Hidden Wings - Part I

Stone

Jessamine felt weird.

She couldn't move. She felt like her body had turned to lead.
Her eyes were open, yet she could not see. No matter how much she willed them to move, they would not. Not even her smallest toe would wiggle.

Her hearing, however, was still working perfectly fine.

She had heard how Harry, Ron and Hermione had visited her.

She had heard Esma singing to her everyday.

She had heard Professor Dumbledore saying in a tired voice to Professor McGonagall that he would have to close the school if this continued.

Draco hadn't visited her once, even though she had saved his life.
Ungrateful terd, Jessamine thought.

All that darkness around her gave her plenty of time to think.
The big eye she had seen was the only thing she could remember before being petrified. That meant, that this creature's power lay in its eyes. And soon, after mentally going through a long list of magical snakes, she reached the same conclusion as Hermione.

There was a basilisk in the school.

The moment she realized this, Jessamine was filled with fear.

I have to warn them!, she though in panic and tried to move.
Of course, this was futile. She had no control over her body. So how on earth was she to move?

Come on!, Jessamine yelled at herself, but she couldn't move.

She tried to move a toe, but it felt like the connection between her brain and her toe had been cut. It almost felt like she did not have a toe at all. It was more like a toe-shaped piece of stone.

But despite her failures, Jessamine kept trying. She didn't know how much time had passed during her futile attempts of moving, but she felt a difference inside her after a while.

Her magic core felt stronger.

It hadn't been petrified with her, Jessamine realized.
Not knowing what else to do, she focused on the warmth inside her chest. She pulled at it and experimentally tugged it into different directions, trying to get it to flow through her cold and hard body. Despite the effort and strength this task demanded of her, Jessamine imagine how this warm feeling spread into every toe and finger and through every vein. The warmth of her magic soon filled her from head to toe. Her lungs started to expand whenever she took a breath, making breathing easier. She tried moving again, and this time she finally managed a slight wiggle of her pinky.

Yes!, she thought triumphantly.

Her magic rushed faster through her body until the heat almost became unbearable. It thrummed through her, her body regaining its former warmth, but it felt like acid was burning her from the inside.

This had been a bad idea! A really bad one!

What did I do?, Jessamine thought in panic. She was about to give up, when-

CRACK!

Her magic burst from her body and into the room. Jessamine shot up into a seating position, the mirror falling out of her hand.
The bright light of the Hospital Wing burned in her eyes. She was in a bed.
The Slytherin saw Colin and Justin next to her...and immediately remembered.

I need to find Professor Dumbledore, she thought and jumped out of her bed.

The room seemed to sway in front of her eyes, and Jessamine gritted her teeth as she tried to make her way out of the Hospital Wing.
Professor Dumbledore, Professor Dumbledore, she repeated inside her head like a mantra, while putting one foot in front of the other.
She felt so weak, and more than once huffed frustratedly when she had to stop to catch her breath.

Professor Dumbledore's office was too far away, so Jessamine slowly made her way to the staff room.
The whole way there felt like a walk on a ship during a storm, the ground rising and plunging down every few seconds like an angry ocean.

She felt dizzy with relief when the wooden door of the staff room finally appeared in front of her.

And with the last of her strength, she pushed them open.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were talking loudly at the same time, trying to explain that they knew where the Chamber of Secrets was and what creature was in it.

Professor McGonagall was busy with explaining that Ginevra Weasley had disappeared into the Chamber of Secrets and that Hogwarts had to be closed.

Mrs. Weasley was crying and Mr. Weasley tried to comfort his wife.

Professor Dumbledore was there too, reading a letter from the ministry with a grim expression on his beard-covered face.

Professor Snape stood in the corner and weirdly, had a little blackbird on his shoulder.

Professor Lockhart kept nodding at Harry's explanation, saying: "I knew it!", in a boastful tone every few seconds.

Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout were discussing the remedy for the petrified victims.

This all occurred while Jessamine stood in the doorway, her face pale and her body swaying slightly.
Esma was the first to notice her. With a happy squeal, she shot off Professor Snape's shoulder and glided over to Jessamine, gripping the girl's robes tightly with her talons as she landed on her shoulder.

"Hi Esma", Jessamine smiled weakly.
Esma's flight across the room had caught everyone's attention, and now everybody, grown-ups as well as students, were staring at Jessamine with a baffled look on their faces.
Except Professor Snape of course.

"Professor Dumbledore", Jessamine addressed the headmaster tiredly, "I think there's a basilisk in the school."

That broke the stunned silence.
"Jess!"

Hermione hugged her happily.
"How did you wake up?"

"Ms. Lince", Professor McGonagall said stunned and stared at her bewildered, too surprised to finish her question.

Mrs. Weasley hugged her as well, but her eyes quickly filled with tears again as she thought of her kidnapped daughter.

"I think Ms. Lince needs to rest", Professor Dumbledore said gently, but his eyes were twinkling again with determination.

"Meanwhile, us Professors will follow Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger to the entrance of the Chamber of Secrets."

"I could lead you there too", said Professor Lockhart proudly, "of course, the students need their moment of glory as well."

"Oh, shut it, Professor!", Mrs. Weasley snapped and angrily stuffed her handkerchief back into her pocket.
"If you know where the entrance is, you should have gotten my daughter out as soon as she went missing!"

The woman's voice was filled with hysteria.

While Professor Lockhart looked stunned that somebody dared to speak to him like that, Professor Dumbledore put a hand on Mrs. Weasley's shoulder.
"Do not worry, Molly", he said quietly, "we shall find Ms. Weasley and bring her back safely."

Mrs. Weasley nodded with red-rimmed eyes and pulled out her handkerchief again to blow her nose.

Jessamine did not really catch on what happened after that, she only remembered Madam Pomfrey ushering her to a bed in the Hospital Wing, before falling asleep.

Esma stayed beside her the entire time.