All I remember is running down the steps and hearing a rumbling noise. I don’t know what happened after that- I had to have Professor McGonagall explain it to me in the short time that we had- and it sort of came back to me. Seeing the rubble fall from the ceiling, and I remember that sickening feeling that I was about to die. But the odd part was, I think I dreamt something while I was unconscious. Can you dream while you’re passed out? I had a dream that Harry kissed me, and that’s how I woke up. Like true love’s kiss breaks the spell or something like that. Of course, it was a dream. I mean, why would Harry kiss me while I was unconscious?
It wasn’t a very happy awaking though, except for the kissing dream thing. After I opened my eyes Harry was rushing out and Fallon and Ron were already outside by the looks of things. I could hear people screaming and running from outside and I saw out of the old, dirt-caked window that carriages were lined up along the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Students were pouring into them, pushing and shoving, yelling things like, “Oi! Get in another carriage, this one’s full!” Or, “MOVE IT!” Professor McGonagall had ushered me to my feet within about three seconds (why didn’t Madam Pomphrey tell her that I couldn’t walk right after I had been unconscious…?) and I was obviously quite mad at having to rush so much, so short after I had just been buried under fifty pounds of rock and almost died.
The ground was wet with dew, given it was still morning and the sun was just fully coming up, and many of the students were in their pyjamas still. The carriage was cramped and stuffy and it sucked sharing a carriage with Pomphrey and McGonagall and not my friends. Which cabin were they in, anyway? And where were we going? I wouldn’t want to get separated from them if something bad happened.
“Where is…” I muttered, and the first name that came to my mind was, “Harry?”
“Mr. Potter is safe in a carriage ahead of ours. Once we get to our resting place, you will be able to reunite with Harry.” McGonagall said, turning her head towards the window and watching Hogwarts fade into the distance. We were getting deeper and deeper into the Forbidden Forest, which was surprising given that it was strictly forbidden to students typically.
“What do you mean… our resting place? Why do we have to leave Hogwarts?” I panted, wondering why I was strangely out of breath.
“Death Eaters.” Professor McGonagall sighed, rubbing her forehead with a shaky head. “We needed to get out as soon as possible. I didn’t want to, but Albus made us. He didn’t want the lives of our students risked. Ministry officials are coming to secure the castle, but most of the roof is already destroyed and I’m not sure if the Death Eaters are still there.”
"Really?" I asked, seeing Professor McGonagall's figure begin to fade in and out. She replied to me remark, and I could see her mouth moving, but I suddenly couldn't hear anything she was saying. It was like she was underwater and her voice was muffled. Frantically, I shot up and had a sudden urge to get out of that carriage. Something was wrong, and I could feel it in the pit of my stomach. My vision was blurry and I was starting to hallucinate. Snakes began to slither up the grimy windows of the carriage and the started twisting and wrapping around my small, pale arms. I heard a piercing scream cut through the eerie silence like a knife, and then I realized it was my own. Professor McGonagall's hand reached for my shoulder, and I faintly heard her speak to me. I don't know if she was yelling or what, but her voice almost resembled a giant church bell as she spoke. It sounds crazy, but as she talked, her voice actually transformed into the sound of a ringing church bell that echoed throughout my ears and caused my hands to start shaking like mad. The snakes had slithered up and over the window, dissapearing with a bright flash. My vision was filled with the bright, white light suddenly- I couldn't see anything. I felt my mouth move as if I was saying something, but I couldn't hear either; the church bells were still continously ringing non-stop in my ears and piercing my eardrums. All I saw was a kalidascope of white, I tried to feel around with my hands but came to nothing; it was as if I was in a huge empty room, because my feet felt like they were walking freely through a large open space. Just then, I saw something in the distance. A small, green dot began moving towards me- it was the only color in my vision that was still blurred white. The dot grew larger as it came nearer, and I started to make out what the thing actually was. I saw two large yellow eyes begin to blink as the creature formed into a giant green snake. Paralyzed, I stood there for a moment, then realized I wasn't able to move. The snake slithered toward me, it's eyes locked on mine, it's long tounge flickering every few seconds. The snake bent down low as if it was about to strike, and I tried desperately to move my feet. I looked down to see if my feet were caught on something, but I realized that I couldn't see my feet. I couldn't see any of my body- it was all just a white. Was I a floating head or something? I couldn't see my arms or my stomach or my fingers, and meanwhile, there was a giant snake coming for me. Great. My head shot up to see that the snake was now only a few feet away.
Within a split second, it happened all so quickly. The snake's body lurched forward, it's mouth outstretched to reveal it's giant, glistening fangs. There was a deadly hiss as it struck, and my eyes shot open. The first thing I saw were a pair of shoes- black ones, that were very shiny with a slight heel. You couldn't see who's feet the shoes belonged to, because their feet were covered by a black robe that stretched down almost to the ground. I noticed I was covered in sweat as I shakily sat up, and realized that the peron that stood before me was Professor McGonagall. I almost laughed at the sight of her, just because of the fact that I was so glad she was actually here, and I wasn't being eaten by a snake.
"Madam Pomphrey!" McGonagall's voice shouted over the ringing in my ears. A second figure came up to me, most likely Madam Pomphrey.
"She's awake, I see..." Madam Pomphrey was saying. "But she looks terrible. Ugh, we need to do some major work. If only I had all of my medicine, but I'm afriad most of it is back at the castle. I did bring a few things though in my bag for emergencies... I'll see if those will work. If they don't we always have our wands. I know a few handy spells that might fix 75% of her problems."
"But what is the problem, exactly?" I heard another voice ask- a voice I had not heard before. It defintiely sounded familier, but I couldn't put a face to the words.
"It seems to me that since she was crushed in the wreckage of the castle, a part of her brain may have gotten damaged. I'm afriad it is very dangerous... the brain is a hard thing to heal when it comes to this sort of thing. She most definitely has a strong concussion, and she went into hallucinations and starting talking about some...er... odd things while she was at it..." Madam Pomphrey explained.
"What was she saying?" Another familier voice, this one was a boy. Who the bloody hell were these people?
"Um, well, Mr. Potter... I don't think it should be said here. Nothing innopropriate, I assure you- I don't believe Quinn would ever say anything innopropriate..." Madam Pomphrey began, and someone that seemed to be sitting in the corner snickered. "...but she was saying things that were just mysterious. Some things that we did not know she was aware of."
"It's quite a long story, children, and not for your ears, either. Now, Quinn has to rest. We have a few days until our final destination. You can stay with her if you want... we'll leave you to some privacy. If you need us, we'll be out in the front of the carriage." Professor McGonagall explained. So Harry was one of the people over there... and it was Ron or Fallon who had most likely snickered. Now that I thought about it, the voice I heard that asked what my problem was was definitely Fallon. She was always the one to ask questions first; she never liked to have a single detail left out. She was probably about to go mad now, given that Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomphrey weren't telling them nearly anything.
All I knew was, those hallucinations I had seemed very real. I didn't know if it was a sign or something warning me, but it was something. And I had a feeling that it was something dangerous.
