Chapter Fifty-One

A Bloody Mess

I know where we are going. In the pit of my stomach, I feel it. AndI know what I am going to see when we get there, I know. The knowledge is burning, torturous, because I know this is going to be far worse than any other problem my family and I have faced. I know it from the look on James' face. And from the panic welling up inside me.

I know it, and yet I still need to confirm it. I need to.

"James? What class were you and Freddie in? James?" I exclaim, half-sobbing. Caleb is looking at me strangely, both alarmed and concerned. He hasn't worked it out. "James? Where are we going? Jamie!" I feel faint.

And then we are outside the classroom and I feel Caleb tense as he works it out.

"Charms. With Fidenchi." Mutters James, rather redundantly. Hesitantly, he reaches out and pushes the large oak door. It swings open with a significantly terrifying creek.

The first thing I notice, of course, is Freddie - the one I was most concerned for. He looks ... different.

His lip is bleeding slightly, his arms and legs are twitching constantly. One of his eyes are black and blue. He looks tired, tortured, older. He is, in this moment, nothing like my handsome, hilarious, warm-hearted cousin. The spark in his eyes is gone.

Roxie is sitting beside him, her body wracked with sobs. They both stare at the same spot of the floor in front of them, she terrified, he numb. I follow their eyes and I shriek softly. Caleb gasps and grips my hand tightly. All of this happens over a period of a second.

Fred is bloody and numb, but his injuries -at least his physical ones- are nothing in comparison to the crumpled heap on the floor that resembles my Charms teacher in a sort-of-maybe-kinda way.

From where I am standing I can see that Professor Fidenchi has a broken nose, a lip far more bloody than Freddie's and two back eyes. But that is not the problem. There is a small pool of blood gathering around his head, and a large gash on his stomach bleeding through his shirt. He is unconcious and I suddenly feel the terror that I see etched onto my family's faces.

Rose is there also, leaning over the lifeless Professor Fidenchi, and surprisingly beside her is Scorpius Malfoy.

"Is he-?" I splutter, my voice breaking. I feel James' hand on my shoulder, but it is Malfoy who answers.

"No, just unconcious. But he's losing a lot of blood. Someone needs to hurry up and make a decision, he needs to go to the Hospital Wing - probably St Mungos." He mutters, looking ... agitated I guess. I shoot him a curious glance. "Rose and I happened to walk past. I want to be a Healer so ..." He trails off, explaining his presence and knowledge to me. I nod numbly.

Then I turn my attention to Freddie, who hasn't even looked up to acknowledge our entrance.

"Freddie? Freddie what happened? What did you do? What did you do?!" I shout, crying hard now. I'm freaking out. Merlin, I'm freaking out something awful. I can't breath, the room is spinning.

Caleb wraps his arms around me, shushing me, grounding me once more. Again, Freddie doesn't even flinch, though his trembling doesn't cease.

"Fred Wealsey!" I scream. He shakes some more.

"Jeez, keep it down Lils, do you want the teachers to come running?" Whispers Rose. Her hands are covered in blood - Fidenchi's blood - and another strangled sob escapes me.

"He was p-pranking him. I told him not to. B-begged him, actually. But the s-stupid prat didn't listen. He st-stole Professor Fidenchi's w-w-wand, sent the b-books flying around the r-room, all the usual stuff. Ex-except when Fidenchi asked him about it he-he was r-really ... horrible, I have n-never seen him like this. He realised why Fred was doing it, eventually, asked him to st-stay b-behind. And-and Freddie w-went crazy. H-he just attacked him." Stutters Roxie in between sobs. It was hard to make out what she was saying.

There is a horrible, akward silence, once again Scorpius Malfoy is the one to break it.

"Someone tell me what we are going to do. Please. Because I am not just going to sit hear while my teacher d-" He seems to choke on his words. "What are we going to do? Rose?" He turns to my cousin, sort of ... hopeful. She looks at Freddie for a long time.

"We are going to take him to the Hospital Wing. Now." She whispers with certainty.

"No." Cries Roxie. "No. Freddie could get into some serious trouble. Like" Rose cuts her off.

"Maybe. But it doesn't matter, we have to get him help Roxie. We are not letting this man die." She spits. Roxie nods, slowly.

"Not that he doesn't deserve it." Whispers Fred darkly, snapping out of his trance. I gasp, along with Roxie and James, at the venom in his voice.

Seemingly having had enough, Scoripus Malfoy takes out his wand and waves it. Without speaking, he manages to levitate Professor Fidenchi. Which takes a great deal of power.

He turns to James, Caleb and I.

"I suggest you guys leave quickly. Your involvement will just make things worse. You too Rose." He smiles softly at my cousin. She, of course, gets rather indignant about this.

"No. No, This is my family and our problem. I think your involvement is th-" She starts to argue, but Malfoy is already leaving the room with the air-bourne Professor. Roxie follows, dragging Freddie behind her, though he puts up no fight.

"I wasn't asking, Weasley." He shouts over his shoulder. And then they are gone, leaving James, Rose, Caleb and I standing alone in the Charms classroom.

There is a huge scarlet stain on the floor. Fred's? Fidenchi's? Both?

And with that I faint, the last thing I remember being Caleb's arms around me.

So what do you guys think? GOOD? BAD? Poor Fred. And Roxie. How do you think they're gonna get out of this one? Will they? What's going to happen.

As always your opinions, guesses and suggestions mean the world to me. So please continue to read and REVIEW! xx