilst taking the bag. It wasn't heavy at all and it worried me what the contents inside could be.

"Thank you," I replied graciously. She nodded at me and turned to go into her office. The poor woman looked exhausted. I waited for her to turn the corner into her designated room before quickly heading to an empty bed. Ace was by my side in a matter of seconds. I glanced up to see Keith reading again; I knew he wouldn't care when Liam had on him when he was found. That or he just couldn't bear looking at the objects.

I opened the bag and slowly reached inside. The first thing my fingertips touched was his wand. I slowly pulled it out and just blankly stared at it. My gut churned as it fit into my hand. After setting it to the side, I dug through the bag again. This time it was a piece of paper; or rather a photograph.

My shaky hand pulled it from the bag and I turned it over in my hand. I winced at the moving picture that lay in my small fingers' grasp. Oh fucking hell. Ace and I shared a glance and tears instantly strolled down my cheeks.

The image was him and Cass. Cass was running towards him in the photo and then jumped into my brother's arms, wrapping their arms and legs around him. They were both smiling so big that it hurt me to look at them. The imagery then rippled and the figures started over again.

Run, jump, smile. Run, jump, smile.

I could no longer look at the picture so I set it next to his wand. The next item was a leather bundle of bracelets. They reminded me of him because I was the one to give the items to Liam. They were twisted and braided; some even had beads tightly threaded on them.

The last item was a small, smooth ring. It was silver and just big enough for his ring finger. I knew what it was because he had told me that the ring was a gift for Cass. Liam had bought two matching ones that day in Hogsmeade.

The worst part was: they still didn't know.

And I had to tell them.

I felt relieved that the bag was empty. The nauseous feeling was returning at the sight of Liam's belongings. I wiped away my tears and took a deep breath and returned to pacing again.

"Quinn?" Ace piped up from behind me. I turned towards him with a confused look. "Are you okay?" he asked timidly.

"Yes, why?" I lied.

"You're limping," Ace commented, pointing at my left foot. I pursed my lips and averted my eyes to the floor.

"I'm fine. Just stressed, that's all," I replied hesitantly. I didn't like lying but my hurt ankle was the least of our worries. Without thinking, I quickly picked up the ring and photograph and turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" Ace murmured nervously. I couldn't blame him; being left alone with Keith was nerve-wracking. I glanced over my shoulder at him with a stiff expression.

"I'm going to speak to Cass." I wanted my words to come out brave but instead they were unsteady and filled with anxiety. Ace just stared at me, lips parted. I didn't need a reply from him; I knew I wasn't going to receive one. So, I just nodded rigidly and left the Hospital Wing.

***
It was after dinner hours now when I entered the great hall. It was pretty much empty except for students scattered about the table. I was hoping Cass would be in here and my stomach twisted when I learned that I was right.

At the Gryffindor table, Cass sat with three other people. They were laughing. Chills went down my spine whilst I slowly trudged towards them. I cleared my throat, grabbing the attention of all four of them.

"Oh hey Quinny!" They exclaimed brightly. They smiled up at me before it fell at the sight of my distressed face. Liam only ever called me Quinny.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" I mumbled, staring at my shoes. They tilted their head, confused before nodding and slowly standing. I forgot how tall they were. Cass was only a few inches shorter than my brother.

"Alright?"

"No."

They looked quizzically at me, my eyes finally meeting theirs.

"Something terrible has happened," I vaguely explained to them. I watched them carefully. I knew they weren't going to understand me unless I was blunt about it. But it was still hard to say. Slowly, I fumbled around in my pocket for the photograph and the ring. They stared at it suspiciously as I held it out to them.

They slowly raised the palm of their hand and took the items. Their eyes went from the objects to me a couple times.

"I'm not understanding," they murmured. It appeared their hands were starting to shake ever so slightly. I sensed that I was worrying them.

"Liam he's- he's gone," I stuttered quietly.

"What?"

"I said- Liam's...dead," I mumbled once again, agitated. Cass' face went pale and they just stared at me. It felt like minutes before they actually said something.

"Y-You're joking, right?" They scoffed, finally. I grimaced and shook my head. "You have to be joking. This is some stu-stupid prank."

Tears welled in my eyes. I noticed that their voice seemed to be going higher as they spoke in an anxious manner. They were trying not to cry; I could tell.

"Cass- I'm sorry," I sympathetically replied. My voice was wavering as I spoke, making me uneasy.

"No no no. You're lying. Please- Please tell me you're lying," I watched tears prick in their eyes, their grasp around the image growing tighter. I shook my head and stared at the floor as if ashamed. With their other hand, they covered the lower half of their face. It honestly looked like they were going to fall over.

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Thanks for reading <3

-Ty

(Song at beginning: 'Tulsa Time' by Don Williams)