Sugar : Fred Weasley

37: Holiday at Grimmauld Place

[victoria's pov]

It was an early morning with a week left of school before the Holidays, my mood was bright. The sun also shone brightly into the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey entered the corridor and greeted me good morning before rushing out of the wing. It was quieter than usual and not because Draco had finally been discharged.

"Having a good morning?" I heard a friendly voice say.

I turned my eyes toward the door and saw Nearly Headless Nick.

"So far," I replied. "You?"

"I can feel a positive energy, so perhaps yes!" he exclaimed and floated away. I heard him mumble, "Maybe the Bloody Baron will let me join today..."

I knew he was talking about the Headless Hunt.

"Oi! Watch where you're going!" I heard a Gryffindor, Dean Thomas suddenly yelled from the hallway. Dean Thomas had a crush on me when he was in his Third-Year, but I was crushing on Cedric at the time. Besides, I've noticed his attention has been on Ginny anyway.

"Sorry, Dean! It's an emergency!" I heard Hermione yell back.

She burst into the wing, panting with every breath. Her hair was a mess as if she had just woken up, but her face was clearly awake with alarm.

"What is it?" I asked, concerned.

"The Weasleys--and Harry--left the school last night. Umbridge's furious!" she explained.

My eyes widened and I asked, "Wha- Why? What happened?"

"Mr. Weasley was attacked--actually, Harry said so. He said he had a vision and they all took a Portkey to you-know-where last night!"

Questions filled my head like a storm. "How do you know?"

"McGonagall told me just now, though I saw them leave last night, she told me to let you know since you know about you-know-what."

"But what's that got to do with the Order?" I whispered.

Hermione crept closer to my bed. "Last night," she said in a low voice. "Mr. Weasley was on duty, but I heard from Fred that he doesn't work night shifts. So I figured he was on duty for the Order."

"What could it be about?" I asked. "What was Mr. Weasley on duty for, to get himself attacked?"

"I don't know, but I bet it's got to do something about the department of mysteries... Harry's been having dreams about it and you said your mom's been in there before... Was there anything else she said?"

"Well," I said, recalling three years ago. "She said once you walk in, the room seems to spin so that several doors appear, making it hard for the visitor to leave. She said the main room is full of towering shelves... kind of like a library!" I remembered.

"But instead of books, there were snow globes--you know what those are, right?"--Hermione nodded her head.--"That's all she told me since she didn't stay long. She was only ordered to grab one and bring it to the Minister of Magic."

Hermione's face was purely in thought as she wondered about what was in the Department of Mysteries.

"Well, since that's all we know," she said. "I suggest we just try to relax and pack up for London."

+++

Lupin, Magnus, Hermione, (and Peaches) and I walked along the streets of London, heading toward the Grimmauld place. It was rainy, cold, and there was barely any snow. Even after a long week, I was still nervous about being in the presence of Mrs. Weasley and Fred.