It's OK To Not Be Ok...Right?

106. Fool Again

"This can't be happening?" Hermione said for maybe the seventh time in the space of a few minutes. "How is this happening?"

Sloane was resting her head on Draco's shoulder, her whole body trembling in fear. Her mind was racing with a million possible outcomes to the situation they were currently in. She couldn't believe this was happening. She couldn't believe someone would be so bloody stupid and naive. Especially someone who has been trained and should know better. Her heart was beating against her chest so hard she was pretty sure everyone could hear. How did this happen?

Colson had run into the room in a blind panic, a little over an hour ago. Seems that Jack, who was still filled with rage, had decided that he was going to ignore everyone's warnings and orders and do whatever the heck he wanted. And what he wanted apparently, was to go down to the foyer where that creature was and try to take it on...by himself. After he had been put back together by Madame Pomfrey and he and Colson were on their way back to the security office he began to mumble again about how he knew what he was doing and that everyone was listening to a bunch of kids who had no business being involved in the situation in the first place. When Colson had reminded him that those kids consisted of two potential healers and Harry bloody Potter, Jack had snapped. He cast Petrificus Totalus on Colson, leaving him in the middle of the first-floor corridor while he ran off. It took about ten minutes for two year eight students to wander past, find him and release him before he could warn anyone. 

A lot had happened at once when Colson arrived. After several individuals cursing, Jerry and Kingsley had rounded up enough Aurors and guards to become a search and rescue party. Professor McGonagall and Flitwick had both gone off to round up all the students just as a precaution. Thankfully it was dinner time, and they were able to do so without rousing suspicion. They had every student in the Great Hall and every teacher was called in to help keep the hall on lockdown for as long as possible before escorting the houses back to their dormitories for the night. Students were bound to be suspicious, but there wasn't much they could be told at this stage without spreading panic and creating bloody mass hysteria. As Hermione, Harry, Sloane, and Draco seemed to be the main targets, they were being guarded by Newt, Narcissa, Joanna, Mrs Zabini, Arthur, Molly, two guards that Sloane was pretty sure were called Nel and Mel or something close and Colson who was nursing a recently healed head injury and possibly a concussion thanks to Jack. Blaise, Ginny, Ron, and Luna were told to go to the Great Hall but had refused to move, wanting to be with their friends. So the group sat in the corner of the Great Hall, all huddled around one end of the year eight's table, with quite a few sets of eyes watching them suspiciously. To be fair it probably did look a little strange that a group of parents were here during term as it wasn't a done thing. 

Everyone else in the hall was happily chatting and eating their dinner. Sloane could feel her stomach growl but for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to actually eat, even though the curry and rice looked amazing. "Honey," Joanna said softly from across the table. "You need to eat. Even just a little bit."

"Joanna is right," Narcissa sighed. "If you don't eat, you will make yourself ill." 

Draco, being the dutiful boyfriend had offered her everything in front of them - chips, chicken, curry, rice, lettuce, carrots, sweetcorn but nothing sounded appealing. It was worrying him. Sloane's appetite had got very bad these last few weeks, and he wasn't sure what to say or do. She was eating two or three bites of food at breakfast, maybe an apple or sandwich for lunch and very little for dinner. As a result, she had lost weight. Weight which she couldn't really afford to lose as she was already skinny. "I'm sorry," she bit her lip. "I am hungry, but I don't think I could keep anything down right now."

"Is it the English food?" Newt asked. "Tina struggles when we come here because she says the English food is so different to what we have back home." 

"I don't think so," Sloane shook her head. "Everything I have had here is pretty much what my mum used to cook at home for us. I grew up on English cooking."