Chapter Twelve
So now it was Sara, Mell, and me. The dream team. We went back to the chess room, finding the opposite door open again. Peering through it, we saw Mike, Hermione and the limp Ron in the middle of the chamber with the keys.
"Hey, how's he doing?" I asked, walking over. Ron's head was on Hermione's lap and Mike was sitting next to her, checking Ron's pulse.
"I think he'll be all right." Mike said, standing up.
"Where's Harry?" Hermione asked suddenly, looking back at us.
"He went to the last chamber, only one was allowed to enter. If not, we would of all been there with him."
Hermione seemed ready to freak out, but she held it in and simply said, "I'm afraid for him."
"We all are, Hermione."
There was a silence, broken only by a sob that had escaped from Hermione.
"Well, we'd better get Ron back upstairs." Mike picked up a broom.
"Wait a sec, you don't know how to fly." I said, putting my hands on my hips, giving him a look.
"Oh, right, that," Mike dropped the broom as if it were suddenly on fire.
"You'll just have to get on mine." I sighed wearily. This was gonna be difficult, I thought, swinging a broomstick over my shoulder.
"Here," Sara said, "Mell and I will take Ron on our brooms, side by side. Hermione, you'll have to go by yourself."
Hermione nodded timidly.
We made our way to the Devil's Snare room and got ourselves ready. Sara was late in coming. We waited around for ten minutes until she returned gasping for breath, holding the bow and packet of arrows. I raised an eyebrow at her.
"S-souvenir," she panted. I got on to the top edge of my broom and let Mike on in the back. Sara and Mell laid Ron across their laps as they sat on their brooms and Hermione was gripping tightly to her broom.
Finally, we were ready. Mike and I started first, but soon became last. It was slow work, with all that weight on one broomstick.
"Come on, stupid broomstick!" I muttered, pushing it upwards.
"Uh, Ann." I heard Mike behind me.
"Hush, I'm trying to concentrate."
"ANNIE! I'm falling!" I whirled my head around in time to see Mike grab hold to the end of the stick with his fingers. I reached out and grabbed hold of his hand, before he let go.
"Oh my God, what have you been eating?" I yelped, bending down and feeling the broom going down too. Trying to push up and yank him at the same time wasn't gonna happen. I tried, but no, I had to pull Mike up first. If he fell, we weren't over the huge plant thingy any more, it was cold hard cement floor. I bit my lip and pulled his arm up. He tried to grasp the broom, making it sway.
"Stop it, stop it!" I screamed. I glanced up; the others had gotten to the top already, probably running for Dumbledore, thinking we were behind them.
"Man, Mike, it must have been those three million cinnabons you ate at Easter!" I yelled down at him.
"I only ate TWO!" he yelled back at me, his glasses dangling on his nose. "For the last time," I heard him mutter.
" (another yank) Well, you should've thought about eating them when you were going to be thrown off a broom with only a little girl to pull you up." My arms were killing me.
"You're not little, you're just-just short!"
I guffawed. "Ok, Mike," I glanced up again, only a little further to the trapdoor, if only.
"Come on, Mike, help me!"
"What?"
"What?"
"WHAT?"
"I said help me!"
"What do I do?"
"Lose a little weight," I muttered, then yelled, "I don't know, you've got the arm muscles, pull yourself up!"
The floor looked so far down by now and I was only a few yards away from that stupid trapdoor. Mike gave a heave and pulled his shoulders up, bringing the broom down. I gasped, but shouted,
"It's okay! It's okay! Keep going!"
The ceiling shrank a little bit more every time he pulled. I gave one final heave up and he swung his leg over the broom, breathing hard. I panted, keeping my eyes on the little opening on top of me and grasping Mike's hand behind me so he wouldn't all of a sudden fall again.
Closer, and closer, I reached up my hand and caught my fingers on the side of it. I pulled my head through. There was a growl and a swipe and we went hurtling into darkness.
