Mischief - Book Two of the RP Saga

42. Stupefy

It had been days since Cedric was murdered. The school was covered in dark clouds, reflecting the mood of everyone. Rachel sat at the table in the Great Hall, her eyes glazed over, a blank expression on her face. She was pale, dark bags under her eyes. She had barely spoke since Cedric had passed. His funeral and memorial feast were in a couple of days and the thought made her want to vomit. 

School was too much for her now. Everytime she walked the halls, people looked at with pity for Cedric or disgust for Harry. She could barely focus too. Her animagus abilities had been out of control and she had barely slept in a week. Every time she closed her eyes from exhaustion, Rachel would see Cedric's dead body lay there and she'd wake up. It was a vicious cycle.

Rachel struggled between needing noise to distract her and silence to keep her mind balanced. Today, the noise in the Hall was too much for her. It picked away at her brain like an axe on ice. With a shudder, she stood up and walked away, her robes falling off her shoulder. 

Despite all the attention suddenly being on Rachel, she'd never felt so alone.

As Rachel rounded the corner, she saw Crabbe and Goyle leant against the wall. They were talking among themselves but once they spotted Rachel, they nudged each other's arms with sly grins. They stood up and headed over to her. Rachel groaned and turned around, trying to walk away but they soon caught up. 

"Still crying, Potter?" Crabbe sneered. "All sad and lonely now Diggory has gone."

"Shut up." She hissed through gritted teeth, she knew they were cruel people but surely they'd have shown some respect.

"Ooh," Goyle laughed, "someone's not very friendly. Come on, Potter, Diggory wouldn't want you to be lonely, let us cheer you up." He reached for her arm but she swatted him away.

"Fuck off." Rachel warned them, her eyes fixed on the hallway in front of her.

"Bitch." Crabbe shoved Rachel, she stumbled before catching herself. "Just getting all touchy because your boyfriend's dead and you can't get laid. Sexual frustration, eh?"

Rachel stopped.

"What kind of idiot gets themselves killed during a game anyway?"

"STUPEFY!" Rachel spun on her heels, pointing her wand at Crabbe who flew across the hall, landing in an unconscious pile on the floor. She glared at Goyle who was flustered. "What's the matter, Goyle?" She teased. "Are you scared?" She pushed her wand up against his throat. "Can't think of a wise-ass joke right now, can you?"

"L-Look, j-just let me go."

"Are you begging?" Rachel cooed. "Good. Beg some more."

Goyle stuttered.

"You're boring me." Rachel spat, cooly. "Levicorpus."

Goyle was flung into the air and hung their by his ankle, flailing his arms around. She watched him for a moment before turning around. He fell to the floor with a load grunt. Meanwhile, a group of students had gathered around, watching what Rachel did. 

Draco was one. 

His eyes were wide, his mouth slightly agape. Rachel spotted him and locked eyes with him for a moment before turning around and storming off. Her eyes grew bleary as tears fell down her cheeks. She didn't know where she was going, other than away from there. 

She found herself in a bathroom and could barely hold herself up before she slipped to the floor. Leaning against the sinks, Rachel let out ugly sobs, her breathing becomming incontrolable. Her head was getting dizzy and she was desperately trying to clutch onto something to help her.

Through her teary eyes, she saw someone crouch down in front of her and squeeze her hands.

"Breathe, Rachel. Breathe. Come on, now, in and out. Slowly. You can do this." They said, reassuringly. 

Rachel focused hard on her breathing and closed her eyes. In and out, slowly but surely. After some time, her breathing returned to normal and she opened her eyes to see her best friend, Hermione holding her hands tightly.

"Mione..." Rachel whispered, her face patterned with tears.

"Shush..." Hermione reached into her robes and pulled out a handerchief, she dabbed Rachel's cheeks with it. "You don't have to say anything."

Rachel had been what she had described as an awful friend, lately. She hadn't spoke to her closest friends, or brother, for days. They had all grown worried for her, which is why Hermione had been following her loosely to keep her safe.

Rachel let out a shaky breath. "I've never felt like this before." 

"It's grief." Hermione gave her a sad smile. "It's horrible. There's no way to deal with it other than your own way, Rachel."

Silence fell over them but was soon interupted by footsteps. The sure clack of heels against the stone floor grew louder and louder before stopping at the bathroom door enterance. The girls looked over their shoulders and saw McGonagall looking down on them, it was hard to tell if she was angry or concerned by her facial expressions.

"I think you should come with me, Potter." She said after a moment.

Rachel stood up and shot Hermione a look, her friend squeezed her hand reassuringly and let go. Obediantlly following her professor, Rachel had her eyes fixed on the floor. Their walk to McGonagall's office was silent, except for the murmurs of students as they walked past and Rachel's sniffles. 

When they arrived, McGonagall held the door open for Rachel and guided her in, gesturing to a seat. Rachel sat down and looked at her teacher. 

"I'm sorry." Rachel mumbled. "I shouldn't have done that to Crabbe and Goyle."

McGonagall said nothing and sat next to Rachel.

"It's just... they were saying such cruel things... I couldn't let them speak about him like that... Cedric, he-... I just-"

McGonagall reached across and pulled Rachel into a hug. For a moment, Rachel was stunned. But as she relaxed and hugged her teacher back she couldn't help the onflow of tears. McGonagall patted her head and soothed her gently.

"Oh, Rachel." She said quietly. "Nobody blames you."

Rachel could smell McGonagall's perfume, she smelt of warmth and comfort. She continued to cry onto McGonagall's robes. 

"You must be hurting so much." McGonagall said. "You and your brother... I'm sorry these things happen to you."

Rachel pulled away and rubbed her sleeve across her nose. "I don't want this to be about me, a boy lost his life. Not me."

"Of course," McGonagall's voice was calm, "but you must allow yourself to grieve. I heard Granger speaking with you. You can't keep it all shut up inside, you'll simply explode."

Rachel nodded, silently, full well knowing her teacher was one of the wisest people she'd ever come across.

"You promise me, Potter." McGonagall's tone changed. "You come to me whenever you need it. No matter the hour. You come speak to me. Don't go through this alone. Your friends all love you dearly. Don't shut anyone out." 

"I won't." Rachel sniffed once more.

McGonagall stood up and moved across to the other side of the room. "Tea, Potter?"

A cup of tea was already poured for Rachel, along with a biscuit placed on a saucer. Rachel took it gratefully and for the first time in days, she smiled.

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