Harry watched the girl disappear up the stairs, wishing he could do something-anything-to help. He felt useless, unable to be the hero in this situation. He followed everyone out of the common room, and started looking for a nearby prefect so he could alert them of the two girls still inside. He heard his name being called, and turned towards the voice. He was practically run over by the Weasley twins, who wore identical (no pun intended) expressions of horror. "Harry, there you are! Have you seen Ginny anywhere?" questioned Fred, panic evident in his voice.
Harry was unsure how to answer. He didn't want to scare them, but he had to tell them. "I think Ginny is still inside," he finally told them bluntly. All the color drained from the two boy's faces.
"Oh god..." said George, covering his mouth with his hand. "We have to save her!" he cried, grabbing his brother's arm and pulling him back to the dorms. Harry reached out and snagged George's sleeve, yanking him back.
"No! It's too dangerous to go in there! You'll die from breathing in smoke, or at the very least, pass out from lack of oxygen! We need to put out the fire, then we can save them!" he yelled at the brothers, who looked back at him with dismayed expressions. "We need to tell a professor what's going on," he pressed on. George nodded, grim.
The boys started pushing through the throng of panicked students, searching for a prefect or teacher. Harry breathed out as sigh of relief as he spotted Professor McGonagall walking swiftly down the stairs, followed by a group of teachers. He turned and grabbed Fred's sleeve, and Fred in turn George's. They hurried over to McGonagall, trying to push past the students already surrounding her, all vying for her attention.
"A fire!"
"In the girls dormitory!"
"It just happened out of nowhere!" voices rang out, trying to relay what had happened to the group of teachers now assembled in the hallway.
"Quiet, please!" McGonagall commanded in a stern voice. The shouts died down, and the prefects quickly explained to the adults what was happening. McGonagall scowled, then started pushing past the students towards the common rooms.
"Professor McGonagall!" Harry cried out, trying to be seen and heard in the crowd, "There are girls still trapped in the common rooms!" McGonagall's looked over at Harry. Her scowl vanished, and was quickly replaced with a look of horror.
"Quickly!" she called to the others teachers, who followed her with looks of worry. Harry turned back to the twins, and was startled to find George slumped on the ground, head buried in his hands. Fred was sitting next to him, arm around his shoulders.
"This all our faults. Mum'll kill us when she finds out!" George said, his words muffled through his hands.
"What are you talking about?" Harry demanded, "What did you do?"
George shook his head. "It was just a joke... It was just supposed to startle the girls. This wasn't meant to happen!" he cried out.
Harry knelt in front of him, trying to figure out George's nonsensical speech. His face went slack as it dawned on him what the twin was saying. "You mean... you did this?" he cried, "You started the fire!? What in bloody hell were you thinking!" he shouted furiously. George just shook his head again.
"Just a joke. Just a harmless prank..." he whimpered.
Harry stood up, enraged beyond words. Turning on his heel, he started running towards the common rooms, abandoning the brothers in the hall. He rushed past huddled groups of 3rd years, turning the corner to see a huge group of Professors and students casting spells to put out the fire that had started creeping down the stairs. He joined the group; pulling out his wand and pointing it at the flames, he shouted over and over, "Aguamenti!" Seconds later, there appeared several figures at the top of the stairs. Harry recognized Professor McGonagall, and under each arm was a teenage girl, both slumped over, feet dragging. The female prefects raced up the stairs to help McGonagall, and they half-carried the girls the rest of the way down the stairs. Harry watched the two girls be carried out the door, probably to be taken to the infirmary. Although he wanted to follow them, he forced himself to stay and help put out more of the flames. Several of the professors started up the stairs to put out the now dying fire. After several minutes of waiting on the students behalf, they emerged. After the last of the flames were gone, Harry stumbled out of the room into the hall, slumping down against a wall. He took several deep breaths, clearing his lungs of smoke. He hoisted himself up after a minute, needing to find the girls and see how they were doing. He walked quickly to the infirmary, passing soot covered students. When he reached the door of the infirmary, he paused and took in a shaky breath. Ginny was lying on one of the beds, a blanket pulled up to her chest. She looked mostly unharmed. Surrounding her were Ron, Fred, George, and Hermione, who stood up and ran over to Harry, throwing her arms around his neck.
"Thank god you're safe! I had no clue what was happening, I was in the library with Ron! They wouldn't let us into the common rooms. Is everything okay now?" she spoke in a rush.
"Yeah, everything is fine now. The fire is out. They're probably salvaging anything that can be saved. How's Ginny? And the other girl?"
