Sparks Fly || A George Weasley Story

Year 4: Breaking News and A Teacher's Confidence

George's POV:

The air was buzzing with excitement as we all crowded around, waiting for Oliver to get done with his rambling and let us out onto the pitch. This was going to be one of the last games, if not the last game, of the year. I couldn't remember if Slytherin or Ravenclaw had anymore games because I rarely came to games that I wasn't playing in or if Juni wasn't playing in.

"You know you gotta knock on wood for good luck," Fred shouted, punching Oliver in the arm so hard that he almost fell over which led to literally everyone but Harry hauling off and hitting Oliver as well. 

"You better be glad that you and you're brother are some of the best damn beaters this team has ever seen," Oliver said, narrowing his eyes at us while he massaged his arm, "If you weren't, I'd have cut you off the team by now."

We walked out of the tent, still listening to his mumbling and all of a sudden, McGonagall rushed over to us, a strange look on her face. 

"Professor McGonagall," Oliver nodded. 

"This match has been cancelled," She said with a shake of her head.

"You can't cancel quidditch," Oliver said, and I couldn't believe he'd say something like that to McGonagall. 

"Silence Wood," She said, and he instantly quieted down, "You and your teammates will go to Gryffindor Tower now."

Following her order, we all turned to leave, disappointed, confused, and a little bit worried. However, we or more importantly, I, stopped when she spoke up again, "Weasleys, Potter, you and I will Ronald, there's something you all have to see." 

My heart fell into my stomach at the look on her face. Professor McGonagall was a serious woman, but there was something about her eyes and the way she pursed her lips that led me to think about the worst thing that could happen. Juni, and since she's recruiting Harry and Ron probably Hermione, have been petrified. 

It didn't make any sense why Juni wasn't already out here on the pitch by now, which is what threw me off. On gameday, she got down here early before the game like everyone else and she stayed here until the game started and sometimes stays well after the game ends. So, what was she still doing inside literal minutes before the match was supposed to begin? It didn't add up, unless she was skipping the game to do something else, but that didn't sound right at all. 

So, I shared a look with Harry and Fred, none of us daring to ask what she wanted us for. I think, in a sense, we already knew that she was going to show us, but we just didn't want her to confirm it just yet. We followed behind her as she pushed through the crowd of students, calling and searching for our brother so that he could go and see one of his best friends petrified in a hospital bed. I wasn't sure why she'd want us to see them that way, but she was the adult here. 

If it were me, I'd simply tell the students that their friend had been petrified and then ask if they'd like to go see them. I wouldn't be so vague and then thrust the image of a close friend practically dead into the laps of two twelve-year-old and two boys that had just turned fifteen. But it wasn't me, so I just had to do things the way that she wanted.

We quickly found Ron as there weren't all that many redheaded students at Hogwarts as a whole much less in Gryffindor, so it made it quite easy to spot him in the see of red and gold. He too seemed concerned by the seriousness of the professor's tone, but still didn't ask where she was taking us or why. At this point, beside McGonagall, no one else had said a word since she pulled us from the tent, and it was starting to get eerie without Fred cracking jokes. 

As soon as we entered the castle, I knew where she was taking us. I'd been done these series of hallways many times in the four years that I'd been going to Hogwarts, and none of them were for good reasons. I'd dislocated my shoulder, Fred had dislocated his shoulder, Juniper almost broke her arm, Harry lost the bones in his arm, Juniper dislocated her shoulder...