The light was so bright, I dared not open my eyes. I felt around me. There were soft covers over me and one of my legs had a cast over them. There was a bandage around my head. There was a buzzing in my ears, which I couldn't get rid of and my head throbbed with pain and dizziness. Cautiously, I let my eyes flutter open. I was in the hospital wing and I was lying in a white bed in one of those white nightgowns Madame Pomfrey must have given me. I had a bandage covering my head and a stiff cast that groaned whenever I moved my leg. My knee was all black and blue.
"Jeez, where did I do this?" I murmured, touching the bruise. I couldn't remember how I got here. Why was I here? Where was everyone else? Then a thought came to me. Where was Harry?
I looked around and saw Mike in the bed next to me also dressed in white and he was sleeping or passed out, I couldn't tell. His arm was in a sling and his face was all scratched up. I winced as I swung my head around to look on the other side. There was Harry with a bandage on his hand. He also seemed asleep. He had cuts all over his face and arms. And I remembered why. He was gonna go get the Stone. And he succeeded, right?
I tried sitting up, peering around the bright room for any sign of my friends. Surely they would be here too, they were part of the quest. Ron was lying, definitely asleep and snoring in the bed next to Mike. Sara and Mell were no where to be seen. Surely they did not.
Wondering all this, I lay back in the pillows. If I fell, why didn't I go back to Fairfield? Isn't it that whenever I knocked myself out, I went back to where I started from? It was all very confusing.
A door opened and Madame Pomfrey came in with a huge bar of chocolate. She took a hammer and, slam! Broke off a piece and handed it to me. I swallowed it meekly, feeling a warm sensation from my toes up. Mike stirred next to me. He blinked and rubbed his eyes.
"Where am I?" were his first words.
"You're in the hospital wing, dearie." Madame Pomfrey handed him some chocolate.
"Oh, no thanks, I couldn't."
"Take it, it'll make you feel better." Madame Pomfrey held out his hand and put the hunk of chocolate in for him. "Eat."
The door opened again. Sara and Mell entered, dressed in their Hogwarts robes, still all dirty and dusty and bloody. Dumbledore followed them in, with the usual twinkling in his eyes. I sat up, despite the pain in my head.
"You have a lot of explaining to do you guys." I said.
So now it was Sara, Mell, and me. The dream team. We went back to the chess room, finding the opposite door open again. Peering through it, we saw Mike, Hermione and the limp Ron in the middle of the chamber with the keys.
"Hey, how's he doing?" I asked, walking over. Ron's head was on Hermione's lap and Mike was sitting next to her, checking Ron's pulse.
"I think he'll be all right." Mike said, standing up.
"Where's Harry?" Hermione asked suddenly, looking back at us.
"He went to the last chamber, only one was allowed to enter. If not, we would of all been there with him."
Hermione seemed ready to freak out, but she held it in and simply said, "I'm afraid for him."
"We all are, Hermione."
There was a silence, broken only by a sob that had escaped from Hermione.
"Well, we'd better get Ron back upstairs." Mike picked up a broom.
"Wait a sec, you don't know how to fly." I said, putting my hands on my hips, giving him a look.
"Oh, right, that," Mike dropped the broom as if it were suddenly on fire.
"You'll just have to get on mine." I sighed wearily. This was gonna be difficult, I thought, swinging a broomstick over my shoulder.
"Here," Sara said, "Mell and I will take Ron on our brooms, side by side. Hermione, you'll have to go by yourself."
Hermione nodded timidly.
We made our way to the Devil's Snare room and got ourselves ready. Sara was late in coming. We waited around for ten minutes until she returned gasping for breath, holding the bow and packet of arrows. I raised an eyebrow at her.
"S-souvenir," she panted. I got on to the top edge of my broom and let Mike on in the back. Sara and Mell laid Ron across their laps as they sat on their brooms and Hermione was gripping tightly to her broom.
Finally, we were ready. Mike and I started first, but soon became last. It was slow work, with all that weight on one broomstick.
"Come on, stupid broomstick!" I muttered, pushing it upwards.
"Uh, Ann." I heard Mike behind me.
"Hush, I'm trying to concentrate."
"ANNIE! I'm falling!" I whirled my head around in time to see Mike grab hold to the end of the stick with his fingers. I reached out and grabbed hold of his hand, before he let go.
