Sparks Fly || A George Weasley Story

Year 4: You're Safe With Me

I'd come to the hospital wing with Harry not too long after Lockhart had disappeared his bones. To be fair, a lot of students had come with him, and Madame Pomfrey had chased most of them away. She allowed me to stay so she could check on my shoulder and how well it was healing. She said in another week or two, I'd be able to take the sling off and start to use my arm again. I'd stayed around a little longer, and I was just waiting on her to write me a note to go back to my dorm since it was a little bit past curfew. 
She knew just as well as I did that Snape was not going to just take my word for why I was out of bed if he were to catch me in the hallway. 

"Here you go, darling," Madame Pomfrey said as she handed over the note she'd written, "I'm sure that Mr. Potter has enjoyed the company, but it is unfortunately time that you left."

"Thank you, Madame Pomfrey, and as for you Harry," I said, getting up off the edge of his bed and ruffling his hair, "You get some rest, and I'll come and check on you in the morning if you're still here." 

"You don't have to, I'll see you around," I said, adjusting the awkward fabric sling. 

"Just like Hermione, you can't get rid of me," I said, waving, "So, don't worry about me, just try and get some shut-eye okay?" 

"Okay," Harry said, smiling over at me, "Be careful going to your dorm tonight. There's been a lot of weird stuff going on recently." 

"Trust me Harry, I'm going to be just fine." I shook my head, "Good night."

"Goodnight."

I stuffed the note into my pocket and made my way out into the hallway. It was as dimly lit as usual, and eerily empty. My footsteps made solid sounds against the stone floors, echoing back towards me from every direction. There was also the vague sound of dripping water which blended in with the chorus of unnerving sounds. 

Normally, walking around the castle, no matter what time of day or night, felt like I was simply walking around at home. But with the blood message from Halloween, the bludger going haywire and Harry's ominous warning, these halls didn't feel so safe anymore. Chills felt like they were literally crawling up my back and I couldn't help but to shiver, sparking up a dull ache in my shoulder, which I promptly looked over as I thought I heard something moving around behind me.

Thankfully, I didn't see anything, and I allowed myself to take a deep breath and several strong steps forward. I thought about the game today and how well all of my friends had done. Adrian had been incredible, and the twins were just as impressive as always. Angelina did a great job as well, and I was sure that she was having the time of her life in the Gryffindor common room right about now.  That is, if they were throwing the party at all considering what happened.

Then, as my mind wandered to the bludger, I forced the thought of Christmas into my mind. It was about two months away, today was the eighteenth of November and I'd get to leave for home on about the twentieth of December. I wondered what Amaryllis would make and who all she would invite. I thought about all of the ghastly sweaters Cedric and his father would probably wear when they came over to celebrate with us. 

Yet, I could not keep my mind on the good things for very long. There was another sound, a bit louder than the first, and it sounded as though someone was dragging something large across the floor. Obviously, that wasn't what was making the sound. Who's dragging stuff around the castle in the middle of the night?

"It's probably just Hagrid or Flich doing some simple upkeep of the castle," I whispered to myself, hoping that hearing myself say it would make me believe it. 

Spoiler alert, it didn't.

My chest felt hollow and jittery and my stomach was refusing to untangle itself from these dastardly knots. I took deep breaths as I tried to calm myself, it was just an empty hallway. There was nothing to be afraid of and everything was going to be fine. You Know Who is dead and gone, the Chamber of Secrets is just a myth, if it did exist, whatever was inside is very likely dead and rotted by now. Salazar Slytherin lived and died centuries ago.