Magic (5sos/l.h. Hogwarts AU)

Chapter 23

~A/N~ Why do people spend so much money on prom dresses jesus I though £30 was a bit steep
Enjoy the chapter!
Leila xx

The next few weeks were incredibly miserable, and I isolated myself even more than I had been doing. However, I made sure that I always had eyes on my friends, and if Luke, Calum, Michael or Ginny ever needed to go anywhere I was the first to volunteer to accompany them.

It wasn't just me with this jumpy behaviour. Calum refused to leave my side for a second, and it was Ginny's idea to always go to Quidditch practice with Luke. In fact, it seemed all of Gryffindor had banded together to protect each other, especially the muggleborns.

The only exception was Michael.

After Ashton was petrified, he became more and more reclusive, seemingly blaming himself. Everyone else was trying to support him and look after him, but I had other things on my mind, one of them being suspicion.

For I still hadn't answered the questions: Why was Ashton in the library if he knew it was closed? Why did the monster go after him if it was meant for muggleborns only? And, did Michael have something to do with it?

Because although I knew Michael better than to even consider that he could have anything to do with the monster, I couldn't help wondering about his family - strict Slytherins that hated people of my blood status - and if they had somehow indoctrinated him. He had kept quiet about his relationship with them all term.

Finally, I was understanding how Ginny felt all the time. Now it was I who went through the mood swings, who lay in the dark at night unable to sleep, who had to excuse myself from lessons to cry in the toilet. It was I who needed the comfort, and although Ginny was just as broken as me, she made sure she was there for me.

I felt like a terrible friend.

Hermione had also stepped up, rushing me to the second floor bathroom to work on the potion and take my mind off Ashton, giving me books so I could lose myself in my imagination for a short while, and always, always, being a shoulder to cry on. And that was the best thing she could do.

"Are you staying for the holidays?" Luke asked me over lunch one day.

"No," I replied instantly. "With the monster around, it wouldn't be safe. I wanted to stay so that I could be there for Ashton if the Mandrakes are ready in the holidays, but I find it highly unlikely. Anyway, Michael's staying, aren't you?"

I had addressed that question to Michael, who heaved a huge sigh. "I don't know. I don't want to go home, because of my family, but I don't want to stay here because of the monster."

"It's only meant to go after muggleborns," Calum reminded him.

"But look at Ashton," Ginny mumbled, and we all fell silent, tears pooling behind my eyes.

"Leila!" Fred called from further down the table, breaking the silence and giving me a welcome distraction from my thoughts. "I've got Howler paper! You can write to Zara!"

***
So that was how I ended up beside Ashton's bed, reading him the letter I had received from Naadiya and Sofiyah detailing Zara's reaction to my Howler.

"Hi, Ash," I sunk into the chair beside his bed and looked at the frozen image of my friend. He looked exactly as he had the day he was petrified, eyes cast downwards to the shiny book in his hands that he was apparently going to the library to return, a look of shock and terror perfectly captured on his face as though he was a picture. "How are you?"

"He's not going to reply," tutted Madame Pomfrey, the no nonsense matron, bustling around with bottles of medicine in her hands. "You do realise that?"