Tendrils of conversation swirled into Lunette's consciousness later, the faint vibrations causing her to stir, and she found herself lying on a bed in the girls' dormitory with Hermione, Ginny, and George standing around her, looking concerned. For a moment, Lunette could not remember what had happened. Why was she in bed? Why was everyone staring at her? Was something wrong? Or worse, had something happened to Fred?
Fred.
With the thought of his name, everything came rushing back. The hallway, the pain, the blood. She gazed up and could barely make out Hermione saying, "I don't know what's wrong, George. She just collapsed, and there was so much blood…" Her lips trailed off, not completing the sentence, and she gazed back down at Lunette.
"Fred," Lunette managed to grind out, though her throat felt as though it was being ripped apart. Her voice startled everyone and they quickly turned toward her, trying to hear what she was saying. "Get…Fred."
Hermione's eyes met George's above Lunette's head and she nodded. "Go find him, wherever he is," she told his twin.
"Right," George said, his long legs quickly carrying him out of the room and down the stairs. He almost crashed out through the portrait in his haste, and he took the stairs three at a time. The stairway began to revolve, and George gritted his teeth, swinging himself over the railing and freefalling to the staircase beneath it. The bones in his legs groaned in loud protest as his feet landed safely on the lower staircase several feet below. "Ow," he muttered before he tore down those stairs as well.
He wasn't sure where his brother might be, and he didn't know what was going on between his brother and Lunette. All he knew was that he liked the girl in a sisterly way, and he liked the way his brother looked at the girl. He had been in the common room when she had come in, and his heart had clenched in fear. He had been the one to carry her bloody form up to her bed. Just from the feel of her body, he knew that there were broken bones somewhere, but those would have to wait. For now, it seemed very important for him to find Fred.
He jumped down the last flight of steps and then flew down the hall towards the Great Hall, only to turn the corner and find Fred in the middle of a group of Slytherins, his fists flying out whenever he got a chance. Adrenaline poured into George's veins as he leapt forward, knocking a Slytherin to the ground, and began throwing his own punches.
"Glad you could make it!" Fred called cheerily, not sounding at all like he needed help of reinforcements. For a moment, George paused. Shouldn't his brother be pummeled by now? They were both good fighters, but against a bunch of Slytherins?
"Yeah, well I got my invitation secondhand," George muttered, ducking as a Slytherin leapt forward to crack his jaw. A swift uppercut made the boy reel back for a moment, enough time for George to kick out at another person whaling on him.
George turned in time to see Fred strike out at someone, but his vision narrowed as Draco's foot collided with his brother's face. He leapt forward, ready to stand over his brother, to protect him until he could get up, but Fred's head barely moved. He simply planted his fist neatly in Draco's chin, knocking the younger boy backwards a few steps.
Ginny glanced over at Hermione, scared and confused. Hermione returned the look with one of her own. Their grip on Lunette tightened as the girl beneath them cried out and thrashed to the side, a gash appearing on her jaw, dripping more blood down her face. Her back arched and by the redness on Lunette's face, Hermione guessed that she was holding back a scream.
"What's happening?" Ginny cried, looking from Lunette to Hermione and back again.
Hermione shook her head. "I don't know! When George gets back, we have to get her to Madam Pomfrey." She gazed at Lunette critically and added, "We can't get her there on our own."
Lunette's body arched, and the girls put all of their strength towards keeping her still. "I hope George and Fred get here quickly," Ginny muttered.
Hermione had refused to put a body-binding spell on Lunette, fearful that whatever was happening to her would worsen or do harm to her if she was not allowed to move, but now, she was regretting that decision. She nodded, worried eyes meeting Ginny's. "Me too."
George was still in shock. Fred didn't seem to notice his brother standing there, staring at him. George sucked his breath in just as someone slammed into his back and the breath he had taken left him in a whoosh. He regained his balance and whirled, kicking out as he went. "Ow," he muttered to himself.
"Enough!" a voice roared at the end of the hall, the tone reverberating down the entire hallway and leaving George's ears ringing.
Immediately, everyone fighting stopped and lowered their fists. They turned toward the voice and found Dumbledore standing at the end of the hall, looking uncharacteristically stern. "One hundred points from Slytherin," he told them. "Get back to your dorms."
The Slytherins slunk off, and George could have sworn that he heard Draco mutter, "Great idea, Pansy."
Dumbledore was still looking at Fred and George, and he only nodded towards the stairs. "Go," he told them, looking at George. "Tell him your news on the way."
How Dumbledore knew that he had news, George didn't know, but he nodded and pulled Fred along swiftly. "Thank you, Professor!" George called after him as he pushed Fred up the stairs as quickly as he could.
"What's going on?" Fred cried, slightly bemused by his brother's attempts at pushing him up the steps.
George shook his head, still pushing. "We're not really sure. Lunette collapsed in the common room, and then she said that we had to go get you. I was hop-"
Fred took off, tearing up the stairs, shouting the password to the painting, not caring that anyone else might hear. The painting frowned, but swung open, and Fred dashed into the common room and up the stairs, taking them three at a time. He skidded at the top, but regained his balance and pushed the door to the girls' dormitory open. Then, he froze.
Ginny and Hermione had ceased to pin Lunette down, but they stood over her warily, watching for anymore signs of pain. They looked up, and relief showed on their faces. "Thank goodness," they said at the same time.
Fred's eyes slid over them as he glanced at Lunette. Blood was running down her face from several cuts, mingled with dried tracks of blood. Her left eye was black and swollen, and by the pain on her face, something was broken. Her face was white, her hair splayed out on her pillow, and Fred felt his heart freeze.
He had thought it had only been adrenaline that had made the pain nonexistent. He had thought that when he slowed down, he would feel every punch and kick. But now, as he looked at Lunette, Fred realized exactly what had happened. His eyes traced the gash on her jaw, the one in the exact same place where Draco had kicked his own jaw. He watched the blood trickle from her mouth from the cut on her lip, in the exact same place where he had been punched a few times.
Every one of his injuries had transferred to her.
Lunette finally noticed the silence in the room and looked up at Fred, dreading the look in his eyes. Sure enough, she saw pain and determination there. "Help me get her to Madam Pomfrey," he said to George.
Then, he looked right at her and said, "After that, we need to talk."
A/N: Hope you liked this chapter! All will hopefully be explained in the next one! :) Please review, and thanks for reading!