"Oh my God, what have you been eating?" I yelped, bending down and feeling the broom going down too. Trying to push up and yank him at the same time wasn't gonna happen. I tried, but no, I had to pull Mike up first. If he fell, we weren't over the huge plant thingy any more, it was cold hard cement floor. I bit my lip and pulled his arm up. He tried to grasp the broom, making it sway.
"Stop it, stop it!" I screamed. I glanced up; the others had gotten to the top already, probably running for Dumbledore, thinking we were behind them.
"Man, Mike, it must have been those three million cinnabons you ate at Easter!" I yelled down at him.
"I only ate TWO!" he yelled back at me, his glasses dangling on his nose. "For the last time," I heard him mutter.
" (another yank) Well, you should've thought about eating them when you were going to be thrown off a broom with only a little girl to pull you up." My arms were killing me.
"You're not little, you're just-just short!"
I guffawed. "Ok, Mike," I glanced up again, only a little further to the trapdoor, if only.
"Come on, Mike, help me!"
"What?"
"What?"
"WHAT?"
"I said help me!"
"What do I do?"
"Lose a little weight," I muttered, then yelled, "I don't know, you've got the arm muscles, pull yourself up!"
The floor looked so far down by now and I was only a few yards away from that stupid trapdoor. Mike gave a heave and pulled his shoulders up, bringing the broom down. I gasped, but shouted,
"It's okay! It's okay! Keep going!"
The ceiling shrank a little bit more every time he pulled. I gave one final heave up and he swung his leg over the broom, breathing hard. I panted, keeping my eyes on the little opening on top of me and grasping Mike's hand behind me so he wouldn't all of a sudden fall again.
Closer, and closer, I reached up my hand and caught my fingers on the side of it. I pulled my head through. There was a growl and a swipe and we went hurtling into darkness.
The light was so bright, I dared not open my eyes. I felt around me. There were soft covers over me and one of my legs had a cast over them. There was a bandage around my head. There was a buzzing in my ears, which I couldn't get rid of and my head throbbed with pain and dizziness. Cautiously, I let my eyes flutter open. I was in the hospital wing and I was lying in a white bed in one of those white nightgowns Madame Pomfrey must have given me. I had a bandage covering my head and a stiff cast that groaned whenever I moved my leg. My knee was all black and blue.
"Jeez, where did I do this?" I murmured, touching the bruise. I couldn't remember how I got here. Why was I here? Where was everyone else? Then a thought came to me. Where was Harry?
I looked around and saw Mike in the bed next to me also dressed in white and he was sleeping or passed out, I couldn't tell. His arm was in a sling and his face was all scratched up. I winced as I swung my head around to look on the other side. There was Harry with a bandage on his hand. He also seemed asleep. He had cuts all over his face and arms. And I remembered why. He was gonna go get the Stone. And he succeeded, right?
I tried sitting up, peering around the bright room for any sign of my friends. Surely they would be here too, they were part of the quest. Ron was lying, definitely asleep and snoring in the bed next to Mike. Sara and Mell were no where to be seen. Surely they did not.
Wondering all this, I lay back in the pillows. If I fell, why didn't I go back to Fairfield? Isn't it that whenever I knocked myself out, I went back to where I started from? It was all very confusing.
A door opened and Madame Pomfrey came in with a huge bar of chocolate. She took a hammer and, slam! Broke off a piece and handed it to me. I swallowed it meekly, feeling a warm sensation from my toes up. Mike stirred next to me. He blinked and rubbed his eyes.
"Where am I?" were his first words.
"You're in the hospital wing, dearie." Madame Pomfrey handed him some chocolate.
"Oh, no thanks, I couldn't."
"Take it, it'll make you feel better." Madame Pomfrey held out his hand and put the hunk of chocolate in for him. "Eat."
The door opened again. Sara and Mell entered, dressed in their Hogwarts robes, still all dirty and dusty and bloody. Dumbledore followed them in, with the usual twinkling in his eyes. I sat up, despite the pain in my head.
"You have a lot of explaining to do you guys." I said.