Within a few weeks of the Quidditch Match, the first trip to Hogsmeade was announced. Skye was going with her friends, as was Audrey and the rest of Hogwarts. However, the twins were forced to stay behind. They hadn't known about the village trips, much less about needing parental consent to travel there on the designated days. Aside from the First and Second Years, they were pretty much the only ones not going.
Ren was disappointed to be spending a lone Saturday while everyone else was at Hogsmeade, especially Audrey, who Ren was becoming fast friends with. It left a bitter feeling knowing Audrey would be gone having fun while Ren and Layla were cooped up in the castle. It was almost as if time without Audrey was lackluster and pointless.
After breakfast that Saturday morning, Ren lingered around the Entrance Hall, amidst the mob of students. Everyone was bundled up against the bitter cold, scarves and hats were everywhere, making it more difficult to be on the lookout for familiar faces. Layla was on the other side of the hall, Ren assumed she was talking to Skye, so she was on her own looking for Audrey.
Parting her way through students, Ren finally caught a glimpse of Audrey. "Hey." she said, appearing at her side.
"I thought you said you couldn't go?" Audrey asked, turning away from her friend. A glint of mischievousness seen in her eyes, making Ren grin.
"I can't go, but I figured I'd see you off." Ren replied, her mood dropping at the said words.
"Oh, I see."
Ren suddenly felt a wave of stupidity wash over her, and her mind went blank. She stood staring nervously at the floor, twisting her fingers together behind her back.
Filch, the caretaker at Hogwarts, pushed through the masses of students, his greasy head bobbing with each step. "Outta my way." He barked at a group of Third Years.
"I feel sort of bad leaving you behind." Audrey said, breaking the silence between the two. By this time, Filch had made his way to the doors and was letting the first few students pass through.
"Don't." Ren said, feeling even more discomfort. "Go and have fun. I'll see you when you get back at supper, tell me about it then."
"Okay..." Audrey said softly "Bye." Slowly turning around as she gave a slight wave good bye. Ren watched as she squeezed past a few Fourth Years to catch back up with her other friends, leaving Ren completely alone.
"What now?" Layla said from behind Ren.
"Dunno." Ren said, facing her sister. "I guess I was going to go to the Library. There was something I had wanted to check out, want to come?"
"I might as well." Layla shrugged.
Upon entering the Library, Ren left Layla and headed for the Defense Against the Dark Arts branch. She quickly found the book she had mentioned before, and checked out, thumbing through it as she waited for Layla to reappear. "Did you not find a book?" Ren asked, when Layla returned.
"Si, j'en ai trouvé, mais c'est dans le section restreint," Layla said, obviously disgruntled.
"Well, let's go then." Ren said, standing up and trudging to the door.
"Where are you going?" Layla asked, looking at her sister who had stopped mid-step up the stairs at these words. "It's lunch time."
"I'll be right there... I just want to drop this book off in the dormitory first." Ren said looking over her shoulder to Layla, continuing up the stairs. Layla remained on spot for a moment, as her sister sped up the stairs, before turning a half circle and heading down the stairs toward the smells of freshly cooked food.
Lunch was quiet and empty. The Great Hall felt gloomy and drafty with the lack of the usual mass. It was unnerving almost. Ren thought of all the recent deaths that had been going on, how many more innocent people were to die, and whether or not Hogwarts would stay running. With the rise of this so-called "Lord Voldemort" everything was becoming more and more difficult as well as tense. Many students had already been pulled out of school, how many more would go? At the moment, they were safe at Hogwarts, and that's all that concerned Ren.
Retreating to her bed after lunch, Ren spent most of the day reading. Layla seemed a lot more restless than Ren. Ren wasn't sure why her sister was so fidgety that day, normally it was the other way around, but she didn't ask questions. Ren was without energy, and remained lying on her bed, trying to read through the inquiries of her sister on various topics.
"What on Earth are you reading?" Layla asked, bouncing slightly on the bed. "It's rare you ever find a book good enough that even you want to read it for hours on end."
"It's not that big of a deal." Ren said in a rather bland tone of voice. "I'm bored." Laying the book down on her stomach, she allowed her eyes to adjust, looking over to her sister. Layla was lying on her stomach facing Ren, her torso propped up on her elbows. There was a curious look in her eye, but Ren dismissed it, not wanting to talk, and continued to read.
"They should be back soon." Layla said, changing the subject. "It's almost supper time." It took Ren a moment to process this. She frowned slightly, staring blankly at the pages of her book.
"I'm... not hungry." Ren replied slowly.
"You may as well come down to see everyone anyway, even if you won't eat. You've been moping around all day; I would have thought you'd have jumped at the chance to see everyone again."
"I can assure you I'm not moping." Ren said, rather frustrated.
"Right. I'm going down to the Great Hall." Layla said jumping off the bed. She looked inquisitively at Ren and her book, it looked as though she was to ask another question but she remained silent. Leaving Ren to her book, she turned a heel and left the dormitory quickly and quietly.