"Other girl?" Hermione frowned, "Oh! There was another girl who came in too, she's over there," she pointed to a curtain-enclosed bed in the far corner, "Madame Pomfrey is attending to her, I think." Harry nodded, and started walking over to the bed. Pulling back the curtain slightly, he inhaled suddenly at the sight of the badly burned girl. Her arms and hands were wrapped in gauze, and her face bright red and covered in first degree burns. She was asleep, her breathing ragged but even. He dropped the curtain and squeezed his eyes closed, the image burned in his mind. Turning around, he walked to where Ginny lay. When he reached her side, her eyes opened and she gave him a weak smile, then closed her eyes again.
Fred stood up, and looked at Harry with remorseful eyes. "Harry... We're really sorry. Please don't be mad at us. We'll never do something like that again." he pleaded.
"What caused the fire?" Harry asked brusquely.
"I think it was a fire-cracker," came a soft voice. All heads turned to look at Ginny, who was staring at Harry with an intense focus. "I... I was reading a book, and all of a sudden there was a loud bang and a bunch of sparks. Girls started screaming, and the sparks.. they landed everywhere. Things started catching on fire, and it happened so fast. We tried to put out the flames, but it was like they had a mind of their own. They spread like a wildfire, consuming everything they touched. I tried to escape with the rest of the girls, but something hit me on my back. I couldn't see what it was, but it knocked me down. I was trapped somehow. I yanked the blankets off the bed and wrapped them around me. I tried to call for help, but no one seemed to hear me. I tried to get up again, but I couldn't. I was so scared, and my lungs... I couldn't breathe. I thought I heard someone calling out, but I couldn't tell. I heard a voice again, and that time I responded. I think a beam from one of the beds fell, and suddenly someone was there next to me. I reached out and grabbed their hand, and then I blacked out." She fell quiet, and looked back at Harry, who wore a concerned expression along with everyone else. "When I finally came to, I was here," she gave another small smile.
Harry nodded, not sure what to say. "You should get some more rest," he finally said, and turned to find a chair to sit down on. He sat with the group for about 15 minutes, until Madame Pomfrey came over to shoo them out, all except for Harry.
"The young woman over there is asking for you, boy. Come see what she wants, and then off with you, too," she told him, then turned and walked back to her office. Harry turned to his friends and shrugged, then waved and started walking over to the girl. He realized suddenly that he did not even know her name, but he was determined to find out. He pulled back the curtain again and stepped inside. The girl looked at him with tired bright green eyes and gave out a rusty laugh. Harry frowned, unsure what she was laughing at. She sighed and shook her head slightly.
"I never thought that I'd ever do anything that bold in my life," she said in a raspy voice. Clearing her throat, she continued, "Is Ginny okay? I don't remember much... I blacked out. She made it out, didn't she?" she asked nervously.
Harry nodded quickly, "Of course, yeah, she's fine. But as for you..." he gestured to her bandaged arms, and she looked down as if just noticing them.
"Oh..." she said quietly. She looked back at Harry and grimaced, "It could be worse." Harry gave a small smile, and raked his hand through his hair. He shuffled, unsure of what he should say.
"Um.. was there something you wanted to ask me?" he said uncertainly.
She nodded, "I wanted to ask you, why did you grab my arm? Certainly there was someone else around that you could have told." she asked curiously.
Harry fidgeted uncomfortably, and looked down at his hands, which were fiddling with the edge of her blanket. "I'm sorry. I just stopped the first girl I saw. There was no specific reason that it was you whom I got involved in that mess. And it was stupid of me to act so spontaneous. If I hadn't stopped you, you wouldn't be hurt. I'm really sorry..." he spoke quietly. A warm hand suddenly covered his own, and he looked up. The girls eyes shone bright with unshed tears.
"It is not your fault for what happened to me. I made the choice to go upstairs. I chose to go help Ginny, and I don't regret that decision. You can't blame yourself for what happened to me, understand?" she chided softly. Harry nodded.
"Can you forgive me?" he asked.
She smiled, and this time it was one of amusement. "Of course," she replied. Harry smiled back at her.
"So I have one last question," he said. "What's your name?"
The girl paused before answering, "Lily. Lily Evans."
So what do you think?! Any good? I wrote this in pretty much one sitting, so I'm sorry if it's not that great... *sob* But I hope that you enjoyed it anyways. ^.^ Thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, and followed. It really means a lot to me. :DD Let me know if I should provide a rope for this cliff-hanger ;) Thanks!
