Sky full of stars {Harry Potter Fanfiction}

21. On the Loose

I don't think I'd ever gotten out of bed so quickly.

Fred and I dashed hand-in-hand after my sister down the cool hotel room corridor, who was practically crushing the Daily Prophet in her hand. We burst into the dining area of the hotel room, where the Weasley's were having breakfast.

Everybody looked quite grim, most especially George who rose to his feet when the three of us appeared. He had been the one to have the paper delivered, Fred had told me, to keep up on Quidditch scores—so was the first one to see the news.

"When did it happen?" I asked the room, hoping for a response, my voice breaking. Sasha hadn't said a word since showing us the paper headline, so I knew literally nothing.

Molly Weasley rose to her feet with a motherly expression on her face. If she was surprised about Fred and I holding hands, she didn't show it. Of course, there were more important things to be discussed.

"He escaped the early hours of this morning," Mrs Weasley was trying to sound calm, but instead it was as if talking to a wounded animal. "There's a muggle phone set up in the room—Cara said she'd ring as soon as she knew anything—"

"We're speaking to her NOW." Sasha said firmly.

She looked frazzled, her hair extra curly from the humidity and in her hurry was only wearing a strappy vest top and shorts. While I had other things on my mind, I was glad to see the scars on her left arm were red—but clearly healing.

"Molly," Arthur got to his feet and placed a hand on his wife's shoulder. "The girls are concerned—they need some reassurance."

Sasha and I nodded in sync, like bobble heads. "The muggle phone is in our room," Ginny piped up, the timid-ness in her voice from the Chamber of Secrets evaporated. "Ron tried to ring Harry the other day... He spoke too loud, but he knows how to use the buttons."

Deciding not to tell Ginny that because of our muggle-born mother we knew how to use a phone, I managed a grateful smile. "Thank you, Ginny."

Ginny and Ron offered to take us to their room to use the phone, which I suspected was half being-kind and half being-nosy. Fred gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and an encouraging squeeze of the hand.

"I thought nobody had escaped Azkaban?" I asked Sasha quietly as Ron and Ginny were oddly silent as we went back into the stretching corridor.

Sasha shrugged. She looked on edge. "Guess he managed somehow."

Ron and Ginny's bedroom were messy as to be expected, and they dutifully waited in the corridor as Sasha dialled Remus' home number. I was grateful that he was hooked up to muggle television and phone lines.

We huddled on the floor by the telephone cord, Sasha holding the head-set between the two of us so we could both speak to Mum. It rang only twice before Mum answered.

"Girls?" Mum sounded worried.

"Mummy!" Sasha cried, and burst into tears. Suddenly I felt like I was the older sister—I'd yet to cry, I was so worried about the circumstances of Dad's escape, and where he was heading.

"It's alright, it's alright girls..." Mum's voice sounded heavy, as if she'd been crying. "I told Molly I'd ring you when I heard anything... I want you to enjoy your holiday."

"We wanted to speak to you!" I managed to say over Sasha's noisy tears, wrapping my arm around her as if I could hold her together. "This is important! What exactly happened?"

Mum sniffed loudly down the phone, which indicated that she was probably crying too. "He escaped about two in the morning, they think... Dementors patrol between quarter past and half past the hour.... He was there at half past one. Cell was empty, door locked... They don't know how he did it."