Realizing how alone she was, Ren sat up from her lax position, staring at the door half expecting Layla to come back in. However, she didn't, Ren was on her own now. She wondered why she was feeling so bitter toward everything at the moment and why she was feeling so sickly. She picked up her book with a shaking hand, stowing it under her pillow before tumbling back onto her bed, only moving once more to violently pull the red velvet curtains around her bed. She took in a deep breath, relieving the air in her chest heavily. For many confusing reasons, she felt like crying. She was so incredibly jealous of all the students getting to have fun at Hogsmeade. But after a while of thinking, she figured out that it wasn't that she particularly wanted to go to Hogsmeade, it was that she wanted to go with Audrey. She wondered if Audrey had thought of her at all, or if she had been shoved in the back of her mind. But however Audrey felt, Ren still grieved that she wasn't with her. There was something about Audrey that made everything fun, and Ren wasn't sure why exactly, but there was some sort of bond she felt with Audrey. There was so much they had in common, and the past couple of weeks Ren had become so attached to Audrey she was beginning to think of her like a sister. With one final sigh, and a flash of one last thought of Audrey, Ren slowly fell into a restless sleep.
"Wake up sleepy head." Layla exclaimed, jerking back the curtains from around Ren's bed. "You've been asleep forever. It's time to get up."
Ren slowly lifter her heavy eye lids, taking a look around the room and looking to Layla. "What time is it?" She groaned, slowly sitting up.
"Almost noon." Layla replied, looking to Ren with slight amusement. "You've missed supper and breakfast; I suggest you come down for some lunch unless you want to starve."
"Ah..." Ren wasn't sure what to say, and she wasn't even sure if she was hungry. Her stomach was feeling rather off, not quite sick, more like a she was in a state of nervousness. "Yeah... I'll be down in a minute." She said yawning and throwing her legs around and off the edge of the bed.
Layla sank into her bed as she waited on Ren, who was picking through her trunk for fresh clothes. "You fell asleep in your clothes?"
"Yeah..." Ren said, a little annoyed. "It's not like I meant to. I just did." She peeled off her wrinkled shirt, casting it aside, and pulled on a new one. Layla gave a nod of acknowledgment, seeming unsure of what to say.
The two made no conversation from then all the way to the Great Hall. It wasn't until they were close enough to smell the food wafting through the air that either of them said anything. "Is it just me, or is it really cold in here?" Ren asked, shivering slightly.
"It's you." Layla answered, casting Ren a look of both concern and slight annoyance. "It's probably just that you've been asleep for so long up in the warm tower."
Ren shrugged, not thinking the same way. Her skin was covered with goose bumps, despite the layers she was wearing. Normal Hogwarts wear this time of year was more than warm enough, but Ren felt cold in a sick way. The two sat down together towards the far end of the hall, where the least students appeared to be sitting. Most of the food had already disappeared, but there was still enough left, but as Ren took a look at all of the foods she felt even sicker. Not wanting to worry Layla, she lead on that she was fine, filling her plate with the usual amount. After pushing her food around the plate for a good minute, Ren felt incredibly weak. "I really don't feel good." she said, pushing her plate away and pressing her forehead into her hands. "Like I'm going to throw up."
"Drink." Layla said to her, unclipping the flask on her waist and placing it in front of Ren. Ren removed her fingers from covering her eyes and peered at the cheap metal container in front of her. She hesitated before taking it into a shaking hand and slowly unscrewing the cap. Taking a gulp, she let the contents slide down her throat with a warming sensation. She felt some strength come back to her. However, her stomach was still upset. Thrusting Layla's flask back into her direction, Ren furrowed her brow in anxiety. The smells of the food was doing her upset stomach no justice, and she was soon shaking again. Letting one of her hands slide over her stomach in hopes of comfort, she sighed a heavy sigh wondering where Audrey was.
"I'm going back to the Common Room." Ren said weakly, covering up her wanting to see Audrey, after debating the topic with herself. Slowly rising, she pushed back the bench with the backs of her legs and ambled off.
Crawling through the portrait hole, Ren observed every inch of the Common Room. Her eyes fell on Audrey, who was sitting by the stair case reading. She seemed to feel Ren looking at her, looking up expectantly at her. Ren gave her a weak grin, dragging her feet over to her.
"I've been wondering where you were." Audrey said when Ren was within earshot.
"Not feeling too well. I was going to go to bed." Ren said slowly, pausing beside Audrey to hold a slight conversation.
"You do look pale..." Audrey noted, folding her book before standing up to become level with Ren. She brushed stray hairs out of Ren's face, pressing the back of her hand to Ren's forehead. The feeling of her hands created a shiver up Ren's spine, she quavered at the touch of Audrey, and a fresh wave of nausea overcame her. "You're running a fever." Absentmindedly, Ren reached up to Audrey's hand, taking it into her own, slowly pulling it down. She froze for a moment, their hands in midair, staring into Audrey's concerned green eyes. "Your hands are like ice." Ren still said nothing, glancing down to see her fingers lace together with Audrey's, before looking back into her eyes.
Her mind still in the slowed down fuzz as it had been there holding Audrey's hand, Ren didn't quite realize what had just happened until she was kicking off her shoes and crawling into bed.