Already on chapter 10!

Just saw the Guardians of the Galaxy movie last night. It was probably one of the best movies I've seen all summer.

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Chapter 10-James

Usually, the ride back to school on the Hogwarts Express is a lot of fun. It's a time for us all to be together, no matter what our house at school is. We play Exploding Snap, eat candy off the trolley, and trade stories. Usually, this turns into a contest between us: who can make the others laugh the hardest? Not to brag or anything, but I usually win, if Fred doesn't beat me.

Today though, we were really subdued on the way back to face the spring term. The murders yesterday were still weighing heavily on our minds. We all felt responsible, in a way.

I didn't see how things could get much worse.

"Do you think the attacks are over?" Fred asked, shuffling a deck of cards.

Teddy shrugged, not looking up from his textbook. He would be taking the OWLs this year, so he spent every spare minute studying. "I don't know. He might think it's too dangerous. After all, we know he's a Death Eater now."
"How does that help us? It's the only thing we know about him. We need more information."
"There's only a handful of Death Eaters that are out of Azkaban. We'll find him. Besides, this is Hogwarts we're talking about. If the school isn't safe, then I don't know what is."

The days ticked by. School, school, and more school. However, there were no more attacks.

Then, two weeks after break, I was summoned to Professor Flitwick's office during Herbology. I was kind of glad to leave class, actually. I'd accidentally repotted my mandrake plant wrong and it had screamed bloody murder until Professor Longbottom could calm it down. Needless to say, he wasn't very happy with me. However, I had no idea what I'd done wrong this time. Usually I have a faint inkling if a prank has gone terribly wrong, but not that day.

Fred met me in the hallway outside Defense Against the Dark Arts. "Oi James! What do you think this is all about?"
"I don't know. Did you release those Filibuster Fireworks under your bed without telling me?"
"No, of course not! Did you?"

"No….."
I was starting to have a bad feeling about the whole thing. If Fred had been called, too…there was a chance that the whole family was involved.

That could not be a good thing.

When we reached Professor Flitwick's office, the other Weasleys and Potters were already there. Flitwick himself was holding out a faintly glowing book that looked older than the castle-another Portkey. "There's been a situation. Lucy Weasley was found in a coma this morning."
My mouth went dry. Lucy's my youngest cousin. The attacks had started again.

Lucy is small for her age, but she looked even smaller in a hospital bed meant for adults. Her eyes were slightly open, and her breathing was shallow but steady. She looked like she could wake up at any moment. It was scary-no. It was terrifying.

Aunt Audrey was sobbing in a chair next to her daughter's bedside. Uncle Percy was trying to comfort her, but he didn't look to be in much better shape himself. Molly was nowhere to be seen.

"Hi guys." Audrey smiled wanly. "Make yourselves comfortable. Lucy's so glad you're here."
I glanced at the prone figure on the bed. I highly doubted that Lucy was aware of our presence, but I wasn't about to tell my aunt that.

"Of course. Where's Molly?" Dom asked. The two have always gotten along extremely well.

"At her other grandparents' house. We haven't told her yet. We don't want to put her through all this…"

"What spell was she hit with?" Vic inquired quietly.

"A spell designed to put its victim in a comatose state. It isn't a deadly spell, but it can only be removed by the person who cast it in the first place. Until we find-and apprehend-the culprit, all we can do is keep her comfortable." Percy's voice broke on the last word. I felt like this was a private thing. We shouldn't be here.

"When did it happen?" Rose speculated, squeezing Lucy's limp hand with her own.

"Sometime last night. She wouldn't wake up this morning. I don't know what's wrong, or why anyone would want to harm my little girl." Audrey started to sob again and one by one we filed out. Percy would take care of her.

Our parents were holding a whispered conference in the hallway. I was about to go and join them, but then I saw the corner of Vic's white shirt disappearing around the hospital's corner. I followed her to a small waiting area, where she sat down and buried her face in her hands. She looked close to tears.

"Hey Vic. What's wrong?" I asked.

"It was like that with Louis. I couldn't wake him up." She looked up at me, a single tear trailing its way down her cheek. "I can't get over it, James. He was my little brother. How am I supposed to live without him?"

"It's only been a few months. It's going to be hard at first, but it'll get better."

"I just miss him so much, all the time."

"I know. I do, too." Louis had been one of my favorite cousins. He always wanted to do something and he was good at almost everything-no matter what sport we happened to be playing. His death had affected all of us-more than we cared to admit. "He's at peace though, Vic."

"How do you know?"
"I don't, but I believe he is. He was too good a person to be anywhere else. Anyway, he wouldn't want us to grieve for him. He'd want us to keep on living and surviving. I think we should try to honor his wishes-not that it won't be really hard, of course."

Vic smiled at me. "Thanks, James. You know, for someone who spends all day pulling pranks, you're not too bad."

"I know." I said proudly. "Should we go back to the family?"
"I'm going to stay here for a little while. I just…need to be alone."
"I understand. You know where to find us, right?"

She nodded. "Don't worry about me, okay?"

"Okay." I waved and headed back down the hallway.

"It could be worse." Uncle Bill was saying when I reached them. "Lucy could be dead."

"Whoever did this didn't want her dead! He did exactly what he meant to do-he scared us!" Uncle George retorted.

Uncle Ron spoke up. He looked relieved. "I talked to McGonagall. She's agreed to let Hugo, Molly, and Lily stay at Hogwarts for the time being to ensure their safety."

"What if Hogwarts isn't as safe as it once was?"

"They'll be safer there than they will with us, in any case. We've seen the results ourselves. We know what's at stake. We take the necessary precautions. We do the right things, but things like this happen anyway. Something has to be done-and soon."
Just then, I felt a hand on my shoulder-Dad. He gave Albus and me quick hugs before he signaled the other kids to come over. "I've narrowed the list down to a few suspects." He opened his bag and pulled out some pictures: wanted posters. They were dry and yellowed with age. "Rabastan Lestrange, Antonin Dolohov, and Amycus and Alecto Carrow. All were Death Eaters, all have so far evaded capture and prosecution, and all have grudges against the family. I also found something in Lucy's window sill that you might find interesting."

He held up a wooden bird.

Next chapter: Winter fun!