There was a darkness lurking on the edge of the horizon, a war to end all wars approaching. Lord Voldemort was returning, and there was nothing they could do but be prepared for when he did, no matter how many people were killed in the process.
...
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Jess felt all the air get knocked out of her lungs as she stumbled backwards, her hand clamped over her mouth as if she was going to be sick. Alyssa let out a pitiful whimper and sank down to her knees beside the hospital bed, the tears leaking down her face leaving harsh marks crusted onto the smooth skin. Jess raised a shaking hand and very slowly reached forwards, her trembling fingers coming to rest over a much colder, stiffer pair.
Millie lay on the hospital bed, her eyes wide and glossy and an expression of playfulness and confusion on her face, as there always was. Her entire body was stiff and cold, as if dead, but the steady sound of her breathing filling the room and her chest rising and falling was enough to ensure them that she was okay. Well, as okay as a petrified person can be. "No, no no no!" Alyssa kept repeating, her head sinking into her hands as her shoulders shook. She felt sick to her stomach. She did this. She did this. And she wasn't sure if she could handle it.
"I am so sorry. She was found on the fifth floor corridor barely an hour after the double attack." Madam Pomfrey whispered as she pulled the curtains around her bed as she had done to Collin, Nearly Headless Nick, and Justin's bodies. "N-no. No! There has to be something you can do! Wake her up! Please wake her up!" Alyssa whimpered, staring horrified at the Professor above her. Jess remained staring down at Millie's petrified form with a hand clamped over her mouth to stop herself from throwing up.
"I'm sorry, dear, but until Professor Sprout has those mankrakes ready theres morning that we can do." The nurse sighed as she shook her head. Alyssa felt more tears dribble down her face. That monster had made her petrify her own best friend, who knew what else it would make her do?
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The triple attack on Justin, Nearly Headless Nick, and Millie had turned what had hitherto been nervousness into real panic. Curiously, it was Nearly Headless Nick's fate that worried people most. What could possibly do that to a ghost, people asked each other; what terrible power could harm someone who was already long dead? There was almost a stampede to book seats on the Hogwarts express so that students could go home for Christmas. "At this rate, we'll be the only ones left." Ron told Harry and Hermione dismally as they all left the common room, Alyssa and Jess following behind them. "Us, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. What a jolly holiday it's going to be."
